In the wake of the Great War the coal mines of the Saar region were taken under the supervision of the national authorities and organised into a single parastatal enterprise. In addition to the mines themselves, this enterprise controls the coal processing, washing and distribution facilities, and manages its own fleet of rail wagons and barges. The enterprise employs more than forty-eight thousand workers in its mines, processing facilities and its administrative organisations.
The mines operated by the concern include:
Bergwerk Ensdorf – coal deposits worked since the 1730s, deep shafts first sunk in 1826
Bergwerk Jägersfreude – coal deposits worked since the early 1700s, deep mining begun in the 1840s
Grube Camphausen – deep shafts first sunk in 1871
Grube Frankenholz – formerly a part of the Royal Bavarian fisc, exploited since the 1840s
Grube Göttelborn – worked since medieval times, deep shafts first sunk in 1838
Grube Heinitz – developed in the 1850s, with the first deep shaft completed in 1859
Grube Hirschbach – coal deposits worked since the 1790s, deep shafts first sunk in 1853
Grube Kohlwald – surface mining from 1750, reopened in 1843
Grube König – opened in 1820, among the first of the Saar mines to employ deep mining
Grube Luisenthal – coal resources first exploited in 1731, systematic mining commenced in 1818
Grube Maybach – opened in 1871
Grube Nordfeld – opened in 1879
Grube Reden – first opened in 1846, one of the deepest of the Saar coal mines
Grube Rischbach – formerly a part of the Royal Bavarian fisc, exploited since the 1840s
Grube Velsen – opened in 1881
Grube Viktoria – opened in 1872
Grube von der Heydt – opened in 1850 under Prussian supervision
Grube Warndt – exploited since the early 1800s, systematic mining commenced in 1830