Ludwig Mine, Adlersbach Valley, Hausach

General

The antimony-(gold-silver) veins of the Ludwig mine are located at the steep eastern slope of the small Adlersbach Valley, 1 km to the south of federal road B33.

You can go there either from Wolfach/Hausach or Offenburg, taking said  B 33. The access is next to the gas station and Hechtsberg Quarry. To the west of said quarry (south of the federal road) there is a small group of farmhouses and a small blue road sign (Adlersbach). You can park your car alongside the small road south of the farmhouse. Driving up is not allowed (road sign). You have to hike up the road, going in an s-curve to the north, then to the south again. After the upper farmhouse, which is reached 200-300 m after the s-curve, the road is splitting. You have to walk straight to the south (not taking the road to the left), until a red bar is reached 100 m to the south. Usually its open. There you have to climb up the steep slope and head 10 m towards the southeast. You will see the stockpiles/dumps of the upper adit.

Mining History

The mine was first mentioned in 1740, when the town's writer of Hausach, Mr. WAMEISTER, claimed it. But even then the mine is said to be very old. It was open solemly for a few years because the ores had been free of silver.

Mr. NICKLER from the Erzengel Gabriel Mine claimed the Ludwig Mine September 5th, 1751. At that time, the reopened Ludwig adit had been 80 m long. The ores were reported to have tungsten and tin, but in fact are rich in antimony, whereas neither tungsten nor tin is found in the area.

In 1753 the mine is sold to salesman DIVOUX from Strassbourg, together with 3.7 tons of ore, which contained 1 kg of silver in a ton of ore. He gave the mine it's name. DIVOUX sold his shares to citizens of Strassbourg the same year. The mine is supposed to be pretty run down at that time. Mr. MAYER reported April 19th, 1754 of a fatal mine accident with a broken ceiling, leading to mine closure.

In 1838 Bergmeister (a kind of mine headmaster) SCHWAB sent 1.7 tons of ores from the stockpiles with 1700g of Ag per ton to the smelter at Wittichen at his own expenses.

From 1840 to 1846 the mine is claimed by Hausach citizens JORDAN and HERMANN, some ores were mined in 1844.

In 1847 the mine is claimed by the Kinzigtal Mining Association, but  Mine Supervisor WALCHNER has gotten allowance of mining in the area the same time.

He built the lower adit, which is abondoned at a length of 20 m due to great hardness of the wallrock.

In 1854, 7.5 tons of ore were mined, until 1857 30 tons. A shaft was built and the lower adit was reactivated.

The Kinzigtal Mining Association claimed it's rights and initiated legal action against the Principality of Fürstenberg. WALCHNER kept the claim until 1857. Legal action is initiated between WALCHNER and the Principality. WALCHNER demanded compensation of his expenses for mining and possible incomes from ores yet to mine. He never received any money until his death. Finally his successors got compensations for the mine's expenses in 1866.

WALCHNER first noticed the gold content of the ores, especially the pyrite. Three pieces of golden leaves, kept in the collection of the principality of Fürstenberg at the castle of Donaueschingen, attributed to WALCHNER, were said to be gold from Ludwig Mine. X-ray analysis proved them to be brass.

In 1920, Mr. GOLDBACH is mandated by the principality of Fürstenberg to do some exploration work in the mine. Nothing is known of the outcomes.

In 1936 the gold content of the ores is proved by the "Mineralogische Studiengemeinschaft" (Mineralogical Studies Association).

Geology

Grey gneisses of mixed (i.e. paragene and orthogene origin) are outcropping and can be seen in the piles at nearby Hechtsberg Quarry.

Mineralisation

A group of four very similiar veins can be found in the mine, of which only the Ludwig and Friedrich vein had been of some importance.

The Ludwig vein, to which nearly every piece of mineral from the mine can be attributed todays, is solemly described here.

The vein has an average thickness of 60-90 cm and is striking with 30 degrees (NNE-SSW). It is dipping 85 degrees to the west.

The first phase of mineralisation starts with  the so-called Quartz-Iron Sulphide prephase. It consists of chert-like, grey quartz with inclusions of pyrite and arsenopyrite, minor marcasite after pyrrhotite. The sulphides often occur as tiny crystals in the hard, dense quartz.

Afterwards, grey chert to white grainy quartz is precipitated, containing sphalerite (often brownish yellow to reddish brown), semseyite and stibnite as main ore minerals. Minor ore minerals include miargyrite, bournonite, plagionite, boulangerite amongst other, more rare species.

Second generation quartz is subsequentially precipitated as white prismatic, elongated xls, followed by baryte (as white tabular aggregates at cracks/clefts in quartz and tiny xls) and second-generation pyrite.

Small grains of gold are either associated with grey, pyrite-bearing chert or white, grainy quartz with stibnite and sphalerite.