Deposits of the Harzes

From the early Middle Ages, the Harz was famous for his ore deposits. The mining of the Rammelsberg made the city of Goslar famous. The mined ores were sulfidic lead (Pb) and zinc (Zn) ores, which contained many other metals in low percentage. But those rare and valuable metals, like gold and silver, made the mine so important. Coinage of the metals took place in Goslar, and so the mine provided a continuous flow of money into the caskets of their sovereign.

A second kind of deposits is found in the Oberharz (high Harz) near Clausthal-Zellerfeld. Vaults with ore, striking hercynic (northeast to southwest). This are hydrothermal deposits, formed by water circulating through the rock with high temperature (about 380°C). This water was able to dissolve the extremely small amounts of metal in the rocks and transport them to the vaults, where they were redeposited.