Field of the Nord-Pas-de-Calais

Levelling at the Franco-Belgian border, the layer is inserted gradually towards the west. It is the prolongation of the industrial Sillon which was and remains, of Mons to Liege and Verviers, the industrial park of the Wallonia

Its exploitation in the Département of North began with Anzin at the 18th century. But research in Artois had remained vain, because of a change of orientation of the veins. It is thus by chance, by digging a Artesian well that one will find the trace of it towards Oignies in 1841.

This discovery will be the starting point of a vast campaign of prospection which will lead to the creation of many mining companies.

The exploitation of the layer will decline as from 1960 and will be definitively stopped in 1990.

The discovery of the basin of North

The historians do not agree all on the exact date to which the coal was discovered and started to be exploited in the areas of Liege and Mons: towards the end of the 12th century and at the beginning of the 13th century, whereas it is only at the beginning of the 18th century that one found coal in the area of Valencians. Thus 500 years ago between these two periods. There is with that, at the same time geological reasons and historical reasons. The geological reasons are rather simple: the layer is increasingly deep towards the West, and, contrary to what occurs to France, to Belgium, the veins levelled on the surface where, when they did not level, were with a relatively low depth, which largely facilitated as well the discovery as the exploitation of the mine.

There are also historical reasons: this area (Flandres and Hainaut) was, during all Middle Ages and until the 17th century, the object of many wars and covetousnesses on behalf at the same time of the kingdom of France that on behalf of its powerful neighbors, the house of Austria and the house of Spain.

It is in 1668, with the treated of Aachen, that the borders were definitively stabilized. The town of Valencian, however, was not attached to France that with the Traité of Nimègue, in 1678. Valencians was a very prosperous town of merchants. Its expansion continued very a long time when at the 16th century a certain number of Belgian cities started to decline because of the very significant development of the Netherlands. As from this moment, Valencians knew a very important traffic with the port of Antwerp thanks to navigation on the the Scheldt which was possible as of this time.

In 1669, Valencians counted 30.000 inhabitants, which was a considerable population for the time. With fastening in France, this population decreased since it was not any more but of 17.000 inhabitants. On the other hand, all the villages which surrounded Valencian, which one called prévôté of Valencians, remained poor and miserable. Anzin had, in 1669,221 inhabitants, 45 houses, 2 plow and 1 mill. Valencian was thus surrounded by a true desert. Its population périclite after 1670 to go back only to the 19th century, with the discovery of coal. The neighbouring villages saw their population increasing at an extremely fast speed. Thus prévôté of the Valencian ones had in 1700 only 8.450 inhabitants. This population has triplet during all the 18th century, to reach, in 1800, 25.000 inhabitants. A village as Anzin passed from 220 to 2.900 inhabitants, a village like Fresnes from 248 to 2.666.

Until the beginning of the 18th century, one had hardly been concerned with discover coal. Starting from the separation of Valencian of with the Belgium, one started to encourage research and it is in 1716 that was constituted a Partnership to seek coal in the area of Valencians. Research was extremely difficult, because the layer did not level surfaces some and it was thus necessary to dig a little randomly. Moreover, the Ground water was at a relatively weak distance from surface. One was, as the wells were deepened, to thus evacuate water. However, at the time one did not have sufficient pumps. Research was thus long and expensive.

It is Jacques Désandrouin which, with some other investors, founded the first partnership in 1716. They entrusted work to engineer, Jacques Mathieu (Belgian of Ransart), director of the Désandrouins establishments in Charleroi and reflect the building site on the way on July 1st, 1716 with the Fresnes-on-Scheldt.

They started by digging two pits which were quickly unusable, then four others which last being given up because of water. At the end of 1718, they decided to dig two pits a little larger.

One of the two large pits ends in 1720, after 18 months of baited work, up reaching a vein of four feet (about 1,20 m) with 35 measuring apparatuses of depth (about 70 m). As an indication, one of their mine in 1681 had already reached a depth of 181 measuring apparatuses with Heppignies in Belgium. So it is the year which was appointed as the date of discovered coal in this basin. It is told that Christmas the day before of 1720, a board which, appears it, should have been in oak whereas it was in beech, broke under the water drive. The building site was submerged and, in spite of the keen work of the minors and the team of Desandrouins, on July 15th, 1721 the associates were to decide to give up work, acceptor to fill the pits and to sell the material.

Fortunately, Désandrouins and Taffin were not discouraged. They reconstituted a new business a few months later, on September 1st, 1721. They built two new pits in the area of Fresnes and, in 1723, discovered a new vein of the type of that which they had discovered in 1720. The pit was exploited during a few years in a continuous way.

But this coal was not suited to all the uses. They wanted absolutely to discover coal which can be used with the factories, the workshops and the domestic uses. This is why work was continued by digging new pits, but while moving towards the East, the area of Valencians.

Work had cost so much expensive that Désandrouins and its collaborators were ready to give up, when Désandrouins obtained them it continuation of an ultimate research. This one took place very close to Valencians on left bank of what one called the Paving stone of Cop, where currently the Central Workshops of Anzin are. It is there that on June 24th, 1734 was discovered a coal which could be used for all the uses.

The first gaillette, the dires of Désandrouins, had cost 100.000 ecus, that is to say 300.000 books. It was the beginning of a great epopee. It is on this date that the Désandrouins Company, not having labor on the spot, started to make come from the minors of Charleroi. It built houses to them and in 1736 it began the exploitation. The first minors arrive on Fresnes in 1716 16 and then in December another group of 21 people very of Gilly and Lodelinsart except two of the village of Heppignies, which is the seigniory of Desandrouins since 1707.

The discovery of the basin of the Pas-de-Calais

It is only one century after the discovery of the coal in the area of Valencian which one started to discover and to extract from the coal in the Pas-de-Calais. One can be also astonished by the time by exploitation which occurred between the Northern and the Pas-de-Calais. The reason in is simple, one quite simply sought in the prolongation of the Belgian Field and the layer of North. While following this line, one went in the area of Arras and Doullens, whereas, starting from Douai, the layer inflects clearly towards North. Moreover, the surveys were in general too not very deep to find coal.

It is said that it is that completely by chance, at the time of a search for water, that in 1841 one again discovered coal in the area of Oignies. A few years later, one discovered some in the area of the Escarpelle and it was the departure of another conquest, that of the Pas-de-Calais. A certain number of mining Companies were created after 1850 which have name: Courrières, Dourges, Lens, Bully - Grenay, Nœux-the-Mines, Bruay-la-Buissière, Marles-the-Mines and Ostricourt. After 1875, one developed the exploitation towards the South: Liévin, Clarence and Drocourt.

Exploitation until the nationalization

Since 1880 besides, the Pas-de-Calais, which had left clearly after North, had caught up with it and even exceeded since this year there, the production of the Pas-de-Calais reached 4,5 million tons and that of North 3.300.000 tons. In 1880, the Basin thus produced on the whole 7.800.000 T.

The basin developed, as from this moment, in a continuous way and in 1913, the day before the first war, the production had reached a very important figure already, 27.400.000 tons with an output melts of 975 kg. At the time, that represented one the third of the French production.

Its development was not done, of course, without the minors and their leaders not realizing operational difficulties mining and dangers of this exploitation. It is difficult to recall the history of this basin without evoking the accidents which occurred in the mine and more particularly this mining catastrophe of March 10th, 1906 known as of Courrières where a dust explosion made nearly 1.100 victims on the territories of Billy-Montigny, Noyelles-under-Lens, Méricourt and Noyelles-under-Lens.

During the war of 1914-1918, the basin was cut into two. Face stabilized during very a long time according to line Arras - Béthune, so that part Western of Basin continued to work whereas the part Is, whose wells had been drowned by the owners before the arrival of the German troops, was stopped during all the war.

The basin of the Northern - Pas-de-Calais suffered from the First World War much. The part of the coal basin invaded by the Germans included/understood in the Département of North, the totality of the collieries and, in the Pas-de-Calais, the totality of the concessions of the Mines of Carvin, Courrières, Dourges, Drocourt, Lens, Liévin, Meurchin, Ostricourt more one seat of the Company of Béthune. In the occupied territories, 103 pits, including/understanding 212 wells were destroyed, moreover several nonoccupied seats had suffered from bombardments. All the rests were cut down except four. Almost all machines destroyed as well as the laundrettes and factories. 800 km of railroads were unusable; On 212 wells, 140 were undermined. In North, 5 wells had jumped. At December 31st, 1921, clearing was practically finished, 113 final rests were again upright including 56 repaired and 53 new. Unwatering conceals also advanced. At the end of 1921, unwatering was finished in Ostricourt whose lower stages had been drowned, it was very advanced in Dourges.

For the war, it was necessary several years so that the pits of the east of the basin can be concerned their ruins. One then exploited the west of the basin during nearly ten years without exploiting some is. It is the primary reason for which then, although the exploitation started with the east, the layers of the west become exhausted the first. It is thus initially in these areas of Auchel - Bruay - Béthune that the difficulties of stop of the exploitations and conversion of the personnel of the mines arose.

After the war of 1914 - 1918, there was obviously a very large effort of rebuilding to make and the capacity of the Basin was found as from 1925 when the production reached 28.500.000 tons. For that purpose, one had to call upon emigrated labor. In 1925, there were approximately 75.000 foreign minors, for the majority of the Poles, who were integrated perfectly into the population of this area.

It is in 1930, that the Basin, with the geological direction reached its absolute records with a production of 35.000.000 of tons. It found this level forever. At the time, the productiveness of workers of the bottom was of 964 kg. This production had to be reduced rather quickly since into 1930 it was the beginning of the crisis and in 1936 the production fell down around 28.500.000 of tons, with however an output which reached 1.250 kg. During all this time of the inter-war period, the Mining Companies realized of the need for grouping to try to carry out the modernization of their exploitations and to restructure them. They created a grouping of the collieries but it was insufficient. The day before the war, they had been until creating a Commercial Counter which had settled with Douai and which was the embryo of the commercial department of the Collieries of the basin of the Northern and of the Pas-de-Calais.

The day before the war, 18 Companies exploited the basin, of which 8 made practically 75% of tonnage: Anzin, Aniche, Béthune, Lens, Courrières, Bruay, Marles-the-Mines and Drocourt. Each one produced at the time more than 2.000.000 of tons.

The production of the basin of North and the Pas-de-Calais represented in 1938-1939, 60% of the French production and 40% of the coal consumed in France.

In 1939, the basin produces 32.000.000 of tons for an output of 1.222 kg. The basin of North and the Pas-de-Calais has the worst layer of all the basins of Western Europe. This explains its very poor yield compared to the other basins. It is likely on the other hand to be the only French basin having all the coal ranges. The basin of North and the Pas-de-Calais thus had extremely wide customers. All the sectors of consumption used coals of North. The customers were extremely dispersed since the mining companies of North sold until in the areas of Lyon, Toulouse and Marseilles.

The mining companies, as of this time, had created a certain number of additional factories of the production of coal: powerplants, coking plants. They produced already the 3/5 of French coke and had started to treat the coal by-products: the Benzole, the Ammonia, the Methanol, the fuels the shortly after the Release, coal was absolutely all in the consumption of energy of France. It represented at the time 86% of the consumption of energy whereas fuel accounted for 2%. The remainder was especially consisted hydraulic electricity.

Coal, it was initially transport. The railroads knew yet at the time only the steam engine. It is not that in the 1950 qu years ' one started to electrify the railroads. The gas consumed at the time was only of coal origin, product is in the coking plants like by-product of coke, knows in the gas works like by-product of coal.

Nationalization

The whole of the basin, including Bolted was nationalized to form the Collieries of the basin Nord-Pas-de-Calais (NORD/PAS-DE-CALAIS AREA). After the war and the nationalization of the basin in 1946, it was necessary to increase the production. As after the war 1914 - 1918, labor was imported but this time it was temporary. They were in particular German prisoners whose majority regained their countries later a few years. In 1946, the extraction had already gone back to 28.400.000 tons.

In 1952 that one reached the level record of the period of post-war period with 29.400.000 tons. During this period, the production increased about 1.200.000 tons per annum and manpower decreased by 7.000 workmen per annum including 4.500 at the bottom. The output made considerable progresses, which was not difficult because it had fallen very low during the war.

As from 1952, one found the level of prewar production forever. In 1930, the Basin had beaten its record with 35.000.000 of tons whereas one did not exceed since war 29.400.000 of tons. Why? There are two reasons: the first, it is that very many pits had to be closed after the war, either because they were exhausted, or because they had become very difficult to exploit, in particular in the area of Valencians. A certain number of pits had become extremely expensive. One would have needed considerable work to make them exploitable. Thus one was brought to stop the exploitations with Crespin, Thivencelles, Douchy and even in the area of Denain. The second reason, it is which between 1930 and 1945, there was reducing social laws the work period, therefore also capacity of the work tools.

As from 1952 until 1960, one enters during the time of stability of the Basin. The production remains constant between 28 and 29.000.000 of tons and the output increases to reach a little more than 1.500 kg at the end of the period. As the output increases, the production remaining constant, manpower decrease relatively slowly, but with a pace which is not negligible since they were reduced by 4.700 on the whole including 1.700 at the bottom.

On the other hand, if this period is one period of stability for the production, it is one period of very sharp degradation of the financial results of the Basin. During the period of 1945 to 1952, the basin held a situation of monopoly, but it forever which been able to benefit from it to accumulate what one calls today of the cash-flow or financial means which make it possible to guarantee the bad periods. The period 1952 - 1960 either did not give him the possibility of fighting with equal footings against the various competitors which it met, that it knows the natural gas or oil. It could not increase its prices for all this period whereas the wages continued to increase as well as the prices of the supplies. It is not industry which can resist similar situation especially when it is known that in the cost price of the exploitation of the production of coal, labor intervenes for 70%. It is thus not astonishing that about 1960, the financial results were degraded, the benefit falling with 0. One started to foresee as of the end of this period the spectrum of the deficit. The other consequence of this situation was the reduction in the outlets of coal.

Decline and end of the exploitation

As from 1960, because of aggravation of our financial results on the one hand and of the reduction in our outlets on the other hand, one enters during the time that one can call period of decline. This period can be divided into two parts: before and after 1967. Until 1966, the decrease of the production is only from 5 to 600.000 tons per annum, the reduction in manpower is weaker than for the previous period, the growth of the output is not brilliant. As from 1967, one enters on the contrary during one time of extremely fast decrease. It reaches 2.000.000 of tons per annum with a considerable reduction in manpower. Why this decrease? The degradation of the financial results brought the government, in 1960, to study a plan of regression of the coal production. This Jeanneney foreground laid down production targets which were not decreased so much compared to those of 1960.

Until 1966, the situation was relatively stable. It very seriously worsened as from 1967 because of the accentuated degradation of the conditions of operating of the layer as one deepened and of the reduction in the personnel taking into account the fact that as from 1960, the government asked to stop the recruiting. As of this date, the Basin was brought to call upon Moroccan labor. Indeed, as from the moment when it is admitted that the production will decrease and where, consequently, the workmen must reconvert themselves, if one wants nevertheless to maintain the extraction for a sufficiently long time so that the reconversion is made without difficulty, it were necessary to have a relatively young labor so that the population pyramid does not worsen a too serious way. In 1966, on a total staff complement from 65 to 70.000 workmen, the Moroccan workmen were from 11.000 to 12.000. As from 1967, in front of the reduction in the possibilities of the layer, Moroccan labor had to be reduced (3 636 Moroccan workmen at the end of 1980).

It is obvious that the evolution which occurred since 1960 (progressive reduction in the outlets and degradation of the financial results) did not fail to worry as well the minors as the population of the area. This concern was expressed on several occasions initially by the strike of 1963, by all the quiet demonstrations which occurred in a certain number of towns of this area, by the strike of 1968, although this strike had an origin more national than local, and by the strike of Auchel - Bruay at the beginning of 1971.

This evolution brought all the persons in charge, who they are the government, the trade unions or the leaders of the Collieries, to become aware of the need for envisaging and for organizing the end of the coal exploitation. When the layer deepens, the pressures of grounds become much more important and the work conditions are more difficult. It thus should not so much be astonished that the NORD/PAS-DE-CALAIS AREA give up a certain number of resources and that their leaders declared that under the current terms, it hardly appeared possible to exploit the Basin beyond the Eighties to 85.

Between the thesis of the maintenance at all costs of the exploitation in the Basin and that recommending the fastest possible stop, the leaders of the NORD/PAS-DE-CALAIS AREA adopted a reasonable position which consisted in trying to establish a program of production and manpower in the long run compatible at the same time with the possibilities of reclassification of the personnel of the Basin. This program resulted in ceasing the exploitation of the Basin around the years 1983.

Then, in the current of the year 1973, therefore before the “crisis of energy does not burst”, the leaders of the NORD/PAS-DE-CALAIS AREA stressed that it fast ageing of the personnel suited to the underground work and impossibility of reinforcing the output in such a difficult layer of exploitation were likely to accelerate the fall of production of the Basin. Also, as of the second six-month period 1973, of measurements were taken, on the one hand, to suspend the conversion of the personnel suited to the underground work, on the other hand, to engage, in the area, of the working personnel. Then the “crisis of energy intervened”,

The studies undertaken at the beginning of 1974 by Charbonnages de France and the Collieries of Basin at the request of the General delegation with energy had the aim of carrying out the revaluation of the exploitable reserves to the new economic conditions and to study the possible modifications in the plans of production. This revealed that the future of the Basin could not be deeply modified. Indeed, the quadrupling of the oil price was not enough to transform the " social" plan; of conversion of the Collieries into revival program.

It is with Oignies also that will be extracted the last gaillette from coal of the basin of the Nord-Pas-de-Calais the December 21st 1990.

Mining Companies

The field was portioned out in several companies:

See too

Mines in France
industrial Furrow

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