Draft:Rolf Thienhaus

Thienhaus was born in Cologne on 26 October 1913. After completing his Abitur in Cologne, he began studying geology at the University of Cologne in 1932 before transferring to the University of Göttingen. He received his doctorate in 1938 under the supervision of geologist Wilhelm Schriel. His doctoral dissertation examined the western part of the Attendorf Syncline near Gummersbach, continuing geological mapping previously begun by Schriel. The resulting monograph, published in 1940, became a standard reference for the geology of the Bergisches Land.^[1]

Until 1945, Thienhaus served as an assistant at the Geological Institute of the University of Göttingen. During the Second World War, he also worked as a military geologist for the German armed forces, undertaking geological investigations in the occupied Channel Islands. His work included geological mapping, groundwater investigations, quarry assessment, and advising military engineers on construction materials and underground works for the Atlantic Wall fortification programme.^[2]

Following the war, Thienhaus worked as an independent consulting geologist before becoming a mining geologist with the Siegerland mining administration of the Rohstoffbetriebe der Vereinigten Stahlwerke. His research during this period focused on the tectonics, genesis, and mineralization of the siderite iron ore deposits of the Siegerland.^[1]

Following the reorganization of the Siegerland mining industry, Thienhaus joined the newly established Barbara Erzbergbau AG and Gewerkschaft Exploration in Düsseldorf in 1953 as chief geologist. He directed mineral exploration projects in numerous countries, particularly in Africa, investigating iron ore resources in Liberia, Mauritania, Morocco, and elsewhere. His work increasingly concentrated on the global distribution, origin, and economic significance of iron ore deposits.^[1]

In 1953, while conducting mineral exploration in Northern Quebec, Thienhaus was among seven occupants of the Noorduyn Norseman aircraft that made an emergency landing in the Canadian wilderness. The group survived for 39 days before being rescued. During the ordeal, Thienhaus applied his geological field skills in attempts to identify their location and helped sustain the party through mapping, hunting, and identifying edible mushrooms.^[3][4][5][6]

In 1964, Thienhaus was appointed to the newly established Chair of Geology of Non-European Countries at the Clausthal University of Technology (then the Bergakademie Clausthal). As professor, he emphasized the importance of geology for the economic development of newly independent countries and promoted research in hydrogeology, mineral resources, and applied geology. He sought to broaden geological education by integrating scientific, economic, and developmental perspectives.^[1]

Thienhaus published extensively on the geology of iron ore deposits, including studies of the Siegerland siderite deposits, Jurassic iron ores of northern Germany, and Precambrian itabirite deposits in Africa and India. He also wrote on mining geology, ore genesis, paleogeography, and mineral exploration, contributing significantly to post-war German economic geology.^[1]

His wartime geological investigations formed part of the wider German military geology programme. Later research has identified him as one of the professional geologists employed by the German armed forces to support military engineering and groundwater investigations in the occupied Channel Islands during World War II.^[2]

Thienhaus died on 1 July 1968 in Clausthal-Zellerfeld at the age of 54 while serving as professor at the Clausthal Mining Academy. Obituaries emphasized his ability to combine classical geological research with practical mining geology and international resource exploration, describing his death as a significant loss to German geology.^[1]

• Die Faziesverhältnisse im Südwestteil der Attendorfer Mulde (1940)
• Prä- und synsideritische Tektonik auf Grube Pfannenberger Einigkeit im Siegerland (1953)
• Das Problem der Entstehung und Altersstellung der Siegerländer Spateisengänge (1953)
• Aufgaben und Aussichten montangeologischer Untersuchungen im Siegerländer Spateisensteinbergbau (1956)
• Das Eisenerzvorkommen von Fort Gouraud in Mauretanien (1959)
• Übersicht über die norddeutschen Doggererzlagerstätten (1961)
• Itabiritische Eisenerzlagerstätten der Erde (1964)
• Die Untersuchung der Itabiritlagerstätte Bong Range in Liberia (1965)
• Die geologischen Grundlagen der neuzeitlichen Eisenerzversorgung (1967)