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discovered_02_2013

discovered 02.13 FOCUS WWW.Hzdr.DE view, however. The researchers want to jointly develop non- invasive mineral exploration methods to detect so-called blind ore deposits, i.e. deposits not exposed at surface. The area is about 110 square kilometers in size and comprises the municipalities of Ehrenfriedersdorf, Gelenau/Erzgebirge, Lauter-Bernsbach, Grünhain-Beierfeld, Lößnitz, Elterlein, Raschau-Markersbach, Thum, Zwönitz, Auerbach, Drebach, and Geyer, as well as Schwarzenberg/Erzgebirge. "It is well-documented that mineral deposits of tin and zinc as well as tungsten and indium occur in this region," according to HIF Director Jens Gutzmer. His staff had learned this from researching the archives of the Saxony State Office of Environment, Agriculture, and Geology. From the point of view of mining, the region all around Geyer has been well explored – at least as far as one can judge from the individual bore holes drilled during the period of the German Democratic Republic. What the HIF scientists are now working on is a comprehensive investigation of Geyer Forest, which encompasses every inch of the ground between the earlier bore holes. Electromagnetic signals from the air The researchers are collaborating with the German Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) in Hanover, which is employing its helicopter for the project. It represents a re-entry for the authorities into mineral exploration; the helicopter is used much more commonly in foreign locations for detecting water reservoirs. It's irrelevant though, whether water or minerals are involved – the method is the same. A ten-meter-long airborne sensor is flown on a 45 meters cable behind the helicopter. It contains the measurement instrumentation and transceiver for the electromagnetic signals. "It provides information about the electrical conductivity of the subsurface, which can be an indicator of the presence of ore," says Bernhard Siemon, head of Airborne Geophysics and Flight Operations at BGR. GENTLE EXPLORATION OF RAW MATERIALS: Several institutes are all pooling their know-how (from left to right): Olaf Hellwig (TU Bergakademie Freiberg), Jens Gutzmer (Helmholtz Institute Freiberg/ HIF), Saskia Stein (HIF), Mathias Scheunert (TU Freiberg) and Bernhard Siemon (Federal Institute for Geosciences and Raw Materials). Photo: Detlev Müller

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