The mine

The fieldwork took place in the open cast brown coal mine Reichwalde in the Niederlausitz-region. The mine is 60 meters deep and still in use. Huge machines excavate large amounts of sand and gravel until the brown coal is exposed. This brown coal is used in a nearby power plant to generate electricity.

This bridge-like machine, called an "Abraum-förderbrücke", is about 400 meters long. The sediments that are excavated on the right side of the picture, are transported over the bridge and deposited on the left side.