Oranje Nassau Mijnen

The former office of the Oranje Nassau Mijnen, Dirk Roosenburg, 1928, one of the earliest buildings in International style in Heerlen

The Oranje Nassau Mijnen was established in 1893 by Friedriech Honingmann (1841-1913) and Carl Honingmann (1842-1903 to exploit the rich coal deposits in and around Heerlen. That there were coal deposits around Heerlen was already known for centuries (coal had been dug up since the 13th century around Rolduc), but efficient transportation was lacking. In 1886 Henri Sarolea (January 18, 1844, Maastricht - September 12, 1900, Heerlen) had the idea of building a railroad between Herzogenrath, Heerlen, and Sittard, 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)^[1].

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^[2].

Mines

• Oranje Nassau I (1899-1974), Heerlen, Production: 31,978,000 tons
• Oranje Nassau II (1904 - 1971), Landgraaf, Production: 34,064,000 tons
• Oranje Nassau III (1917 - 1973), Heerlerheide (Heerlen), Production: 38,265,000 tons
• Oranje Nassau IV (1927 - 1966), Heksenberg (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, ON IV is now the Sigrano a silversand mine, part of Sibelco.

External links

• De Oranje-Nassau-mijnen op www.ta.tudelft.nl

References

1. ^ ON-algemeen
2. ^ Oranje Nassau Groep B.V. - History