Ernst-August drainage adit (Upper Harz)
Lower Saxony, Upper Harz (Bad Grund, Lautenthal, Clausthal), Germany
Acid mine drainage
- Type
- Acid mine drainage
Former Pb-Zn, fluorite and barite district of the Upper Harz: the flooded shafts of Bad Grund (Achenbach), Clausthal (Knesebeck) and Lautenthal (Lautenthals Glück) drain into the 32 km long Ernst-August drainage adit, which also receives surface water from mining ponds and ditches and discharges into the Markau at Gittelde. Sampled in February and June 2024 and September 2025 (Kaufmann et al., 2026, preprint). Low dissolved Sb (0.03 to 1.15 µg/L): waters close to the geochemical background. Coordinates not published. Deep shaft waters are Fe-rich, anoxic, with isotopically light Sb; on mixing with the oxygenated adit water, iron precipitates and dissolved Sb becomes heavier (preferential adsorption of light Sb onto Fe oxyhydroxides).
δ123Sb in ‰ (per mil) Values of the same system
Standard : NIST SRM 3102a
| Value | Range | n | Mineral or matrix | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.233 ± 0.094 ‰ | 0.125 / 0.34 ‰ | 4 | deep water of the flooded shafts (inflows into the adit) Mean and standard deviation recalculated from 4 analyses, +0.125 to +0.340 (EA4a +0.275; EA5b +0.192; EA7a +0.125; La2 +0.340). EA4a and EA5b: Achenbach shaft inflow (0.20 and 0.30 µg/L Sb, up to 2570 µg/L Fe); EA7a: Knesebeck shaft water adit (0.61 µg/L); La2: inflow from the 13th level of the Lautenthals Glück new main shaft (0.98 µg/L, 2089 µg/L Fe). | Kaufmann et al. (2026), Stable antimony isotope and rare earth element fingerprinting of … |
| 0.389 ± 0.125 ‰ | 0.203 / 0.5 ‰ | 7 | mixed adit water (outflow and sections) Mean and standard deviation recalculated from 7 analyses, +0.203 to +0.500 (EA1a +0.243; EA2a +0.451; EA1b +0.347; EA2b +0.500; EA3b +0.203; EA4b +0.498; La1 +0.479). EA1: adit outflow; EA2: near the former processing plant; EA3 and EA4b: sections with or without "floating irons"; La1: near the Lautenthals Glück new main shaft; 0.13 to 0.75 µg/L Sb. | Kaufmann et al. (2026), Stable antimony isotope and rare earth element fingerprinting of … |
| 0.477 ± 0.269 ‰ | 0.244 / 0.771 ‰ | 3 | suspended particulate matter (cellulose nitrate filters) Mean and standard deviation recalculated from 3 analyses, +0.244 to +0.771 (EA1a +0.244; EA4a +0.416; EA7a +0.771). February 2024; particulate Sb from 0.03 to 0.14 µg/L recalculated to the water volume. Always as heavy as or heavier than the dissolved Sb at the same point (EA1a 0.243; EA4a 0.275; EA7a 0.125 ‰). EA2a Sb was too low to be measured. | Kaufmann et al. (2026), Stable antimony isotope and rare earth element fingerprinting of … |
Deposits of the same type
Cite this page
IsoFind Atlas (2026). Ernst-August drainage adit (Upper Harz), isotope signatures. https://www.isofind.tech/isotopes/en/sites/galerie-d-exhaure-ernst-august-haut-harz/ (accessed 2026-10-19).
@misc{isofind2026ernstaugustdrainageaditupperh,
title = {Ernst-August drainage adit (Upper Harz), isotope signatures},
author = {{IsoFind Atlas}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://www.isofind.tech/isotopes/en/sites/galerie-d-exhaure-ernst-august-haut-harz/},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-19}
}Updated : 2026-10-19