The Mansfelder copper mines are unique in Europe regarding the diversity of elements contained in the copper ores. From historical point of view it is interesting to compare the dates of discovery and begin of actual mining of a certain element. The promptness or delay of recovery of elements upon its discovery depended on the availability of analytical methods and separation techniques which have been developed over the time in Inorganic-Analytical Institutes of Universities of Halle, Leipzig, Berlin, Göttingen, and other universities located near the Mansfeld area. In the 18th centuries several mining schools were established in Germany, which impacted the progress of smelting and purification technologies of metals. The foundation of the Fresenius Institute in 1848 has been a milestone in the history of analytical chemistry and played a leading role in qualitative and quantitative analysis of elements occurring in nature.

Mining of elements versus discovery, analysis, and separation of elements

255th National Meeting (2018)

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