The Krunkelbach Pit (german: Grube Krunkelbach), also known as the Hans Paul Pit (''Grube Hans Paul''), was a

mine Mine, mines, miners or mining may refer to: Extraction or digging * Miner, a person engaged in mining or digging *Mining, extraction of mineral resources from the ground through a mine Grammar *Mine, a first-person English possessive pronoun ...

established to investigate a

uranium Uranium is a chemical element with the symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Uranium is weak ...

deposit in the

High Black Forest The High Black Forest (german: Hochschwarzwald) is a touristic and geographical region in the south-west of the German federal state Baden-Württemberg, primarily in the Southern Black Forest. History of the name The term ''Hochschwarzwald'' o ...

near the municipality of Menzenschwand, today part of

St. Blasien St. Blasien (Sankt Blasien) is a small town located in the Waldshut district in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated in the Southern Black Forest, 17 km northeast of Waldshut-Tiengen. St. Blaise's Abbey in the Black Forest is locat ...

in the county of Waldshut in the south German state of

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...

. Located on the edge of the

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

of '' Feldberg'', operation of the mine was abandoned between 1961 and 1991 due to protests from local residents,

conservationists The conservation movement, also known as nature conservation, is a political, environmental, and social movement that seeks to manage and protect natural resources, including animal, fungus, and plant species as well as their habitat for the f ...

and

environmentalist An environmentalist is a person who is concerned with and/or advocates for the protection of the environment. An environmentalist can be considered a supporter of the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that se ...

s as well as the

anti-nuclear movement The anti-nuclear movement is a social movement that opposes various nuclear technologies. Some direct action groups, environmental movements, and professional organisations have identified themselves with the movement at the local, nationa ...

. In the 1970s, plans to use water from the pit that contained

radon Radon is a chemical element with the symbol Rn and atomic number 86. It is a radioactive, colourless, odourless, tasteless noble gas. It occurs naturally in minute quantities as an intermediate step in the normal radioactive decay chains through ...

in order to build an exclusive

health spa A health club (also known as a fitness club, fitness center, health spa, and commonly referred to as a gym) is a place that houses exercise equipment for the purpose of physical exercise. In recent years, the number of fitness and health ser ...

around Menzenschwand, were cancelled. Since 2005, water from the

uranium ore deposit Uranium ore deposits are economically recoverable concentrations of uranium within the Earth's crust. Uranium is one of the more common elements in the Earth's crust, being 40 times more common than silver and 500 times more common than gold. It ...

has been used to run a

radon bath Radon is a chemical element with the symbol Rn and atomic number 86. It is a radioactive, colourless, odourless, tasteless noble gas. It occurs naturally in minute quantities as an intermediate step in the normal radioactive decay chains throug ...

in Menzenschwand. Mineral diversity is very high: >95 minerals was found here. It is a type locality of

Arsenuranospathite Arsenuranospathite ( IMA symbol: Aush) is a rare mineral with the chemical formula Al(UO2)2(AsO4)2F·20H2O. The name "arsenuranospathite" as arsenate analog of uranospathite was first used by Walenta (1963) with reference to a uranyl-arsenate mine ...

, Chadwickite, Metakahlerite, Metakirchheimerite, Metauranospinite

Pharmacolite Pharmacolite is an uncommon calcium arsenate mineral with formula CaHAsO4·2(H2O). It occurs as soft, white clusters of fibrous crystals and encrustations which crystallize in the monoclinic system. It is the arsenate analogue of the sulfate gypsum ...

References

Literature

* Armin Simon: ''Der Streit um das Schwarzwald-Uran. Die Auseinandersetzung um den Uranbergbau in Menzenschwand im Südschwarzwald 1960–1991.'' (=''Alltag & Provinz'', Vol. 11) publ. Arbeitskreis Regionalgeschichte Freiburg e.V. Donzelli-Kluckert Verlag, Bremgarten, 2003, . * Helge Steen: ''Geschichte des modernen Bergbaus im Schwarzwald.'' Books on Demand, Norderstedt, 2004, . * Gregor Markl, Stephan Wolfsried: ''Das Uran von Menzenschwand. Geschichte · Lagerstätte · Mineralien.'' Christian Weise, Munich, 2011, .

External links

* Peter Diehl:
Uranabbau im Westen Deutschlands
' In: Bürgerinitiative gegen Uranabbau im Südschwarzwald, Bürgerinitiative Oberrothenbach (publ.): ''Tagungsband − Tagung der Bürgerinitiativen gegen Uranabbau in Europa.'' Zwickau, 1-3 August 1991. * Mineralienatlas: Uranlagerstätte im Krunkelbachtal bei Menzenschwand
Mindat - Typlokalität Krunkelbach Valley Uranium deposit, Menzenschwand, Black Forest, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
{{coord missing, Germany Uranium mines Geological type localities Former mines in Germany Grube Krunkelbach