Metaleurop North is a company now liquidated which exploited a foundry located on the communes of Noyelles-Godault and of Courcelles-lès-Lens (Pas-de-Calais). The factory, built in 1893 by a French mining company, the Public limit company of the Mines of Malfidano, was shaven between 2003 and 2006 after liquidation.

At the origins

SA of the mines of Malfidano is created with Paris in 1867. Before Noyelles-Godault, it did not have a metallurgical site of production of zinc. The factory will treat the calamine calcined (zinc carbonate) of the large mine éponyme of Malfidano close to Iglesias (Sardinia) by the thermal process of the horizontal crucibles, only process of use then, and very consuming coal. The site bought with the Company of the Mines of Dourges was then served perfectly by the rail, the road and the channel of the High-Deûle , from where the ores of Malfidano arrived, via the Sardinian port of Caloforte.

Not only the production of this new metal required considerable quantities of coal, but the French market and especially Parisian of the Zinc for the cover was in full expansion and was insufficiently supplied by the French factories, whose factory close to Auby created in 1868 by the royal Company asturienne of the Mines, and machines it Viviez, of the Company of the Mines of the Old Mountain built in 1858 by Ernest Garnier.

The production of Plomb to the factory of Noyelles-Godault starting from Minerai remained anecdotic until in 1936, date of the construction of a modern lead factory on the site.

First World War

During the Great War, the factory located at about fifteen kilometers of the face was used by the German occupant like platform of distribution of ammunition and even probably like manufacturing plant of ammunition.

During the Battle of the peak of Vimy, the factory underwent heavy destruction of allied artillery and was the theater of several air battles where was illustrated Manfred von Richthofen says the red Baron which with its squadron based with Douai - Brayelles, cut down several English planes close to the factory and assiduously attended the “Castle”, residence of the plant manager of Malfidano where the command of the first Bavarian army corps had settled. The factory, already destroyed mainly, was plundered and shaven by the German army in fold.

The rebuilding and the Inter-war period

In 1920, the anonymous Company of the Malfidano mines resells the ruins of the factory and the rights to war the damagees to another French company, the mining and metallurgical Company of Penarroya, created in 1881 by the company Rothschild brothers and the polytechnician Charles Ernest Ledoux.

Of 1922 with 1935, the factory zinc was rebuilt with the identical one; according to the same thermal process. A workshop of pressing and Rolling of lead and of rolling of zinc was built and started on the first cleared marshy grounds which were under the mining threat of effrondrements and of the not exploded Munitions.

A large tower with lead intended to produce Shot of lead for the cartridges of hunting, was imported the United States with a typical metal structure of the Gratte-ciel S. After its erection, it will become the symbol and the highest point of the factory until 1936, date of the construction of the first large lead factory of the site and its large chimney of 100 meters.

In 1935-1936, the modern factory of production of lead is built on an original process, developped at the point on the site, but the Guerre of Spain bursts in Andalusia and the railway line connecting the factory of Penarroya-Pueblonuevo (the Andalusian factory) and the mines, is cut by the face of the republican and nationalist troops.

The mining and metallurgical Company of Penarroya is at the edge of the bankruptcy, the very new factory lead of Noyelles-Godault does not have more raw materials for its starting. The Penarroya company will have to launch out in the purchase of lead ore and to develop mining research in full international crisis.

Under the Thirty Glorious ones

The factory again underwent damage during the Second world war, just as the infrastructures of the field.

In 1961 - 1962, a new factory zinc is built on the territory of Courcelles-lès-Lens with a process modern and innovating: the thermal process Imperial Smelting Process (ISB). The furnaces of the old process are stopped gradually.

In 1970, all the gas filters of process are replaced or modernized. Of 1975 with 1993, the factory reprocesses the zinc concentrate of the mine of Saint-Salvy containing Germanium and zinc concentrates imported and rich in Indium. The production of pure germanium and indium of high purity is studied, developed and finally carried out. The factory of Noyelles-Godault becomes thus the first factory in the world of production of germanium (20 tons per annum) and of indium (60 tons per annum).

Died announced

As of 1980 the mining and metallurgical Company of Penarroya and the near total of the mining and metallurgical groups European are in great difficulty. With the édiction of environmental standards, they must build or rebuild their anti-pollution equipment and filters, whereas the price of metals drops, that the dollar is in fall, and vis-a-vis a competition of the Pays of the East or in the process of development.

Europeans try to link themselves to propose a flat price of the zinc of the European producers. It was a question of fighting against the Dérégulation and the intrigues of newcomers: the traders like the company Marc Rich + Co. AG, created in 1975 and become in 1993 Glencore International AG.

International Glencore AG. has its head office with Baar in the Canton of Zoug, known to be at the same time a Tax shelter and to ensure the Bank secrecy and to shelter mysterious companies and Russian Oligarque S. The actions of Metaleurop actually were held by one of the subsidiary companies of Glencore located with the Bermuda, another tax shelter.

The European companies will be condemned by the European Community for “Illicit agreement” and will then try to form only one European group of non-ferrous metals. In 1988, only, the Penarroya company and the activities of non-ferrous of Preussag could be gathered in a new European group: Metaleurop.

• 1990 : Creation of a reprocessing plant of all waste water of the factory.

• 1993 : The factory of production of lead is equipped with a innovating unit of desulphurization of gases of process.
• 1993-1994: A column of purification (distillation) of zinc metal explodes. This serious accident will be followed by a second on the same rebuilt column. The two accidents will cause 11 dead, the total closure of the workshop of refining and partial of the zinc factory and the withdrawal of the Preussag principal shareholder replaced by a trader known Marc Rich + Co. AG. Metaleurop filialise all its activities and buys a “company empty shell” which will become Metaleurop-North. The head office transfers thus on the accounts from his/her daughter, Métaleurop-North, the losses related to the accidents.
• 1996 : The workshop of refining of zinc is rebuilt completely and the trader Glencore becomes at the same time principal shareholder (but not person in charge), the single commercial one (by Metaleurop Commercial S.A.S.) and becomes the competitor of Metaleurop SA by its very recent European acquisitions.

Closing

With its closing, Northern Metaleurop refined zinc and other metals (of which Plomb, Cuivre, Antimoine, Indium, Germanium, Or, Argent, Cadmium, etc). The factory was in the Années 1990 the first employer of the basin of local employment, in the Field of the Nord-Pas-de-Calais.

Little before its setting in bankruptcy following its abandonment by the company-mother Metaleurop, Metaleurop-North ensured starting from ores, two thirds of the French production of lead (150  000 T), a third of that of zinc (100  000 T), the totality of the French production of germanium (20 tons) and indium (50 to 70 tons).

The production of lead recycled comes in near total from the reprocessing from the worn lead-acid batteries and is ensured by the factories of the company Metaleurop SA (renamed Recylex) of Villefranche-sur-Saône and Escaudœuvres, but also by the factories of GDE of Trafigura.

Mediatization

On the business Metaleurop-North, the documentary ones are numerous:

• the elephant, the ant and the state, today Metaleurop, tomorrow…? of Jean-Michel Meurice on Arte
• Metaleurop, the other war… of John-Paul Lepers on Canal+
• Metaleurop: Germinal 2003 of Jean-Michel Vennamini on France 3
• the conflict Metaleurop of Stephan Czubek and Gilles Lallement on France 3
• Metaleurop: uncovered… and always unpunished naufrageurs of ATTAC - Romance

The wild closing of the factory Metaleurop-North is the subject of many historical, sociological, legal studies and of many publications of which the book of Frederic H. Fajardie Metaleurop Paroles working with the editions of Thousand and One Nights.

The rejections of the factory were followed by DRIRE and the DIREN which controls the Police of water in the area, like by ADEME. According to the regional observatory of health (GOLDS) in October 2002 , 13% of the children detected in the communes with the accesses of the factory had a raised rate of impregnation, and with Évin-Malmaison, located under the dominant winds, this rate reaches 27%. “Since 1995, there is no significant evolution in the percentages of tracking” noted the report/ratio.

In January 2003, Metaleurop SA brutally closed its subsidiary company Metaleurop North, by laying off its 830 paid without notice, neither Social plan, nor dealt with of the Dépollution of the site. A strike movement, complaints in justice and assistances of the communities followed, the Glencore group, denying any responsibility.

The chain of the responsibilities seems to be dissipated with Zoug where the main line operator domiciled of [[Metaleurop]. Glencore is a Swiss conglomerate specialized in the production and the broking of metals, known financial operators for his discretion and the opacity of its operations, in particular in Africa, in the Golfe of Guinea.

Legal continuations

After a complaint for “Endangered of the life of others” and for “Non-assistance at anybody in danger” on behalf of the Defense committee liévinois, because of many cases of Lead poisoning around the factory, at children in particular, and following this unexpected liquidation, a Legal information for “Abuse of corporate asset” and “concealment of social abuses good” was open on February 13rd, 2006.

The Preliminary investigation launched as of on January 24th, 2005 by the Parquet of Paris was astonished by the sale (without any invitation to tender) by Glencore of its factory of electrolysis of Zinc of Nordenham, in the north of the Germany. Assembling transaction carried out with the group Xstrata (a Swiss mining company also based with Zoug): 100 million USD, for the benefit of its majority shareholder… Glencore, which has it to a total value of 40%!

See too

• Lead
• Lead poisoning

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