The kaolin deposits southeast of Kemmlitz were explored from 1907 to 1913. Mining initially began in 1908 using tunnels and shafts. Raw kaolin was mined using pillar mining until 1960, and from 1953 the "Frieden" opencast mine was operated in the northwest field. The opencast mine was expanded to the south and east, the kaolin was mined using bucket chain excavators and transported away using conveyor systems. The opencast mine was in regular operation until 1990. From 1999 to 2004, the remaining kaolin was extracted from the west field. The area of the kaolin deposit, which is more than 5 meters thick, is 210,000 square meters.
Opencast mining operations were stopped in 2004, followed by work to secure and stabilize the slopes, after which the remaining opencast pit was flooded and today forms an attractive little lake.
After 130 years, the deposits in the Kemmlitz – Börtewitz – Querbitzsch area have been largely mined. The current deposits are located north of Kemmlitz.
Photo: SV Mügeln, K. Helbig