Coal Mine Prosper Haniel XV – Air Door

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.

In underground coal mining ventilation is an important issue. Fresh air for the miners is transported into the mine by enormous ventilation systems. In order to guide the fresh air within the tunnels the ventilators are supported by special constructions such as air doors. They deflect the flow of fresh air and guide it into the correct direction to make sure that every working area within the mine is ventilated properly. In this recording an air door is opened and closed.

Sound: Jens Meißburger

Photo and Video: Jochen Balke (Sirius Images)