Excursions during 11th MECC in Pilsen

  • September 18, 2024 - Wednesday afternoon 14:00 - 18:00

Guided trip through Pilsen city and Pilsen brewery visit.

Post conference field trips:

  • September 20, 2024 - Friday:

1. Excursion to Nevřeň (deep kaolin mine, www CZ only) was canceled.


Price: 50 EUR (1250 CZK). Limited amount of participants, max 30.

Starting point - Parkhotel, Pilsen at 9:00, return to Parkhotel, Pilsen at 12:30.
The price include coach transportation, admissions, printed guide, lunch including one beverage (beer or softdrink).
Suitable footwear is necessary.

2. Excursion to Dnešice (bentonite), Chlumčany (kaolin and its processing), Horni Briza (The quarry Upper Birch is uncovered positions multicolored conglomerates, sandstone, siltstone and claystone upper carboniferous age in the total thickness of up to 70 m.)

Price: 90 EUR (2250 CZK)
  • The minimum attendance for this field trip is about 20 persons.

  • The organizing committee reserves the right to cancel trips with lower than minimum attendance.

Starting point - Parkhotel, Pilsen at 8:00, return to Parkhotel, Pilsen at 16:00.
The price include coach transportation, admissions, printed guide, lunch including one beverage (beer or softdrink).
Suitable footwear is necessary.

Detail description of excursion locations:

Nevřeň

 Kaolin deposit, or arkose to kaolin arkose in Nevřen is part of the Limnic Permocarbon regional unit. It lies in the northern part of Carboniferous Pilsen Basin. The rock base in Nevřeny is made up of predominantly arkose and arkose-like sandstones of the Carboniferous stage of the Kasimov (formerly Stefan A, B) belonging to the Tynek Formation. A significant part of the arkose on the left bank of the Třemošná contains parts rich in kaolin, on average 12%, which was sufficient for its cost-effective separation without any problems. The covering formations consist mainly of tertiary, or Neogene sands and gravels as well as Quaternary slope clays and Třemošná alluvium. At first, mining was apparently carried out on the surface, when it was dug in exposed areas. In 1870, deep mining of arkose began. It was excavated in 1936 26 shafts with a maximum depth of 26 m were excavated here. In addition to kaolin, sand was also mined. Mining switched to underground mining, which is rare in the case of kaolin in our country. In addition to Nevřeně, it is known in two cases from Sokolov area (e.g. Excelsior mine) or from Hosín in české Budějovice (Koh-I-Noor mine).

Dnešice

 A deposit of bentonite clays. The thickness of the raw material is 4.5-29.6 m, on average it is 12 m. The thickness of the Quaternary cover varies from 0.1 m to 9.6 m. At the base of the basin, on the western and northeastern edges, sands predominate, which in places also form upper parts of the bearing. The bentonite clays forming the body of the deposit are mostly kaolinite-montmorillonite and come from weathered clay slates, spilites and tuffs. Microscopically, kaolinized feldspars, muscovite, biotite, chlorite, siderite and clay rock fragments were found in these clays. Currently, the deposit is not mined due to lawsuits by nearby municipalities.

Chlumčany

 The Chlumčany deposit of kaolin is located in the southern tip of the Carboniferous Pilsen basin. Its width reaches 600 meters and its length is less than two kilometers. Extractable kaolin is only 4-5 meters below the surface. The immediate cover of the deposit consists of clays, weathered coal sandstone or diluvial clays and gravels. The deposit itself is composed of many types of rocks. It contains white, light gray to yellow-gray kaolinic arkose and sandstone. In places there are large, only partially kaolinized layers of feldspars. Chlumčany kaolin differs from other types of kaolin in the Pilsen Basin in that it contains a larger amount of non-kaolinized feldspar and is poorer in iron content.

Horní Bříza

 The parent rock is represented by arkoses and arkose sandstones of Carboniferous age. The bedrock is formed by Barrandienian Proterozoic rocks metamorphosed in the green schist facies (phyllites, dros and spilites). Relics of Central Bohemian Neogene sediments are preserved in the overburden of kaolinized sandstones and arkoses. The high-quality locations of kaolin reach a thickness of 5 – 20 m, the investigated thickness is up to 50 m. The thickness of the raw material is irregular 5 – 40 m. The deposit locations are made up of variously grained kaolinized arkoses and arkose sandstones. The main component is quartz (50-70%), kaolinite (20-30%), minor components are feldspar. 70% of the accessories are Ti-ilmenite, rutile, leucoxene and anatase minerals. Arkose kaolins are relatively rare in the world. Of the 60 countries with kaolin deposits, only 15 of them have known occurrences of the mentioned type.