WesWorld

The coal mining industry is a vital export industry helping to sustain the iron and steel industries of Europe. Today Carmeuse is the dominant company in Belgium. Other important mining sectors include silica mines and the Vieille Montange company is the world's biggest producer of zinc.

Carmeuse
A mining company which produces lime and limestone, founded in 1860 in Liège. The company also controls mines in Czechoslovakia and Hungary.

Metallurgie Hoboken-Overpelt
A large mining company which deals in copper, cobalt and lead.

Sablières et Carrières Réunies
Founded in 1872 by Stanislas Emsens and today headqaurted in Antwerp, where the firm also has a large storage facility. The Emsens are today one of Belgium's richest families. The company was founded to extract the silica sand layers in the Mol region of Flanders for industrial applications and hundreds of hectares were acquired in the vicinity of Mol-Rauw with large quantities of silica sand. In 1896, the sand quarry at Stevensvennen opened, which was the first automated sand quarry. In 1921, the company acquired Anciennes Sablières Stanislas Emsens allowing the common technological and geographical expansion within the Mol region. In 1930, together with Belgian experts, an American company builds a unique hydro-classification installation which it now markets worldwide as the Type SCR. The company’s first laboratory opened in 1934. In 1950, a factory in Dessel was opened for drying and milling silica sand. The Dutch sand quarrying companies Sigrano in Heerlen and Lieben Minerals in Maastricht were acquired in 1943.

Vieille Montagne
This company takes its name from the zinc mine in Kelmis (La Calamine) between Liège and Aachen which opened in 1805 and continued in operation until the end of the nineteenth century.The company opened a second zinc mine in Zinkgruvan in Nordmark along with a harbour in Åmmeberg to ship the zinc. The ore is shipped to another affiliate in Balen, Belgium. Another two mines are also in operation; Nenthead, in Westmoreland, Britain and the zinc mines at Bentaillou in the Pyrenees. The company is the world's oldest and alo largest zinc producer, producing at least 149,000 tonnes per year.