6. The rise of the coalmines

In comparison to the surrounding mine deposits, Kempen coal was discovered relatively late.

During the night of 1 August 1901, at a depth of 541 metres the frist coal deposits in Limburg, in As to be precise, were struck by André Dumont.   Geological circumstances had made it impossible for the underlying coal to be won before that: it is characteristic for the Kempen coal deposits that they are hidden at a depth of (more than) 500 metres. The first drilling attempts by Urban and Putsage in Lanaken and by André Dumont in Elen before the turn of the century, failed.

The first mine in Limburg went into production in 1917. At the time most Walloon deposits had had their heyday, particularly the mining of soft coal. The drilling of soft coke coal of which there was a growing shortage in Belgium, Luxemburg and France, brought about an international coalrush in the largest nature reserve of Flanders: the Limburg Heaths.

Because of the small population in this area, thousands of miners from other areas had to be called in.

There where in the beginning of mining mainly miners of Belgian origin were employed, there was a growing need for labourers. After the First World War the first miners from abroad were hired, mainly from Poland, The Czech Republic, Yugoslavia, Hungary and Italy. During the Second World War Russian Prisoners of War were employed in the mines. Because the mine industry had come through the Second World War almost unscathed and the rebuilding of a ruined Europe needed energy, mining went through a blooming period. The need for workers increased once more. The shortage of labourers was initially met with Italian migrant workers. In 1946 a bilateral agreement between Belgium and Italy was signed. It stated that every week 2000 Italian migrant workers were to come to Belgium, in exchange for two hundred kilos of coal per day, per employed Italian with a contract of minimally twelve months. The mining disaster in Marcinelle in which 261 miners (including 136 Italians) lost their lives put an end to the Italian migration to Belgium. In the fifties similar agreements were made with Greece and Spain and from 1963 with Turkey and Morocco. The mining industry has had a huge influence on the structure of Genk's population, regarding both its ethnicity and its social and professional status.

Apart from workers, all the mining faciltiies, from company infrastructure to housing needed to be organised.

Extensive garden suburbs were built. The idea of the garden suburb, which enjoyed great international architectural and urban popularity in the years around the first World War was adopted particularly in design. An ingenious rental system made it possible to reserve the housing exclusively for active miners and traditional miners' ailments like absenteism and going to work in mines belonging to the competition, could be curbed.

In fact, close to the seven Limburg coalmines seven villages were established with small town attractions, and all manner of social-, cultural- and recreational facilities like children's welfare, pre-schools, technical- and miners' colleges, hospitals, cinemas and casinos with theatres, music schools, sports accomodation, mine cathedrals…

Genk had 3 mines:

1. Waterschei

2. Winterslag

3. Zwartberg