Bara Consulting UK recently returned to the field in earnest with site visits to current major projects. Here are Bara Project Manager Dominic Claridge and AMS Senior Geologist Richard Siddle at the future portal site of the Tellerhauser Mine with Saxore Bergbau Managing Director Dr. Marco Roscher.
It was an especial pleasure for us as keen mining folk to visit Tellerhauser as it lies within the historic Freiberg mining region of the famous Erzgebirge or Silver Mountains of Saxony, Germany. Freiberg traces its history back to 1168 CE when silver ore was discovered close to the small settlement of Christiandorf. Mining of various ores including tin, uranium and tungsten continued extensively in the region for over 800 years until the mines were finally closed in 1990 CE. Below is a map from the local ‘mining educational trail’ showing notable historical tin workings in the area including the ‘Frisch Gluck’, ‘St Johannes’ and ‘Fortunatus’ workings from around 1722 CE.
Projects such as Saxore’s Tellerhauser tin project currently promise to bring primary production of critical metals such as tin, indium, lithium and tungsten back to the region, albeit with modern methods and vastly reduced environmental impact.
Dr. Roscher kindly hosted the Bara team over several days, including visits to historic artisanal tin workings on Saxore’s Auersberg prospect near Gottesberg, Saxony. Here is Bara UK MD Dr. Andrew Bamber exploring the depths of artisanal workings at Auersberg from circa the 16th century, excavated in hard rock using the classic ‘fire-setting’ technique.
A quite topical and historic site visit indeed! Thanks to Dr. Roscher and his team for providing a thorough education and excellent Saxony hospitality to boot. Gluck Auf!