Mines in France

In France, it is the mining Code which defines what is a mine . The concept rests only on the nature of material, whether the extraction is done with open sky or in basement. Are concerned, the fuels (coal, Pétrole, Gaz), metals (Fer, Cuivre) and some other matters (salt, Soufre).

For the products which do not appear in the list, one speaks about career S, it acts in particular of the construction materials Sable, Argile, Gypse, Calcaire etc They belong to the legislation on ICPE (installations classified for environmental protection).

If, taking into consideration Civil code French, the property of the basement belongs to the owner of the ground, the management of the mining basement belongs, it, with the State which can concede the exploitation of it with a mining Compagnie.

History of the French mines

coal and lignite

The extraction of the pit coal (in opposition to the charcoal) is very old and goes back at least to the Moyen-âge but will experience a development at the end of the 18th century and especially the Industrial revolution in second half of the 19th century. Let us note that France, in spite of its wealths forever be self-sufficing of coal and that even with the height of the production in the Années 1960, it always imported foreign coal (coming from the the United Kingdom, Germany, Soviet Union, of Poland, etc)

The Collieries were nationalized by the Loi n°46-1072 of May 17th, 1946 which created the " Public corporation; Charbonnages de France " and its decrees on enforcement of a law which create the various Collieries of basin (Houillères Nord-Pas-de-Calais, Houillères of Lorraine, Houillères of Auvergne, Houillères of the Loire, Houillères of Blanzy, Houillères of Dauphine the, Houillères of Provence, Houillères of Aquitaine and Houillères of the Cevennes). But more than 200 small-scale farmings escaped the nationalization, whose principal ones were the exploitations of Faymoreau (the Vendée), Ronchamp (Haute-Saône), Lavaveix-the-Mines (Creuse), Manosque and Bois of Asson (Alp-of-High-Provence), the basin of Briançonnais (Hautes-Alpes), etc the last mine deprived in France (Cruéjouls in Aveyron) closed its doors in 1988.

The decree of April 16th, 1968 transfers the goods from different the collieries from the center and the south from France: Auvergne, the Loire, Provence, Dauphine, Blanzy, the Cevennes and Aquitaine at the collieries of the basin of the Center and the South (CENTER-MIDI AREA), the Collieries of Basin Nord-Pas-de-Calais (NORD/PAS-DE-CALAIS AREA) and Lorraine (LORRAINE AREA) however are maintained.

The basin 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 department of the Northern 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 basin of Lorraine

Collieries of the Loire

Collieries of Blanzy-Epinac it Machine

Collieries of the Cevennes: Gard and Herault

Gard

The coal basin of the the Cevennes to the shape of a triangle in the north of Ales of approximately 200 km ² around the solid mass gneissic of Rouvergue. It includes/understands three principal basins: in the West Grand' Combe (low volatile and anthracitous coals), in the east Bessèges (bituminous coals) and in the south Rochebelle (bituminous coals).

Coal is extracted at least since the medium from the 13th century as many mines attest it belonging to the lords or to the religious communities. The artisanal exploitation develops until XVIllème. It is at the 19th century that form the four principal mining companies took: the company of the mines of Grand' Combe created following an initiative taken in 1836 by the large French captain of industry Paulin Talabot to gather various exploitations, the carboniferous company of Bessèges which takes again the concessions of Madam de Suffren and the Co of the mines of Rochebelle created by the Soult marshal with the beginning of the year 1830 for the exploration of the field of François Pierre de Tubœuf. Finally the Co of the Mines of Doors and Sénéchas was developed in 1854 by the financier Jules Mirès. The decree of June 28th, 1946 and the laws of nationalization which instituting the Collieries of Basin of the Cevennes organize the transfer of the goods of the companies to the State: company of the Collieries of Béssèges, Firm of the mines of Cessous, Company of the mines of Large Combe, company of the Collieries of the Ale North, company of the collieries of Rochebelle as well as the collieries of Lalle (pertaining to Mr. Auguste Leydier) and collieries of Trélys and Palmasalade which belong to the company of the mines, foundries and forging mills of Ales. The decree of May 16th, 1947 will come to associate four concessions there belonging to the State: Olympie, Malataverne, the Pine forests (Gard) and Doulovy (Ardeche).

April 16th, 1968, the HBC are integrated in the Collieries of Basin of the Center-Midi and become “Unit of Exploitation (U.E.) of Gard”.

Herault

Collieries of Auvergne

After the nationalization of the coal basins in 1946, the “Collieries of the Basin of Auvergne” gathered various exploitations of Auvergne:

- Châtillon-Commentry-New Collieries of St Eloy of the company Houses (Puy-de-Dôme); - S.A. of the Mines of Bouble (Puy-de-Dôme); - S.A. of the Collieries of Messeix (Puy-de-Dôme); - Collieries of Brassac pertaining to Commentry-Fourchambault and Decazeville (Puy-de-Dôme); - S.A. of the Collieries of Haute-Loire (basin of Brassac); - S.A. of the mines of Champagnac (Cantal); as well as the two licenses of exploitation of Bert-Moncombroux (To combine): - company of the Collieries To combine it; - Coal mining of the Keep.

With this in 1960 acquisition, of the concession of Plamores in Combining it and creation will be added, by decree of December 26th, 1960, the perimeter of Aumance; these the last two titles will form the Unit of Exploitation (U.E.) of Aumance.

Eloy saint

The mines of the basin of St Eloy (Puy-de-Dôme) gather, in fact, three concessions, Vernade, the Rock and Bouble whose two first which formed the Collieries of Eloy Saint, will be integrated in the group Châtillon-Commentry-New Houses and the last which belonged to an independent company. The nationalization of coal mining will join together the basin of St Eloy in only one unit which will be exploited until 1978.

Messeix

The anthracite layer of Messeix (Puy-de-Dôme) form a layer in bottom of boat directed appreciably North-South and plunging slightly towards the South with a slope of approximately 12%. The basin is 4 km long and its greater width is of 750 Mr.

Coal is already exploited at the 18th century. The concession of Messeix was granted on November 23rd, 1831 on 1.118 ha. In 1878, the public limit company of the Collieries of Messeix is founded which will remain about it owner until the nationalization in 1946. The mine of Messeix is closed in July 1989.

Brassac

With horse on two departments, the layer of Brassac is in fact divided into two: the southern part of the layer is located in the department of the High Loire with the concessions of Grosmenil, Auzon, Frugère, Bouxhors, Fondary and the Mole and the Northern part located in the department of Puy de Dôme with the concessions of Combelle, Charbonnier, Armois and Entremonts.

Two principal fields thus will emerge: in the Haute-Loire, that of the Collieries of the Haute-Loire and, in Puy de Dôme, that of Commentry-Fourchambault-Decazeville which will also include the exploitation of Coalman. The basin of Brassac is definitively closed in 1978.

Champagnac

The coal mines of Champagnac are located at the limit of the Cantal and Corrèze, with 8 kilometers of Bort-the-Organ and 8 km of Aurillac.

The basin of Champagnac occupies the central part of the large Carboniferous Furrow which extends from Drowning, close to Mills (To combine), until Najac (Aveyron).

Already known with the Middle Ages, the first concessions in the basin of Champagnac go back to the end of the 18th century. It is the Public limit company of Mines of Champagnac which exploits the basin until 1946, date of its nationalization and its fastening at the collieries of the Basin of Auvergne. The mines of Champagnac close in 1959.

Bert-Moncombroux

The small permocarboniferous basin of Bert-Montcombroux (To combine) appears to be attached rather to the basin of Blanzy that with the other carboniferous formations Allier. One knows two beams of average power there: the beam of the Plate which levels and the beam of Mandins.

The two licenses of exploitation which had been allotted into 1942 are nationalized from the point of view of the construction of a powerplant which will never be born. Decayed and without future, the mine closes since 1951.

Aumance

As from 1958, Coal mining considers the construction of a powerplant of 300 MW and undertakes between May 1959 and April 1961 of work of exploration. After the acquisition of the concession by the Collieries of Auvergne, and the failure of the talks with EDF on the construction of the power station, work began again only in 1965 on a very widened field. The site is put in exploitation gradually of 1965 to 1970. The exploitation ceases in 1996.

Collieries of the Dauphine one

Collieries of Provence

Collieries of Aquitaine

Carmaux

Decazeville

Not nationalized coal mines

The Vendée: Coal basin of Faymoreau

Iron ore

Lorraine

Since mists of time the ore iron is extracted from the ground of Lorraine. Many archaeological traces attest it. (to be followed)

Normandy

Site on the iron mines of Soumont (Apple-brandy)

West Anjou Brittany

Site on the iron mines of Segréen (Maine-et-Loire)

The Pyrenees

other layers

France was an important non-ferrous metal producer (ZnS-sphalerite and PbS-crystal) as well as nonmetal raw materials (BaSO4-barytine, CaF2-fluorite) particularly abundant in layers with the interface between old base and transgressive sedimentary sequences. These zones of circulations of fluids trapped the solution mineral. In this category of layers, one can quote mines of the High valley of Maurienne, the mines of Fontsante in the Alps Maritimes, Montagne Black, the Cevennes, solid mass of Arize in, Ariège and of the Solid mass of Mouthoumet, in the Aude.

French mines in activity 2005

After closing of the Lorraine the iron mines of (1998), of coal (2004), of Uranium, Potash, Gold (Salsigne closed in 2004), the international group Sogerem/Alcan (ex Pechiney) considers closing into 2006 of the mines of Fluorine of the Tarn: mines with open sky of Montroc and Moulinal (communes of Paulinet and Reyssac) and mines underground of Burg (Paulinet). In addition the exploitation of the careers of Barytine of Chaillac (Indre) should also close. Will remain in metropolis only of the mines of salt (Lorraine, Varangéville, and various other layers used primarily like underground storages of hydrocarbons, in particular with Manosque and Étrez), of Bauxite including one small-scale farming with open sky remains with Villeveyrac (Herault) whose ore is not intended for the production of alumina, of bitumen with Orbagnoux (Ain), of bituminous limestone with Rébesou (Gard) and of hydrocarbons (Ile-de-France, Aquitaine, Alsace).

See too

Mine (layer)
mining Code
Renunciation of a mining title
Catastrophe of Courrières

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