The beginning and the end of mining in Ehrenfriedersdorf

The Ehrenfriedersdorf deposit is one of the most famous tin deposits in the Erzgebirge, with a mining history of over 750 years. Since the 13th century, tin and silver ore were mined underground in the tin ore deposit area Ehrenfriedersdorf/Erzgebirge. After production ceased in the meantime, operations were resumed in 1936 by Sachsenerz Bergwerk AG.

As a result of the resumption in 1940, a new processing facility and Tailing 1 were built in the area of the small crossing on the Sauberg eastern slope.

The processing facility went into operation in 1942. Initially only branch/veinstone ore were processed. Greisenerz was also processed since the early 1960s.

The processing facility was dismantled after the end of the World War II in 1945 as a reparation payment. In 1948, the reconstruction and the resumption of the ore mining began. At the same time, the newly discovered part of the Northwest Field deposit opened up. A capacity limit of the Tailing 1 was reached in 1969, which marked the end of its flushing. Instead, Tailing 2 went into operation in 1969.

As a result of a completely unprofitable production, the VEB Bergbau- und Hüttenkombinat Freiberg stopped the ore mining on October 3, 1990 that ended the flushing into the Tailing 2 (Hösel, 1994).

After the end of mining in Ehrenfriedersdorf

The resulting ZEE – Zinnerz Ehrenfriedersdorf GmbH was commissioned with the underground and surface storage and the dismantling of the site after the decommissioning of the Ehrenfriedersdorf mine. In the course of the underground custody, superstructures and shafts were kept, mining damage analyses were carried out and the mine buildings were flooded. In addition, the 2nd level of the Sauberg was prepared as a visitor mine. Operation of the pit as a visitor mine was officially started in 1995.

The two tailings were covered with earth to reduce dust. Because of remediation work, a cover up to 10 m thick was applied to Tailing 2, whereas Tailing 1 is only covered with a thin layer of soil.