Hartmut Hensel's Photo Gallery
Turtschi dolomite outcrop in 1981
The site in the summer of 1981, when the Binna creek had not yet been straightened and ran directly alongside the dolomite outcrop. The very narrow road from Binn to Imfeld ran directly above Binna.
Photo taken by Winfried Hensel.
JGV-N73Giessenite Pb27Cu2(Bi,Sb)19S57
Field of View: 2.2 mm
Steel-grey, acicular giessenite crystals with galena (top right in photo). A sample from this find was analysed with EDS by Philippe Roth, Zürich, see child photos, whom I would like to thank once again. Even if EDS is not the "final proof" for giessenite, no other mineral from Turtschi fits the analysis. Therefore, there is hardly any doubt about the identity with giessenite. Besides giessenite and galena Philippe Roth also observed extremely tiny crystals of an unknown Pb-Bi-sulfate(?).
The piece comes from a tiny vug (a few cubic millimetres) in a block of dolomite weighing approx. 20 kg, which contained no other sulfosalt bearing vugs.
Self collected in September 2018.
Q73-8HKSilver Ag
Field of View: 3.6 mm
Native Silver as wire-shaped aggregagte and crude platy crystals in white quartz rich matrix from a dump of Frischer Muth mine. A sample from that find was EDS and XRD analysed by Gerhard Möhn showing that it contains significant amounts of mercury corresponding to the formula Ag7Hg3. But also Schachnerite and/or Paraschachnerite and Chlorargyrite could be observed.
0V1-L7XCinnabar HgS
Field of View: 3.2 mm
In 2013, extensive excavation work was carried out in the village of Stahlberg and the excavated material was deposited outside the village, where it remained until the end of 2018. As Stahlberg was built in the area and on the dumps of the old Erzengel Michael and St. Philipp mines (that were later united), the material was very interesting for me. However, despite repeated searches, I only found a small area once in November 2014 in which very little interesting ore-bearing material was to be found, mostly Cinnabar.
This sample with dark red and lustrous crystals in a quartz cavity is part of the same rock that provided the Argentotetrahedrite-(Hg) shown in https://www.mindat.org/photo-1350910.html
Most likely it originates from one of the above mentioned mines.
9GY-XXPArgentotetrahedrite-(Hg) Ag6(Cu4Hg2)Sb4S12S
Field of View: 12.6 mm
In 2013, extensive excavation work was carried out in the village of Stahlberg and the excavated material was deposited outside the village, where it remained until the end of 2018. As Stahlberg was built in the area and on the dumps of the old Erzengel Michael and St. Philipp mines (that were later united), the material was very interesting for me. However, despite repeated searches, I only found a small area once in November 2014 in which very little interesting ore-bearing material was to be found, including a single sample with a black fahlore.
A sample of this fahlore was analysed by Joy Desor in 2023 and yielded the surprising result Argentotetrahedrite-(Hg).
Associated minerals are red cinnabar and white baryte. Most likely it originates from one of the above mentioned mines.
Former machine house
The former machine house hosts a small museum now. August 2023.
New Shaft and ore processing facilities
The headframe of the New Shaft and ore processing facilities. August 2023.
Tiberg's hut
Tiberg's hut in front of the fenced area of the garden dump is named after one of the former mining managers. August 2023.
Information plate
According to this information plate, one of the mines is a famous diving spot!
Headframe of New Shaft
The headframe of the Nya Schaktet (New Shaft) is probably he best known of the many historic buildings here. August 2023.
