The close relationship between Weisskirchen and the company is epitomized by the 130 households that receive community heating piped directly from the process plant – which also delivers additional revenue for the plant. The heat is generated as a surplus through environmental and energy reduction projects in fluidized mills and re-engineering a superheater, says Doerfler.

When in the late 1990s it became clear that the existing mine had perhaps only seven or eight years of useful production left, an intense exploration programme was initiated. The search was given added urgency by local staff’s desire to maintain production and employment in the region, says Doerfler.

The campaign in 2001 and 2003 led to the discovery of a new deposit on the opposite side of the valley. Several outcrops had already alerted geologists to the presence on reserves but no detailed exploration work had been done.

The drill samples showed that the new orebody matched the quality found in the existing mine and that there were no quality related risks for finished products blended with material from the new deposit.

The chemical make up of the ore varies within the seam with lighter bands being mica rich and darker bands having greater concentrations of chlorite. Blending averages the material’s brightness to between 75-80 per cent.

Near the mine is a stockpile of 18,000 tonnes of unprocessed leucophyllite, equivalent to around a year’s production, earmarked for the period between the closure the existing operations and opening the new mine.