Belgium

Clinker storage at Antoing works. The CBR cement works at Antoing on the Scheldt is part of the Heidelberg group. The kiln was started in 1986 and in 2012 produced 822,594 tonnes of cement clinker.

This power station was built by the Intercom (now Electrabel) in 1921. Monceau sur Sambre was still an independent municipality and the new coal plant was one of the largest in Belgium. In the 50's and 60's, the plant was expanded and after Monceau sur Sambre in 1977 was added to the town of Charleroi this was the main supplier of energy in the region. Originally coal.fired, the newer part ran on gas and stood for years standby for any emergencies. It was closed in 2007.

S.A. Cokeries et Houillères d'Anderlues first erected coke ovens in 1904 which were replaced by new ones in 1931. The works produced foundry coke and was one of the smallest and oldest coke by-product plants still operating in Belgium at the time of closure in November 2002. In the background is the headframe of Puits No.6 which was the last of the mines operated by SA Collieries Anderlues and which closed in 1969.

Pushing the product on a substation, Rue de Landalies, Monceau-sur-Sambre.

Beringen Colliery closed in 1989 and part of the site is now used as a mining museum. The second shaft headgear does not seem to have much attention lavished upon it and the roof over the sheaves has been removed.

In 1919, Hippolyte Dumont built three lime kilns at Ampsin near Liège. A large lime and cement works was developed here and flourished until c1970 when the Dumont-Wautier Company built the new rotary kiln in its nearby quarry. These old kilns are 11 metres deep and 6 metres in diameter.

S.A. Cokeries et Houillères d'Anderlues first erected coke ovens in 1904 which were replaced by new ones in 1931. The works produced foundry coke and was one of the smallest and oldest coke by-product plants still operating in Belgium at the time of closure in November 2002. In the foreground is the remains of a cooling tower whilst in the background the building shows signs of the failed conversion scheme that was begun here some time ago. It was apparently stopped due to the contaminated state of the site.

Zolder was the last colliery in the Benelux countries and closed in 1992. The machine hall still has much of the machinery remaining.

Zolder was the last colliery in the Benelux countries and closed in 1992. The machine hall still has much of the machinery remaining.

Belgium no longer has a coal industry and the last pit to close was that at Zolder, in the Limburg region, which stopped work in 1992. The machine hall and one headgear survives, whilst the power house has been converted to office and exhibition use and some of the processing buildings have also found alternative use. This view from the machine hall towards the only remaining headframe..

After the Second World War Marshall plan funds were used to modernise the Ressaix collieries through the sinking of a 5 metre diameter shaft and the the installation of a tower equipped with a 3,300hp electric winder. The designed production was 3000 tonnes of coal per day. The output was taken to the Péronnes washery that was constructed at the same time and from where this photograph was taken. The life of the whole complex was short and closure came in 1969. Today the winding tower remains as a reminder of the once extensive coal industry and the site is used by a gas distribution company.

Slurry treatment tank at Triage-Lavoir de Péronnes.This coal washery was built with the help of Marshall Plan funding in 1954. It processed daily over 3,000 tonnes of coal from the mines of Péronnes, Ressaix and Trivières. In 1969 with the closure of the Saint-Albert and Sint-Margriete mines the washery became redundant and the equipment was removed. It is now a listed historic monument but plans for re-use of the building for small businesses have so far not been developed.

S.A. Cokeries et Houillères d'Anderlues first erected coke ovens in 1904 which were replaced by new ones in 1931. The works produced foundry coke and was one of the smallest and oldest coke by-product plants still operating in Belgium at the time of closure in November 2002. The chimney really was tilting, it's not distortion from the lens!

The Cimescaut site specialises in production of limestone aggregates using stone from the adjacent quarry. It has a capacity of up to 20,000 tonnes of crushed rock per day shipped by road and water.

The Delwart cement company at Tournai was founded in 1926 and at one time employed 170 people. Production included quicklime and cement. This shaft kiln remains in derelict condition whilst still advertising the manufacturer many years after closure.

The Ronquières Inclined Plane on the Brussels-Charleroi Canal has a length of 1,432 m and lifts boats through 67.73 m vertically. It consists of two large caissons mounted on rails. Each caisson measures 91 m long by 12 m wide and has a water depth between 3 and 3.70 m. It can carry one boat of 1,350 tonnes or many smaller boats within the same limits. It opened in April 1968 and replaced 14 locks. The approach across country yielded this strange vista with the approach aqueduct to the left, the viewing tower centre, and the inclined plane dipping away to the right.

Office of the éclusier at Monceau-sur-Sambre.

These reinforced concrete silos adjacent to the Scheldt at Tournai were originally built to hold locally produced cement. The first four were constructed in 1922 and the second four during World War II. After the cement works closed they were converted for grain storage, but are currently empty and derelict.