Draft:Cottessergroeve
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The Cottessergroeve, also known as the Quartzite Quarry or Groeve Wijkerslooth[1] is a quarry and geological monument located in South Limburg, Netherlands, in the municipality of Vaals. The quarry is situated southeast of Epen and southwest of Cottessen along a steep cliff by the Geul River in the Geuldal valley, at the base of the southwestern slope of the Plateau van Vijlen.
The site is a nature reserve and geological monument owned by Staatsbosbeheer (State Forestry Service) and is open to the public.
History
[edit]The quarry initially extracted quartzite, a type of rock that was broken and screened near the quarry before being supplied to Chamotte Unie in Geldermalsen for the production of fire-resistant bricks known as "Dinas stones" (fire-resistant and silica-containing).[2]
From the 1940s until 1957, underground mining also took place, creating a mine shaft. The extracted material was used to produce fire-resistant furnace linings.[3] Later werden meer tunnels geboord en de oude gangen werden met steenafval gevuld.[2] In 1960 werd de winning gestaakt.[4] Later, more tunnels were drilled, and the old shafts were filled with stone waste. Mining ceased in 1960.
Geology
[edit]South of Epen, older rocks from the Epen Formation, approximately 330 million years old from the Upper Carboniferous (Namurian), are exposed alongside the Limburgian Chalk. The Cottessergroeve features a thick layer of quartzite at the surface. These quartzitic sandstones and shales are folded in the subsurface and have a steep southern inclination. The rock has large cleavages, which allowed for easy extraction and widespread use as building material.[3][5]
Above the quartzite layer are fine-layered shales, which contain fossils, though the specimens found were poorly preserved.[3]
The mountain formation at the end of the Carboniferous period in the Ardennes and Eifel also affected South Limburg, leading to the deposition of dissolved silica between sand grains, creating a hard quartzite bank. This period also involved folding and faulting, resulting in notable fractures in the quartzite bank, known as diaclases.[3]
In the quarry wall, an anticline structure is visible, disturbed by two faults, causing the thick quartzite bank to shift.[3]
Usage
[edit]Stones from the Cottessergroeve were used in the construction of the nearby Hoeve Termoere.[6]
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The quartzite quarry at Cottessen around 1950 -
Cleavage planes indicated (1947) -
Diagram of the Cottessergroeve
50°45′31.46″N 5°56′16.59″E / 50.7587389°N 5.9379417°E
References
[edit]- ^ Kwartsiet, zandsteen en leisteen, P.J. Felder, Grondboor en Hamer, jaargang 43, nummer 5/6, p. 137-140, november 1989. Gearchiveerd op 2 december 2022.
- ^ a b De Cottessergroeve in het Geuldal. Gearchiveerd op 9 december 2022.
- ^ a b c d e Geologische monumenten in Zuid-Limburg (cd-rom), P.W. Bosch, W.M. Felder, Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research, 1999
- ^ Carboongroeves bij Cottessen in Zuid-Limburg, Grondboor & Hamer, nr 5, 2007. Gearchiveerd op 2 juli 2022.
- ^ Voorkomen en gebruik van natuurlijke bouwsteen in Limburg, P.W. Bosch, Grondboor & Hamer, 1989. Gearchiveerd op 2 december 2022.
- ^ Hoeve Termoere. Gearchiveerd op 24 maart 2023.