The mines of Saint-Éloy-les-Mines are

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...

and

silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...

mines located in the town of Saint-Éloy-les-Mines,

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and environs. They were constructed in the 18th century during the beginning of industrialization in Combraille, which included: * the glass industry at

Montel-de-Gelat Montel-de-Gelat (; ) is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne in central France. See also *Communes of the Puy-de-Dôme department The following is a list of the 463 communes of the Puy-de-Dôme department of France Fra ...

; * the coal mines of Vernade (Saint-Éloy) and The Peize (Gutters) * the silver-lead of mines Roignon ( Youx) and Mas Boutin (Saint Eloy). Eighteenth-century France saw the beginnings of industrialization across the entire kingdom. It was also a time when landowners, especially noblemen, were trying to apply physiocratic ideas to change their way of cultivating the soil and making crop rotations by introducing, for example, the cultivation of potatoes and artificial grasslands. Other nobles and wealthy citizens were also trying, sometimes unsuccessfully, to develop new industries, such as farm ores. Some entrepreneurs foresaw the changes that were going to evolve in the 19th century and worked to take advantage of the country's abundance of natural resources.

The Coal Mines of La Vernade (Saint-Eloy) and La Peize (Gouttieres)

The coal mine of

Auvergne Auvergne (; ; or ) is a cultural region in central France. As of 2016 Auvergne is no longer an administrative division of France. It is generally regarded as conterminous with the land area of the historical Province of Auvergne, which was dis ...

was already a source of great wealth in the region, owing to the relative ease by which coal could be shipped to

Orléans Orléans (,"Orleans"
(US) and Val de Loire and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

by the

Allier Allier ( , , ; ) is a Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region that borders Cher (department), Cher to the west, Nièvre to the north, Saône-et-Loire and Loire (department), Loire to the east, Pu ...

since the opening of the Briare Canal, in spite of delays caused by poor quality and by transportation difficulties which arose from time to time. Aside from the power of few

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

s of the country, which just had a rare iron to work, the only outlet was the

lime kiln A lime kiln is a kiln used for the calcination of limestone (calcium carbonate) to produce the form of lime called ''quicklime'' (calcium oxide). The chemical equation for this reaction is: CaCO3 + heat → CaO + CO2 This reaction can tak ...

s in the region of Ébreuil, and the tiles and pottery from the parish of La Pérouze ( Gouttieres). The route was rather difficult, first requiring a climb on the “Plateau des Chevaliers et des Berthons” before going down to the upper valley of Gourdonne. The route then traveled back up to Lachamp, after which it was easier to return down to Ebreuil by the track between the Sioule and the Cèpe. But, despite the relative ease of this wide pathway, if we compare it with the three large routes through the valley of the Sioule: by the bridge of the Bouchet, Châteauneuf and the bridge of

Menat In ancient Egyptian religion, a menat (, ) was a necklace closely associated with the goddess Hathor. Operation The menat was held in the hand by its counterpoise and used as a Rattle (percussion instrument), rattle by Hathor's priestesses. It ...

, the use horse-drawn carriage was possible, (rather than ox-drawn carriage which is slower and susceptible to fast deterioration), but it’s more or less obvious that pack horses were used to supply surroundings blacksmiths.

The New Mine

During the second half of the 19th century, new deeper mine shafts were opened: mine shafts named Tollin, Laval, Montjoie, Peyroux, the Croizette, Chazal, Michelin Mercier, and Beaudot. The syndicate benefits of the permission to have at their disposal the coal coming from the search in 1897 and asks a concession, which one is opposed the company of Châtillon-Commentry.

Working conditions

In 1884, the exhausting and enslaving nature of miner’s work was brought to national attention by

Émile Zola Émile Édouard Charles Antoine Zola (, ; ; 2 April 184029 September 1902) was a French novelist, journalist, playwright, the best-known practitioner of the literary school of Naturalism (literature), naturalism, and an important contributor to ...

in his novel '' Germinal'' where he regarded it as an "impoverishment of the human condition". It was also at this time that Carmaux led strikes from 1892-1895 in Tarn’s coalfield, xxx. He later became a prominent

Socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

symbol by acting as the region’s congressman. Numerous movements were initiated by the syndicates at the Saint-Eloy-Les Mines since the end of the Nineteenth Century, with Gilbert Conchon as a minor delegate. He went to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

for a congress, with others delegation, in collaboration with the movements of English coalfield.

References

* a, b, c et d Revue d'Auvergne, 72 n° 4, Entreprises industrielles en Combraille au XVIIIe siècle, de J. Semonsous, n° 388 de la collection de la Société des amis de l'Université de Clermont. * Archives départementales du Puy-de Dôme, série C liasse 577. * Archives départementales du Puy-de-Dôme, liasse C, 6966, p.n.c. * Archives départementales du Puy-de-Dôme, liasse C, 6953, p.n.c. * a, b, c et d Archives départementales du Puy-de-Dôme, liasse C, 6970, p.n.c. * a, b, c, d et e Archives départementales du Puy-de-Dôme, liasse L, 4913, p.n.c. * Revue d'Auvergne, 69 (n° 1-2 de 1955). Excursions dans les gorges de la Sioule, des Fades à Ébreuil, de J.Semonsous". * Archives Départementales du Puy-de-Dôme, liasse C, 6953, p.n.c. * Archives Départementales du Puy-de-Dôme, liasse C, 6379, p.n.c. * Archives Départementales du Puy-de-Dôme, liasse L, 6002, registre. * a, b et c La Pieuvre Eloysienne de René Gravier. {{coord missing, France Mines in France Buildings and structures in Puy-de-Dôme