Pinge

A Pinge ([ˈpɪŋə],[a] plural: Pingen) or Binge ("binger") is the name given in German-speaking Europe to a wedge-, ditch- or funnel-shaped depression in the terrain caused by mining activity.

[1] This depression or sink-hole is frequently caused by the collapse of old underground mine workings that are close to the Earth's surface.

In the original sense of the word, the mining terms Pinge or Binge go back to the activity known as pingen which meant something like "prospecting".

In other cases it follows the extraction of mineral deposits at a shallow depth and the associated collapse of the overburden that can result in subsidence at the surface.

The Pinge, which is caused as a result of the subsidence of the surface of the terrain, is usually surrounded by a ring-shaped mound (German: Halde).

Excavations of seam-like deposits were carried out by digging out bowl-shaped depressions, the so-called Pütts, that miners hewed out along the course of the seam with picks and shovels.

To make matters worse, the ingress of water and the consequent softening of the soil reduced the stability of the side walls.

[7] Where Pingen have resulted from surface mining, small ring-shaped tips were often made by dumping the waste rock.

[15] If these wells were then abandoned, the wooden lining rotted over the years, fell away and then the pit collapsed, leading to the formation of a Schachtpinge.

In this type of mining, the overburden in the area of the shaft usually collapsed very quickly, because ore was dug out just a few metres below the surface and, in most cases, not in solid rock.

[17] A Stollenpinge is caused by the collapse of parts of a mining gallery (Stollen) that is usually located at levels close to the surface or in weathered rock.