Sainte Marie Coal Mine

Sainte-Marie coal mine

Sainte-Marie coal mine in 1920
Location
Sainte-Marie coal mine
Location Haute-Saône
commune Franche-Comté
Country France
Coordinates Ronchamp[1] 47°42′10″N 6°37′47″E / 47.702855°N 6.629740°E / 47.702855; 6.629740Coordinates: Ronchamp[2] 47°42′10″N 6°37′47″E / 47.702855°N 6.629740°E / 47.702855; 6.629740
Production
Products coal
Greatest depth 359 metres
History
Opened 1864
Closed 1958
Owner
Company Houillères de Ronchamp, Électricité de France
Sainte Marie coal mine in 2012

The Sainte Marie Coal Mine is one of the major Ronchamp coal mines, located in Bourlémont (Ronchamp, Haute-Saône), in eastern France. It was worked intermittently between 1866 and 1958, then finally closed. The concrete headframe was reinforced in 1924. On 29 March 2001, the headframe was listed as a twentieth-century monument historique.[3]

Background

In 1830, a survey was conducted atop hill Bourlémont, near the future site of the Sainte Marie Coal Mine, but no trace of coal was discovered.[4] In the 1860s, the Stéphanien coal basin was already known and the Saint-Charles, Saint-Joseph, Sainte-Pauline, and Sainte-Barbe mines were present, and the unsuccessful digging of the Saint-Georges pit was ongoing.[5]

Mining

In 1863, it was decided that a new mineshaft would be dug west of the Saint-Charles well to replace it. At that time, the limits of the Ronchamp basin were unknown,[6] and the location of the mine was 1.4 kilometres (0.87 mi) west of the Saint-Charles pit, at the foot of Bourlémont. Digging of the 3.5 metres (11 ft)-diameter mineshaft began on 23 April 1864, and Portland cement was used to create walls in the pit. Assisted by six horses and a steam winch,[5] the digging was completed after two years, and the coalfield was found at 239 metres (784 ft) deep.

A further 60 centimetres (2.0 ft) layer of coal at 305 m (1,001 ft) was discovered and digging ceased at a depth of 359 m (1,178 ft).[7] The well was dug on rough terrain but there was little water infiltration, unlike most wells of the Ronchamp basin. It cost a total of ₣172,157.93 to dig the mine. Despite low levels of coal, the site was developed for coal extraction with security systems and cages to carry the coal.[7]

Incidents

The first steam-powered hoist resulted in problems as it should only have been used during the initial digging; the hoist broke on 13 November 1866, trapping five miners underground, who were rescued using a winch the following day.[8] Two years later, the hoist was replaced with the former machine of the Notre-Dame mine, which had a steam break, gears, and a spool shaft.[8][9]

In January 1868 an extraction cage detached and damaged the guide ropes, causing unemployment at the mine for a fortnight.[8] On 24 January 1868, the mine experienced a firedamp blast that left eight dead and damaged 250 metres (820 ft) of timber.[10]

After closure the mine was filled with shale and a concrete slab was placed over it by Cotta.[11] Upon closure, it was planned that the headframe would be demolished, but due to the population’s attachment to their heritage, the headframe was saved in 1972 by Dr. Marcel Maulini; he subsequently formed the Museum of Mining in 1976.[12]

Pictures

Notes

  1. ↑ "Puits Sainte-Marie". BRGM.
  2. ↑ "Puits Sainte-Marie". BRGM.
  3. ↑ Mérimée IA70000154, Ministère français de la Culture. (fr) et Mérimée PA70000053, Ministère français de la Culture. (fr)
  4. ↑ "Historie de la colline de Bourlémont jusqu'en 1678". ABAMM. Archived from the original on 2014. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
  5. 1 2 Parietti 2001, p. 37.
  6. ↑ Parietti 1999a, p. 4.
  7. 1 2 Parietti 1999a, p. 3.
  8. 1 2 3 Parietti 1999a, p. 5.
  9. ↑ Mathet 1882, pp. 630-631.
  10. ↑ Parietti 1999a, p. 6.
  11. ↑ Parietti & Petitot 2005, p. 12.
  12. ↑ Parietti 1999a, p. 8.

References

External links

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