Oranje Nassau Mijnen
Encyclopedia
Stratum
In geology and related fields, a stratum is a layer of sedimentary rock or soil with internally consistent characteristics that distinguish it from other layers...
in and around Heerlen
Heerlen
Heerlen is a city and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. The municipality is the second largest in the province of Limburg. It forms part of Parkstad Limburg, , an agglomeration of about 220,000 inhabitants.After its early Roman beginnings and a rather modest medieval period, Heerlen...
. That there were coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
deposits
Stratum
In geology and related fields, a stratum is a layer of sedimentary rock or soil with internally consistent characteristics that distinguish it from other layers...
around Heerlen was already known for centuries (coal had been dug up since the 13th century around Rolduc
Rolduc
Rolduc is the name of a medieval abbey in Kerkrade, the Netherlands, which is now a Roman Catholic seminary and an affiliated conferencing center.-History:...
), but efficient transportation was lacking. In 1886 Henri Sarolea
Henri Sarolea
Henri Sarolea , was a Dutch railway entrepreneur and contractor who settled in Heerlen after having worked on the railways in the Dutch East Indies ....
(January 18, 1844, Maastricht
Maastricht
Maastricht is situated on both sides of the Meuse river in the south-eastern part of the Netherlands, on the Belgian border and near the German border...
- September 12, 1900, Heerlen
Heerlen
Heerlen is a city and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. The municipality is the second largest in the province of Limburg. It forms part of Parkstad Limburg, , an agglomeration of about 220,000 inhabitants.After its early Roman beginnings and a rather modest medieval period, Heerlen...
) had the idea of building a railroad between Herzogenrath
Herzogenrath
Herzogenrath is a municipality in the district of Aachen in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It borders the Dutch town of Kerkrade, the national border in one section running along the middle of a main road.-History:...
, Heerlen
Heerlen
Heerlen is a city and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. The municipality is the second largest in the province of Limburg. It forms part of Parkstad Limburg, , an agglomeration of about 220,000 inhabitants.After its early Roman beginnings and a rather modest medieval period, Heerlen...
, and Sittard
Sittard
Sittard is a city in the Dutch province of Limburg, which is the southernmost province of the Netherlands.On the east Sittard borders on Germany . It has some 48,400 inhabitants . Sittard is part of the municipality of Sittard-Geleen...
, which was finished in 1896. It was this plan that prompted the building of the first mine (Oranje-Nassau I, production from 1899 to 1974).
While Oranje Nassau Mijnen was the public name of the company the real name was N.V. Maatschappij tot Exploitatie van Limburgsche Steenkolenmijnen. It was the largest private mining company in the Netherlands, and now owned by the French Wendel Investissement S.A. group, which acquired the founders' shares in 1908.
Mines
- Oranje Nassau IOranje Nassau IThe Oranje Nassau I was a Dutch coal mine located in Heerlen. The mine was in operation from 1899 until 1974.The Oranje Nassau I was the oldest and second largest of the four Oranje Nassau Mijnen-mines, and close to the mine there were several laundries and a large electric power station...
(1899-1974), HeerlenHeerlenHeerlen is a city and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. The municipality is the second largest in the province of Limburg. It forms part of Parkstad Limburg, , an agglomeration of about 220,000 inhabitants.After its early Roman beginnings and a rather modest medieval period, Heerlen...
, Production: 31,978,000 tons - Oranje Nassau IIOranje Nassau IIThe Oranje Nassau II was a Dutch coal mine located in Heerlen. The mine was in operation from 1904 until 1971.When in 1904 the first coal from the ground, high production levels were not yet achieved. The mine was not connected to the railroad and the won coal had to be hauled to the Schaesberg...
(1904 - 1971), LandgraafLandgraafLandgraaf is a municipality in southeastern Limburg.- Special information :A pop music festival called Pinkpop is held annually on the Pentecost weekend in the vicinity of Landgraaf....
, Production: 34,064,000 tons - Oranje Nassau IIIOranje Nassau IIIThe Oranje Nassau III was a Dutch coal mine located in Heerlen. The mine was in operation from 1914 until 1973.-External links:* http://citg.tudelft.nl/?id=18387 Coal Mining in the Netherlands...
(1917 - 1973), Heerlerheide (HeerlenHeerlenHeerlen is a city and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. The municipality is the second largest in the province of Limburg. It forms part of Parkstad Limburg, , an agglomeration of about 220,000 inhabitants.After its early Roman beginnings and a rather modest medieval period, Heerlen...
), Production: 38,265,000 tons - Oranje Nassau IVOranje Nassau IVThe Oranje Nassau IV , the last and smallest mine exploited by the Oranje Nassau Mijnen, started its life as a ventilation shaft for Oranje Nassau III. In 1910 the construction of a mine shaft was started. However the construction was halted and only reassumed in 1919...
(1927 - 1966), Heksenberg (HeerlenHeerlenHeerlen is a city and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. The municipality is the second largest in the province of Limburg. It forms part of Parkstad Limburg, , an agglomeration of about 220,000 inhabitants.After its early Roman beginnings and a rather modest medieval period, Heerlen...
), Production: 13,754,000 tons
Total production: 111,016,000 tons
The ON I and ON III are now part of the Minewater Project
Minewater Project
The Minewater Project, based in Heerlen and other areas, aims to demonstrate how the geothermal energy stored by mine water can be used as a safe and ecological way to heat buildings.-Aims:The aims of the pilot projects are:...
, ON IV is now the Sigrano a silversand mine, part of Sibelco
Sibelco
Sibelco has over 245 production units worldwide and is the disputed market leader in the extraction, production and distribution of the main industrial minerals: quartz, cristobalite, nepheline syenite, plastic clay and olivine...
.