Becke-Oese quarry, Hemer, Märkischer Kreis, Arnsberg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germanyi

Regional Level Types
Becke-Oese quarry	Quarry (Abandoned)
Hemer	Town
Märkischer Kreis	District
Arnsberg	Administrative District
North Rhine-Westphalia	State
Germany	Country

Description

Located on the B7 between Hemer and Menden, the Becke-Oese quarry mined Kulmplatte limestone of the Lower Carboniferous for gravel extraction. BANNIZA describes in his book "Alter Bergbau im ehemaligen Amt Hemer" (Old Mining in the Former Amt of Hemer) the lead and copper mine on the Hasenberge. According to tradition, "Bleyglanze [galena] in very beautifully crystallised calcite" was mined here.

BANNIZA, or the mining office, was wrong here. The mining took place in and on the "Sensberg" and not on the aforementioned "Asenberg".

The first known operator of regular mining of the Kulmplatte limestone after the 2nd World War was the Weifenbach company. This was replaced by the civil engineering company Nikodem and renamed "Becke-Oese Schotterwerke GmbH".

Then, in the mid-60s, the company "Basalt-Aktien-Gesellschaft Bergisch-Märkische Steinindustrie Gummersbach" took over the quarry. With this takeover, the quarry became a large-scale operation.

At the beginning of the 70s, the remains of the shafts and tunnels were blasted during the excavation of the quarry expansion. On the northern slope of the "Sensberg" (old traditional name, as it was only possible to harvest with a scythe on steep slopes), you can still see Pingen and a dump.

In the 70s and 80s, you could take the galena described by BANNIZA by the hundredweight on some days. In the early 80s, a fissure was found, the walls of which were lined with lead [ore] about 20 cm thick. Collectors were able to help themselves to this for days. The crystals had an enormous size but appeared rounded and were exclusively overgrown with a layer of pyrite. Such large fissures, in which a person could stand comfortably, were not uncommon. These possibilities have not existed in recent years. As the depth increased, the finds also decreased.

The ores are bound to fault zones. Here, during the last tectonic movements, fissures were formed. These mineralised in a younger mineralisation phase.

Depending on the current mining area, good finds were always made. Mainly calcite, pyrite, marcasite, chalcopyrite, barite, sphalerite and galena were found.

General

In 2004, mining was stopped, and it is certain that mining will never be carried out in the Becke again. A decision is currently being made on the further use of the quarry site.

Fossil collectors can still find goniatites and trilobites in the peripheral areas.

In April 2006, the processing plants of the quarry were demolished and dismantled and transported away by a scrap recycling company. The large L-stone wall facing the street has been removed. Thus, there will be hardly any reference to the former quarry in the near future. Many collectors will mourn the loss of this site, which was a "hot spot" for decades.

Status in July 2006: the demolition work has been completed. The entire area of the former processing plant now shows no traces of the operating period. Only the truck scale is still in the ground. Even the remains of the walls and concrete bases of the crushing plants were completely removed.

Status in March 2007: The Arnsberg district government has decided on the further designation of the quarry site. Wording, printed in the IKZ of 01.03.2007:

"The protection is granted for scientific, natural history, regional and geological reasons in order to secure the supra-regionally important geological outcrops with their partly excellently preserved fossils, as well as because of the rarity and peculiarity of the geoformations." End of quote.

Strangely enough, this decree does not affect the rear, actual mining area. Arnsberg justifies this with the fact that the site already belongs to the landscape conservation area.

For the public, the decree means an absolute ban on entry, as well as a ban on collecting fossils.