Arenberg Pit

The Arenberg Pit (also known as the Auguste d’Arenberg Pit) of the Compagnie des mines d’Anzin is a former coal mine located in Wallers, in the Nord–Pas-de-Calais mining basin. Shafts Arenberg Nos. 1 and 2 were started in 1900 in the northeastern part of the commune, within an unexploited area of the Anzin concession. Shaft No. 1 served for extraction and Shaft No. 2 for ventilation. Coal extraction began in June 1903, and the site was named after Auguste Louis Albéric d’Arenberg, an administrator of the Compagnie des mines d’Anzin. The mine soon became one of the company’s major production sites. Residential areas with schools, a domestic science school, a church, and a community hall were built nearby. In 1936, Shaft No. 1 received a new headframe, replacing the older structure, and the conical spoil tip No. 160, known as Arenberg, increased in size. The Compagnie des mines d’Anzin was nationalized in 1946 and incorporated into the Valenciennes Group. The Arenberg Pit was designated as one of the principal concentration sites in the mining basin. To support this development, the double-compartment Shaft No. 3–4 was started in 1954 and equipped with modern facilities, including a washing plant built to the west of the site. The new shaft entered service on August 28, 1961, and waste materials were deposited on the flat spoil tip No. 171, Mare à Goriaux. The oil crisis extended the pit’s operation for several years. In 1980, exploitation of the conical spoil tip No. 160 began, and on January 9, 1984, a tunneling machine was commissioned to drive galleries and conduct tests in preparation for the Channel Tunnel project. Coal extraction ended in March 1989. The site’s installations were subsequently preserved, notably due to the filming of Germinal in 1992, which contributed to its protection and heritage...