Hans Schneiderhöhn, German geologist, studied geology and mineralogy
at the universities in Freiburg im Breisgau, München, and especially in Giessen
under the petrologist F.W. Erich Kaiser*, graduating as Doctor of Philosophy
(Dr Phil) at the Justus Liebig University, Giessen in 1909. After a short
period as assistant to professor Kaiser he became an assistant at the University
of Berlin. Just before the outbreak of World War 1 (1914-1918) he was appointed as mineralogist for the Tsumeb mine in German South West Africa (now Namibia). As
a result of the war he had to remain in the territory and continued his study of
the geology and ore deposits of the mine and the Otavi Mountains in general for
the Otavi Minen- und
Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft. He made careful studies of the primary mineral
content of the Tsumeb deposit and its relation to secondary mineral enrichment.
In the process he discovered the mineral now known as germanite, a copper-germanium-iron-sulphide.
He made important observations of the unusual oxidation minerals of Tsumeb and
the petrology of the Otavi highlands. With Ernst Reuning* he also explored ore
deposits in other parts of the territory.
Schneiderhöhn's work in Namibia was published in Germany
in, among others, Die Erzlagerstaetten
des Otaviberglandes, Deutsch-Suedwestafrika (The ore deposits of the Otavi
Highlands, German South West Africa; Halle, 1921, 48 pp.) and papers on the sulphide
ores of Tsumeb mine (1919, 1920), the occurrence of asphalt in the Fish River
Sandstone in the south of the territory (1919), the geology and ore deposits of
the Otavi Highlands (1920, 1921, 1929, 1958), geological research and travels
in South West Africa during 1914-1919 (1920), and a brief note on the large
meteorite at Hoba-West in the Otavi Mountains (1931). His publications on the
geology of South Africa included Minaralische
Bodenschaetze im suedlichen Afrika (Mineral wealth in southern Africa;
Berlin, 1931), two papers on his microscopic studies of the platinum containing
minerals of the Bushveld Igneous Complex (1929), and a paper on the mineral
composition of the manganese ores at Postmansburg in Griqualand West (1931).
After the conclusion of World War 1 Schneiderhöhn returned
to Germany and was inaugurated as a lecturer at the University of Frankfurt. In
1920 he was appointed as professor of geology at the Justus Liebig University
and four years later moved to the Technische
Hochschule (Technical University) in Aachen. In 1926 he became professor
and director of the Geological Institute of the Albert Ludwig University in
Freiburg im Breisgau, positions he held until his retirement in 1955. After his
retirement he settled in Soelden, in the Black Forest, where he continued his
research. During his career he studied numerous ore deposits in Europe, Africa
(including the copper ore deposits in Zambia), North America, and Turkey.
Schneiderhoehn' work dealt mainly with the origins of ore
deposits, and with the development of methods for studying ores using a
polarising microscope. His publications included some well-known textbooks and
other major works, such as Lehrbuch der
Erzmikroskopie (with P. Ramdohr, 1931-1934), Lehrbuch der erzlagerstaettenkunde (1941), Einfuehrung in die Kristallographie (1949), and Die Erzlagerstaetten der Erde (2 vols,
1958-1961).
