Grube Bendisberg

Useful Information

Location:	In der Eisenkaul 2, 56729 Langenfeld / Vordereifel. (50.360700, 7.102500)
Open:	Only with reservation. Arschleder-Führung: Only with reservation. Zwei-Stollen-Führung: Only with reservation. Drei-Stollen-Führung: Only with reservation. [2023]
Fee:	Adults EUR 8, Children (7-17) EUR 6, Children (0-6) frei. Arschleder-Führung: Adults EUR 12. Zwei-Stollen-Führung: Adults EUR 16. Drei-Stollen-Führung: Adults EUR 24. [2023]
Classification:	Lead Mine Zinc Mine
Light:	helmet with a headlamp is provided
Dimension:	T=8 °C, H=80 %.
Guided tours:	D=90 min, L=600 m, Min=2, Max=11. Arschleder-Führung: D=2 h, L=750 m, Min=3, Max=11. Zwei-Stollen-Führung: D=2.5 h, L=750 m, VR=53 m, St=540, Min=3, Max=11. Drei-Stollen-Führung: D=3.5 h, L=750 m, VR=53 m, St=540, Min=3, Max=11.
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Besucherbergwerk Grube Bendisberg, St. Jost-Langenfeld/Vordereifel, In der Eisenkaul 2, 56729 Langenfeld/Vordereifel, Tel: +49-2655-96-29-96. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1900-1904	opened up and operated by a Dutch company
24 to 25 December 1903	the processing plant is destroyed by a fire, operation is shut down.
1915	mine passes into the ownership of the Altenberg company.
26-APR-1937	Recommissioned.
31-DEC-1940	mine shut down.
2003	Tiefer Eisenheldstollen reopened after almost fifty years.
30-JUN-2005	mine acquired by the local community of Langenfeld.

Geology

The ore and quartz veins were formed during the Vasician mountain formation 330-300 million years ago. The ores are zinc blende (sphalerite) and silver galena (galenite), as well as iron spar (siderite) and chalcopyrite (chalcopyrite).

Description

Grube Bendisberg (Bendiberg Mine) mined ore from several veins in the middle and upper Siegen strata. In the area of the Eisenhelder Gänge, the deeper parts of the veins were reached through a blind shaft. Otherwise, mining was done in tunnels, there were hardly any shafts. The mine never achieved greater economic importance because the ore deposits were too small. Nevertheless, in 1903, 120 men were employed in mining and 34 men in processing. In 16 months, 513 t of lead ore with an average of 68.3% Pb and 400 g/t Ag were extracted, as well as 875 t of zinc blende with 44.4% zinc.

Although mining for lead and zinc ores at St. Jost and Virneburg has a long history, the Bendisberg mine was not opened up and operated until 1900 by a Dutch company. However, it was only in operation until the night of 24-25-DEC-1903, because the processing plant was destroyed by a fire that night. Soon after, the entire operation was shut down. In 1915 the mine became the property of the Altenberg company. As part of the German Reich's efforts to become self-sufficient, the Reich Ministry of Economics provided considerable financial resources. There were old calculations according to which a total of 30,700 m³ of mine ore was still in place and a production of about 1,650 t of metallic zinc and 1,050 t of lead could be expected. The new owner, the AG des Altenbergs, used the mining funds to drive a 1.2 km long adit for exploration. Thus, the Bendisberg mine was put back into operation on 26-APR-1937. In the first year of operation in 1937, 2,365 m of drifts were excavated in the three Eisenheldstollen, the Johannastollen and the Bleibergstollen. Now things went on in quick succession: a new access road, a new high-voltage line to the grid of the Rheinisch-Westfälische Elektrizitätswerk (RWE), a small machine house in which a turbo-compressor was installed. But when they reached the bottom of the mine, they found that the ore veins there contained only quartz, some iron spar and very rarely small traces of zinc and lead. Therefore, at the end of October 1940, the decision was made to abandon the deep mining levels and the shaft and to stop pumping. The results on the upper levels were also rather unsatisfactory, but above all the war made it very difficult to transport the ore, and so the mine was closed down on 31-DEC-1940.

After the end of the war, in 1948, the Altenberg AG applied to the Rhineland-Palatinate Ministry of Economics and Transport to reopen the Bendisberg lead and zinc ore mine. Again, the demand was considerable and so less productive mines were also reopened. On 13-DEC-1948, the military government issued the operating permit. But again the problem was transport, the processing plant was in a different zone. Also, the ore deposits estimated in the upper range turned out to be exaggerated, as a result of the massive irregularities in the ore veins. In addition, the world market prices fell, and so in 1953 and 1954 only ores that had already been mined or started to be mined were transported to the processing plant, which was shut down on 11-MAY-1957 because the deposit was exhausted.

Some quite remarkable technical monuments have been preserved from the Bendisberg mine. There is still a mine building and a transformer building which, after renovation work, is now used as a residential building and a café. The lower levels are filled with water, but as the mine has several galleries at ground level, different tours of varying length can be offered. The shortest route is the normal tourist tour. Before Corona, there were regular opening hours at weekends, but now the mine is open again, but you have to book for all tours. There are no lights on any of the tours, a helmet with a headlamp is provided. For the special tours, you should also come with rubber boots, suitable clothing and preferably a change of clothes. The tours are not difficult, but because of the long duration, you should have a certain level of physical fitness.