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Green is the dominant colour of Upper Styria, nestled between towering, partly rocky peaks. This is no different in Eisenerz, where forests dominate the landscape, except for a huge pyramid of rust-brown rock that catches the eye behind the church: the Erzberg. For centuries, the Erzberg was the bread and butter of the local population, with iron ore mining requiring thousands of workers. Although the heyday of the iron and steel industry in Styria is now over, depending on other conditions in Europe, the ore reserves would still be sufficient for this open-cast mine to operate for several decades.
Standing at the foot of the Styrian Erzberg today, the 30 steps, 24 metres high, are as impressive as ever. The same goes for the participants in the annual Erzbergrodeo, where 1,500 daredevils attempt to conquer the mountain's terraces on their trial motorcycles. If you could look over the summit from Eisenerz to the other side of the Erzberg, you would see another facet of its development history: the Zentrum am Berg (ZaB).
The ZaB research centre was launched in 2015 as a practical training facility for students at the Montanuniversität Leoben. At the heart of the facility is a branched tunnel and gallery system in which research and development are carried out under real conditions. A special feature is the 400-metre-long, twin-tube road and rail tunnels, which were constructed in accordance with applicable standards.
Robert Galler, professor at the Montanuniversität Leoben, is considered the initiator of the ZaB. After completing his dissertation on mechanical tunnelling and gaining his first work experience in tunnel construction at Semmering, Robert Galler quickly acquired a broad base of knowledge and experience at numerous tunnel construction sites in Austria and abroad. He remembers one or two mentors in particular from whom he learned the practical skills of tunnel construction. With the project management for the Brenner Base Tunnel, Galler took on a major task, which included coordinating several companies within the framework of the approval planning. Work on the plans continued from 2004 to 2007 until the tunnel was finally ready for construction. When asked if he would like to take up a professorship in Leoben, he couldn't resist.
His first major initiative at the Chair of Subsurface Engineering was a tunnel laboratory. Theoretical knowledge is all well and good, but what use is it if graduates don't know how to put it into practice? The idea quickly gained traction, including with former finance minister and industrialist Hannes Androsch, who, along with many other influential proponents, has always supported the project as a mentor in its development and implementation.
‘My goal was to give students a kind of building yard where they could gain hands-on experience in tunnel construction. From operating tunnel and shaft construction machinery to attaching explosive charges and drilling anchors,’ says Robert Galler, ‘every process in tunnel construction can be practised with the students. For example, surveying. That's worth its weight in gold.’
However, Robert Galler feels that the training centre for students is not enough. Tunnel construction, an Austrian export hit, needs skilled workers who can carry out the practical work in the tunnel. The idea of the apprenticeship was born and has now been offered for several years with the help of the construction industry. The practical courses at the vocational school are completed nationwide at the ZaB.
The ZaB primarily serves as a research centre and practical teaching facility. Another aspect is safety. From the very beginning of the ZaB, students have completed safety exercises, such as using a self-rescue device to reach the escape container within a certain time in thick smoke. But Robert Galler is taking the idea further and establishing the ZaB as a training centre for tunnel engineering. Emergency services in particular benefit from the practical training conditions. Vehicle mock-ups, dummies and other objects can be used for training purposes to practise extinguishing fires and rescuing accident victims. What makes this special is that the rail and road tunnels are exactly the same as those found throughout Austria. Today, the ÖBFV (Austrian Federal Fire Brigade Association) alone offers 30 training sessions per year. In addition, there are joint exercises involving the police, rescue services and fire brigade for scenarios such as a mass pile-up in a tunnel. Locating people in a tunnel is a challenge that should not be underestimated.
However, practising rescue operations is only one aspect of safety. The other is: ‘What happens to the tunnel infrastructure if there is an accident, e.g. a fire in the tunnel?’ Materials research is very important at ZaB, because technology plays an enormously important role in tunnel construction when it comes to realising projects.
The MRE – Mineral Resources Engineering department, where tunnel construction is based, also covers mining and the processing of mineral raw materials. Here, too, the range of topics is similar to that in tunnel construction: from hands-on training and safety to research projects. One current research project is the use of remote-controlled or autonomous vehicles to support various underground processes. This can involve exploring tunnel conditions or collecting atmospheric data, but also setting up mobile communication networks. In the future, mining will be operated semi-autonomously by an ever-growing fleet of autonomous vehicles and robots, and a constant, high-performance data connection will be essential.
However, occupational safety involves not only accident prevention, but also awareness and avoidance of hazards. One such hazard is quartz dust, which occurs during tunnel construction and is monitored by health authorities due to its fatal consequences. Measuring particle density in the laboratory is a good approach, but from today's perspective it is no longer sufficient in practice, as this process takes several days. Real-time data from the tunnel using sensors would be the answer, but water mist systems that can bind respirable dust would also be conceivable. This is another subject of research at ZaB.
Future safety scenarios also include cybersecurity, says Robert Galler. Tunnels and tunnel systems are no longer monitored and controlled locally, but mostly from central operations control centres. And that offers gateways to attack or penetrate the IT infrastructure and subsequently, for example, turn off the lights or ventilation.
The Zentrum am Berg (ZaB) is a world-leading underground research and training facility operated by Montanuniversität Leoben in Austria. It consists of a large-scale tunnel system designed to replicate real mining and tunneling environments. Researchers, industry partners, and emergency services use the site to test technologies, conduct experiments, and simulate critical scenarios under controlled but realistic underground conditions.
At ZaB, projects focus on safety, infrastructure, and innovation in underground construction and mining. This includes testing of tunneling machinery, rock mechanics, ventilation systems, and digital monitoring tools. Fire and evacuation drills, rescue training, and emergency response simulations are also carried out regularly, making the facility an important hub for applied safety research and hands-on education. For a similar institute, look for the Hagerbach Test Gallery.
ZaB provides a unique environment where theory meets practice, allowing for the safe testing of new technologies, materials, and methods before they are applied in large-scale projects. By offering realistic training and experimentation, the facility enhances industry standards in safety, efficiency, and innovation. It also fosters collaboration between academia, industry, and government agencies, strengthening Europe’s role in advancing underground engineering.
Zentrum am Berg (ZaB)
📍Eisenerz, Styria
Key theme: Hands-on learning and research under real conditions
The legend of the Erzberg tells of a water sprite who wreaked havoc in the waters around the settlement in the valley. When the men of the village set a trap for the water sprite and took him by surprise, he offered them several kilos of gold, hundreds of kilos of silver, or iron ore for eternity in exchange for his release. The men chose iron, as it would secure the future of their children and their children's children. After several centuries of mining, the deposits have proven to be finite, but perhaps research at the ZaB can shape a new future beyond iron ore. Robert Galler is convinced that the possibilities are endless.
Delve deeper into one of our core topics: Mining safety
Subsurface engineering is the multidisciplinary field concerned with the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of underground structures and processes. It encompasses tunnelling, mining, and underground space utilisation, integrating geology, geotechnics, rock mechanics, and safety engineering. The discipline addresses both infrastructure—such as transportation tunnels and storage caverns—and resource extraction, focusing on stability, efficiency, and sustainability. Modern subsurface engineering increasingly involves digital technologies, automation, and risk management to optimise underground projects. (2)
References:
(2) Hudson, J. A., & Feng, X.-T. (2015). Rock Engineering Risk. CRC Press. https://doi.org/10.1201/b18847