Anna-Elisabeth Mine, Branich hill (Pranig hill), Schriesheim, Rhein-Neckar-Kreis, Karlsruhe Region, Baden-Württemberg, Germanyi

Regional Level Types
Anna-Elisabeth Mine	Mine
Branich hill (Pranig hill)	Hill
Schriesheim	Town
Rhein-Neckar-Kreis	District
Karlsruhe Region	Region
Baden-Württemberg	State
Germany	Country

An old silver mine, which was first documented in 1221 but did not start raising silver ores until 1474, when a mill and a smelter were constructed at Schriesheim. Production then continued until the rich silver ores were depleted and the mine had to close around 1550. During the following two centuries, several attempts were undertaken to restart the mine, but it failed to work profitably. Meanwhile, main interest had been directed to the production of cobalt ores, as indicated by a document, dated 1779, which refers to the mine as a "Coboldwerck" (cobalt mine). During prospection works in 1780, a pyrite-rich brecciated zone was discovered in the host rock. At places, the ore was strongly decomposed into a mixture of limonite, melanterite, arsenate-rich ferrugineous sinter and large gypsum crystals, for which the locality is noted. The mine now started to raise sulphide ores for vitriol production and was worked until 1816, when controversies between the owners forced it to close. It was prospected again in 1894 and in 1936. Today, it is a tourist mine.

The deposit consists of a large baryte-fluorite vein with pyrite, galena and silver ores, and late stage veinlets of purple fluorite with pitchblende and silver-cobalt ores, that are hosted in granite. The iron and copper sulfides mined for sulphate production came from a large tectonically brecciated zone in the host granite that was up to 4 m wide.

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

References