Coal Mine Prosper Haniel I – Conveyor Belt

In December 2018 Prosper Haniel, the last active coal mine of the Ruhr area, was closed down. Before the end “Sounds of Changes”-project worker Konrad Gutkowski had a last chance to document its disappearing sounds.

The coal mine in Bottrop was founded in 1856. Regular mining began in 1863 with about 60.000 tons of coal per year. Until 2016 it reached a depth of 1240 metres and mined 1.8 Million tons of coal per year. During the “Wirtschaftswunder” in the 1950s up to 12.000 coal miners worked at Prosper Haniel. Structural change and the decline of coal mining began in the late 1960s. Due to high production costs in Germany coal has been increasingly imported from China, India and the USA. One after the other the coal mines in the Ruhr area were closed down.

This is a recording of the large conveyor belt close to the main drive. During the recording the conveyor belt was empty. Only the drive engine and the flapping and rattling of the belt are audible. A horn, which signals that the conveyor belt starts to move, can be heard at the beginning of the recording.

Sound: Jens Meißburger

Photo and Video: Jochen Balke (Sirius Images)