Former shaft "Alwine" Vorhelm

On the initiative of the Vorhelm local heritage association, a memorial station was established in 2016 at the site of the former shaft "Alwine" to commemorate the cessation of strontianite mining in Vorhelm 125 years ago. The mine operated for just eleven years from June 1880 to October 1891 and reached a remarkable maximum depth of 112 meters for that time. The shaft "Alwine" was thus the deepest strontianite mine in the Münsterland.

There were other shafts named Arthur, Frigge, Graf Droste, Arup, Bianca, Pieke, Schlüter, and Lühring during this period in Vorhelm.
Together, all shafts extracted approximately 8100 tons of strontianite during this timeframe, a rare ore that the sugar industry urgently needed for maximum yield in the extraction from sugar beets.

The share of the Alwine mine alone was 2400 tons, making it the most productive in the area. As early as 1881, production reached up to 100 tons per week. In three shifts over 24 hours, a workforce of 150 men managed this.

By 1887, only 40 miners were still working here, as more economical coelestine was found in the open pit as a replacement in 1884.

Due to gas explosions, rock falls, and other accidents, 6 workers lost their lives in the Vorhelm mines.

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