science

Hansa Pit

Hansa Pit is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Hansa Pit rather than just read about it. In short: The Hansa Pit (German: Grube Hansa) was a mine on the territory of Harlingerode in the county of Wolfenbüttel in the Free State of Brunswick and later in Lower Saxony, West Germany. It was founded on the Langenberg south of Harlingerode; however, the only remainders are located on the north side.

Key takeaways

Hansa Pit belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Hansa Pit to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Hansa Pit from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Hansa Pit (German: Grube Hansa) was a mine on the territory of Harlingerode in the county of Wolfenbüttel in the Free State of Brunswick and later in Lower Saxony, West Germany. It was founded on the Langenberg south of Harlingerode; however, the only remainders are located on the north side.

Geology The Langenberg, internationally known for the discovery of Europasaurus and part of the Northern Harz Boundary Fault north of the Harz, consists of Korallenoolith with layers of chalky iron ore, containing up to 25% iron. On the northern part of the Hansa pit, limonite was more predominant and fossils of Orectolobiformes indet. were found.

History

19th century On behalf of consul Herrmann Henrich Meier, local geologist and director for mining administration Wilhelm Castendyck discovered the iron deposits beneath the Langenberg in the mid-19th century.

Hermann deposit The earliest deposit, the Hermann deposit, was first mentioned in 1860 and established soon after that. It was located north of the Langenberg, where the remaining area around the opening hole is conserved nowadays. In order to reach the significant pyrolusite conglomerate beneath the Langenberg, a tunnel with a length of 187 metres was drilled. However, due to the strong mountain pressure and brittle rock, the tunnel needed further support and it was decided to extend the tunnel west- and eastwards instead. Due to unprofitability, the Hermann deposit was abandoned in 1867.

Hansa deposit The relevant Hansa deposit was first documented in 1862. It was discovered as a characteristic Korallenoolith deposit in the Röseckenbach valley west of Göttingerode and southwest of the Langenberg. From here on, the seam was mined eastwards as far as to the outskirts of Schlewecke around 1.5 kilometres east. A new area with the official name Hansa Pit was founded on June 3, 1865, west of where Göttingerode was founded later. Due to the very poor condition of roads at the location, the mine was temporarily closed in November 1865 until conditions improved.

20th century The aftermath of the Great Depression caused the mine to be temporarily shut down on March 15, 1932. However, due to the German Nazi Party's plans to gain more autarky with their ressources, the mine was put back into operation on November 1, 1935. In order to provide sufficient living space for the necessary workers, the Göttingerode settlement was erected south of the Langenberg and next to the Hansa pit. In 1938–39, a connection to the Oker–Bad Harzburg railway was established by erecting a chain conveyor to the Harlingerode station. The Hansa pit was closed on August 23, 1960, due to lack of profitability.

Links Regionalverband Harz: Hansa Mine (English), 2022

References

Further reading Alfred Breustedt: Eisenerzgrube Hansa. In: 950 Jahre Harlingerode. Bad Harzburg 2003, P. 83–93 (German) Werner Heindorf: Die ehemalige Eisenerzgrube „Hansa“ am nördlichen Harzrand bei Harlingerode (The former Iron ore pit "Hansa" on the northern part of the Harz mountains near Harlingerode). In: Allgemeiner Harz-Berg-Kalender (Common montane calendar of the Harz). 2007. P. 149–154 Harald Meier, Kurt Neumann: Bad Harzburg. Chronik einer Stadt. 2000 D. Thies. 1989. Some problematical sharks teeth (Chondrichthyes, Neoselachii) from the Early and Middle Jurassic of Germany. Paläontologische Zeitschrift 63:103-117

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Hansa Pit

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Hansa Pit claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Hansa Pit before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Hansa Pit ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Hansa Pit

In research: Hansa Pit appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Hansa Pit in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Hansa Pit is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Altenkirchen (district), Bad Harzburg, Former mines in Germany, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Hansa Pit outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Hansa Pit in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Hansa Pit means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Hansa Pit out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Hansa Pit in simple terms?

Why does Hansa Pit matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Hansa Pit?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Hansa Pit.