On 25 April 2017, the operator responsibilities for the Asse II mine as well as the Konrad and Morsleben repositories were transferred to the Federal Company for Radioactive Waste Disposal (Bundesgesellschaft für Endlagerung mbH, BGE). This website of the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) will therefore no longer be updated and displays the status as on 24 April 2017. You will find current information at the BGE: www.bge.de

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The repository

1897 – 1937: Potash and rock salt mining in Beendorf and Morsleben

  • In 1897 construction of Marie mine started in Beendorf. Later on, the Bartensleben mine was constructed in Morsleben and connected underground to the Marie mine. The mine was created.
  • Today, historic devices from the time mining activities took place can be found at several places in the mine. They are witnesses of the repository’s past as potash and rock salt mine.
  • As a result of the former mining operation, the mine's cavity volume is today 8 – 9 million cubic metres. Such a large number of cavities presents a challenge for the safe decommissioning of the repository. Part of the cavities has already been backfilled to stabilise the mine.

Marie mine

Shaft sinking crew of Marie mine, 1898 Shaft sinking crew of Marie mine, 1898Shaft sinking crew of Marie mine, 1898

Sinking operation of shaft Marie started in May 1897 and was completed in August 1898 at a depth of 370 m. The shaft was constructed with the means available at that time. A wooden cage, shovels, pick axes, explosives and tubs were available to carry out the hard work. A steam engine hoisted the debris to the surface.

A potash chloride plant was built in Beendorf in 1903. Using the hot dissolution procedure, it produced fertilizers from crude potash salts mined in the mine. Saline waste water was discharged into the river Elbe from 1913. Mining activities in the Marie mine stopped in 1923. The chemical plant processed crude potash salts from other plants until 1927. Then the processing finally stopped, too. Potash mining in the Upper Aller Valley had stopped for good.

Bartensleben mine

Sealing structure between Bartensleben and Marie mine Sealing structure between Bartensleben and Marie mineSealing structure between Bartensleben and Marie mine

An ordinance under mining law provided for a second shaft as escape route for mining. After that, the Bartensleben mine was constructed in Morsleben in 1910 and connected to the Marie mine.

With interruptions, rock salt was mined here until 1969. The history of the Morsleben repository for radioactive waste started in 1971.

Significance of mining for the operation and decommissioning of the repository

In the past, single large pieces of rock fell from the ceiling in the central part of the Bartensleben mine. This was caused by the high excavation ratio and was thus a direct consequence of mining. The Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) has meanwhile carried out extensive stabilisation measures in the central part.

Another result of mining are places where water from the overburden or originating from the time where the salt structure formed is collected. These places are observed and monitored on a regular basis.

As a result of the former mining operation, the mine has now a cavity volume of 8 – 9 million cubic metres. Such a large number of cavities presents a challenge for the safe decommissioning of the repository. The concept for the decommissioning of the repository provides for backfilling of the major portion of the cavities with salt concrete.

This mine's history in brief
YearEvent
250 million years agoSalt forming and subsequent generation of the salt structure
1861World-wide, first mining of potash in Staßfurt, Saxony-Anhalt
1897 - 1898The businessman Gerhard Korte commissioned the construction of a mine in Beendorf and named it after his wife Marie
1898 - 1923Mining of potash salts in Marie mine
1910 - 1912Construction of Bartensleben mine in Morsleben: The mine was connected underground to the Marie mine
1912 - 1918Mining of potash salt in the Bartensleben mine. The salt was processed on the premises of the Marie mine
1918 - 1969Production of rock salt in the Bartensleben mine. The table salt was sold as "Sun salt from Bartensleben"
State of 2017.01.03

Transfer of operator responsibilities

On 25 April 2017, the operator responsibilities for the Asse II mine as well as the Konrad and Morsleben repositories were transferred to the Federal Company for Radioactive Waste Disposal (Bundesgesellschaft für Endlagerung mbH, BGE). Previously, the responsibility for the projects was with the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS). The foundations for the change of operatorship are laid down in the "Act on the Realignment of the Organisational Structures in the Field of Radioactive Waste Disposal", which became effective on 30 July 2016. The BfS focusses on the federal tasks of radiation protection, for example in the field of defence against nuclear hazards, medical research, mobile communication, UV protection or the measuring networks for environmental radioactivity.

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