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Exploration in Potash Mining in the Werra Potash District

The Werra Potash District is located on the border of the federal states of Thuringia and Hesse. Mining has taken place in this area for more than 125 years. The mined area is larger than the city of Munich. The two potash seams in this area, called the Thuringia and Hesse Potash Seams, are generally between 3 and 5 meters thick and are located in the Werra Salt, which is 300 m thick. There are two active mines, Hattorf-Wintershall and Unterbreizbach, in which approximately 19 million tonnes of raw salt are mined annually. Exploration is very important for mining in terms of being able to forecast and obtain information about the thickness and mineralogy of the potash seams, the presence of basalt dikes and areas with hydrogeological risks or gas hazard areas.

In general, exploration can be divided into two categories: surface exploration and underground exploration.

Surface exploration: there are many surface drill holes and shafts from the last century that allow conclusions to be drawn about the geology and mineralogy of the potash seams and the overburden.

In addition, numerous geophysical measurements are carried out like seismic surveying, gravimetric surveying and geomagnetic measurements.

Underground exploration: in the two active mines, underground drilling with a length of more than 80 km per year is carried out. All underground drill holes are measured using 3D radar. All geological data are processed in a 3D geological model, which enables forecasts for mine planning, resource estimation as well as geomechanical modeling.

Details

Author
Jens Barnasch1
Institutionen
1K+S Minerals and Agriculture GmbH - Werk Werra, Germany
Veranstaltung
GeoSaxonia 2024
Datum
2024
DOI
10.48380/jh87-3w87