"GOLDEN ESEL" - "THE
GOLDEN ASS"
Now we are standing above the deposit of "The Golden Ass" which was the best-known gold-bearing ore deposit in Silesia. For seven hundred years, several tonnes of gold and about 70,000 tonnes of arsenic were obtained from the ore mined out of the deposit. The ore contained: 15 grams of gold per tonne in the 16th century and 3 grams of gold and 4% of arsenic in the 20th century. The range of the deposit, in the part that comes here on the surface, and its cross sections are shown in the drawings below. They come from the scientific documentation drown up in 1954 by a geologist Leszek Bałdys. The deposit spread out 200 metres further towards Biała Góra (White Mountain). In its deepest place the deposit was located 200 metres under the surface and 290 metres below the place where we are standing now. Mountain Haniak is on the land of the village M±kolno that belonged to the Cistercians from Kamieniec from the year 1248. The Cistercians discovered the deposit and started mining the gold in 1273. In the 16th century the richest ore, from the deposit lying above the level of the drift "Emanuel", was almost entirely mined. The miners reached the deepest deposits of ore only at the beginning of the 20th century. They also came back to the old excavations many times but got lower and lower-grade ore. For the last time they came into the excavations at the beginning of the 1950s, and exploited them until the liquidation of the mine in 1961. At that time the miners found the mining tools shown above.
THE ECOLOGICAL LAND "THE
ORCHID HEAP"
The protected remains of the previous ecosystems that are meaningful for the maintaining the biological variety, are called the ecological lands. They constitute a form of protection for the ecosystems that was introduced with the appropriate wildlife protection act. Now we are on the heap that came into existence as a result of 650 years of mining activity in this place. The heaps contain the waste of gangue and the lower-grade ore. Some chemical processes are still occurring in the heaps. The processes, the structure and mineralogical composition of the heaps create specific conditions for developing of flora and fauna. The conditions considerably differ from the natural conditions in this part of the Sudety Mountains. The area of the heap called "Storczykowa" is under protection as the ecological land because of the fact that Early-purple Orchid (Orchis mascula) can be found here. Apart from that rare flower, you can see here other protected species and among them: Buckthorns (Frangula alnus), English Ivy (Hedera helix), Carline thistle (Carlina acaulis) , Common Centaury (Centaurium erythraea) , Autumn Gentian (Gentiana amarella), Fringed Gentian (Gentiana ciliata) , Broadleaf Helleborine (Epipactis helleborine), Maiden Pink (Dianthus deltoides)and Martagon Lily (Lilium martagon) . There are also numerous protected species of animals here. Among them: Sand Lizard (Lacerta agilis), Common Tree Frog (Hyla arborea) and Common Viper (Vipera berus). The heap is also a spiders' paradise: as many as 39 species of spider live here, among them 8 new that had not inhabited in the Sudety Mountains before. Other 4 species you can rarely see in other parts of Poland.
Now we are standing above the deposit of "The Golden Ass" which was the best-known gold-bearing ore deposit in Silesia. For seven hundred years, several tonnes of gold and about 70,000 tonnes of arsenic were obtained from the ore mined out of the deposit. The ore contained: 15 grams of gold per tonne in the 16th century and 3 grams of gold and 4% of arsenic in the 20th century. The range of the deposit, in the part that comes here on the surface, and its cross sections are shown in the drawings below. They come from the scientific documentation drown up in 1954 by a geologist Leszek Bałdys. The deposit spread out 200 metres further towards Biała Góra (White Mountain). In its deepest place the deposit was located 200 metres under the surface and 290 metres below the place where we are standing now. Mountain Haniak is on the land of the village M±kolno that belonged to the Cistercians from Kamieniec from the year 1248. The Cistercians discovered the deposit and started mining the gold in 1273. In the 16th century the richest ore, from the deposit lying above the level of the drift "Emanuel", was almost entirely mined. The miners reached the deepest deposits of ore only at the beginning of the 20th century. They also came back to the old excavations many times but got lower and lower-grade ore. For the last time they came into the excavations at the beginning of the 1950s, and exploited them until the liquidation of the mine in 1961. At that time the miners found the mining tools shown above.
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THE
DRIFT "EMANUEL" This is the oldest drift in Złoty Stok. The miners started hewing it in the solid rock in 1506. The drift was called "Tiefestolle" ("Toxic"). Around the year 1530 it joined the main pit of the deposit "Golden Esel". The drift was about 900 metres long. The most famous, at that time, the 70-metres-deep mine "Golden Esel" collapsed in 1565, burying 59 miners. In the second half of the 18th century the drift was made longer, and joined the mine "Reicher Trost" receiving the new name "Emanuel". Later it was lengthened again by 140 metres. Then it reached the length of 1340 metres. At the turn of the 20th century a steam engine-powered fan was installed in the drift. Later, an electric engine replaced the steam engine. The drift functioned as the main drain and air adit until the year 1918 when the functions were taken over by the drift "Gertruda". The drift "Emanuel" is narrow and quite crooked, especially on the first stretch. On the walls we can see many marks of hand hewing. |
The protected remains of the previous ecosystems that are meaningful for the maintaining the biological variety, are called the ecological lands. They constitute a form of protection for the ecosystems that was introduced with the appropriate wildlife protection act. Now we are on the heap that came into existence as a result of 650 years of mining activity in this place. The heaps contain the waste of gangue and the lower-grade ore. Some chemical processes are still occurring in the heaps. The processes, the structure and mineralogical composition of the heaps create specific conditions for developing of flora and fauna. The conditions considerably differ from the natural conditions in this part of the Sudety Mountains. The area of the heap called "Storczykowa" is under protection as the ecological land because of the fact that Early-purple Orchid (Orchis mascula) can be found here. Apart from that rare flower, you can see here other protected species and among them: Buckthorns (Frangula alnus), English Ivy (Hedera helix), Carline thistle (Carlina acaulis) , Common Centaury (Centaurium erythraea) , Autumn Gentian (Gentiana amarella), Fringed Gentian (Gentiana ciliata) , Broadleaf Helleborine (Epipactis helleborine), Maiden Pink (Dianthus deltoides)and Martagon Lily (Lilium martagon) . There are also numerous protected species of animals here. Among them: Sand Lizard (Lacerta agilis), Common Tree Frog (Hyla arborea) and Common Viper (Vipera berus). The heap is also a spiders' paradise: as many as 39 species of spider live here, among them 8 new that had not inhabited in the Sudety Mountains before. Other 4 species you can rarely see in other parts of Poland.
