Zinc mine Schmalgraf Oskarstollen

The Schmalgraf mine, located in the valley of the Hohnbach near La Calamine, was called Comborn in the 15th century. It was later also known as Drieschschacht or Klousterschacht. The last period of operation was from 1868 to 1932. The mine had a depth of 190 meters, which is exceptionally deep for Belgian ore mines. Between 1862 and 1867, a mine tunnel was dug to facilitate the transport of ore to the ore washing plant in Prussian Moresnet. This mine tunnel was named after the then director, Oskar Bilharz, and was called Oskarstollen. From the Oskarstollen, a narrow gauge railway was built parallel to the Hohnbach to further transport the ore. At the open-pit mine along the Hohnbach, around 30 miners were working at that time. An additional 120 miners were working in the underground mine. In total, 645,979 tons of raw ore were extracted from the mine. In the "Schmalgraf" mine, mainly sphalerite was mined for lead (galena). When lead mining became unprofitable, the mine was closed. Nowadays, the mine would no longer be closed, as there is still enough zinc present to keep the mine economically viable. The shaft building of the mine is now on private property. In front of the Oskarstollen lies a beautiful zinc meadow. Originally, this was a type of sinkhole that has been filled with low-quality ore and waste rock.

Michel