Active kali mine shaft at Zielitz serving as the principal man-riding and materials shaft of Germany's largest potash operation, with one of the largest shaft cages in Europe.
Kaliwerk Zielitz - Schacht 2 is the Material- und Seilfahrtsschacht of the Kaliwerk Zielitz, the largest kali mine in Germany and one of the largest worldwide, operating in continuous production since 1973. Shaft sinking began in 1964 alongside Schacht 1, and the Endteufe of 740 metres was reached approximately two years later. The shaft serves as the primary access route for the mine's approximately 1,150 underground workers and for all materials transport; it also handles the loading and transport for the Untertagedeponie (UTD).
With a circular cross-section of 7.5 metres diameter and a Förderkorb capable of carrying 92 persons simultaneously, Schacht 2 is among the largest man-riding shafts in Europe. Following privatisation after German reunification, the mine joined the K+S Gruppe at the end of 1993. Annual Rohsalz production from the combined Kaliwerk Zielitz operation has reached approximately 12 million tonnes, representing around 30 per cent of K+S Minerals and Agriculture GmbH's total output.
The underground extraction area extends over approximately 61 km² and reaches maximum depths of 1,300 metres.
Schacht 2 of the Kaliwerk Zielitz was sunk in parallel with Schacht 1 from 1964, forming a Doppelschachtanlage at the central surface complex near the village of Zielitz, north of Magdeburg in Sachsen-Anhalt. The underlying deposit, the Scholle von Calvörde, had been confirmed by a DDR drilling programme from 1960 as containing a Wechsellagerung of Steinsalz and Kalisalzbänken with an average Mächtigkeit of approximately 7.5 metres and a K₂O content of approximately 11 per cent. The formal resolution to construct the mine was taken in 1963 and shaft sinking began in 1964. Schacht 2 reached its Endteufe of 740 metres, approximately two years after sinking commenced, slightly shallower than the companion Schacht 1 at 806 metres. The VEB Kalibetrieb Ernst Schneller Zielitz was founded as the operating company in 1968, and Rohsalzförderung commenced through Schacht 1 in 1969, with full Dauerproduktion achieved by 1973.
Schacht 2 serves as the Material- und Seilfahrtsschacht for the entire Kaliwerk Zielitz. Its defining technical feature is its large circular cross-section of 7.5 metres diameter, accommodating a Förderkorb capable of simultaneously carrying 92 persons — a capacity described by K+S as among the largest of any shaft cage in Europe. The shaft is the exclusive surface access point for the mine's approximately 1,150 underground workers and handles all underground materials supply. It also serves as the handling and transfer point for the Untertagedeponie (UTD), through which compacted waste in verpackten Gebinden is lowered underground for long-term storage in exhausted salt voids. Schacht 2's surface buildings, to the left of the main complex as viewed from the Zielitz works entrance, are associated with the Kauengebäude for underground workers.
Following the end of the DDR and German reunification, the VEB Kalibetrieb Ernst Schneller Zielitz was privatised. The K+S Kali GmbH was constituted on 1 July 1993; the Kalifusion — the merger of the eastern and western German kali industries — was completed at the end of 1993 and the Kaliwerk Zielitz has been part of the K+S Gruppe since that date. The mine is now operated by K+S Minerals and Agriculture GmbH. Total cumulative Rohsalz production from the Kaliwerk Zielitz exceeded 300 million tonnes in 2010. Annual production is approximately 12 million tonnes of Rohsalz, from which approximately 2 million tonnes of finished Kalidüngemittel and industrial products are produced. The underground extraction area extends over approximately 61 km² and working depths range to a maximum of 1,300 metres. The Kaliwerk Zielitz employs approximately 1,800 to 2,000 persons in total, making it one of the largest employers in the region of Sachsen-Anhalt.