Ore washing Oberes Neues Geschrei at the end of the Rote Graben in Halsbrücke
The ore washing from Oberen-Neuen-Geschrei was rebuilt around 1850. In 1679 there was already an ore wash at the same place. It does not have the large dimensions of the other washes, since the pits of the Ober-Neu-Geschrei pit did not have such a rich ore yield.
The stamp mill and the herd were installed on the ground floor. The ore square was located on the upper gable end. The ore was fed to the machines by chutes. The stamp mills, which have been used in ore mining since the 15th century, were only dry stamp mills. Wet stamp mills have been used since 1512. The stamps crushed the ore down to a maximum grain size of 2 mm. After that, the ore was further processed on the stoves. The shock foci washed out the light metal-free grains under trickling water and the metal-containing ones remained on the edge of the foci. From there they were taken and smelted. Deliveries were made by horse and cart, presumably along the Red Graben.
[Source: Municipality of Halsbrücke - Settlers' Association of Ore Laundry Halsbrücke e.V.]