European Heritage Days: exploring mine archives - Event

Step inside the BRGM’s Post-Mining Territorial Unit (UTAM Nord) and discover an exceptional and little-known heritage: the technical archives relating to post-mining activities.

The exhibits consist of a remarkable collection of technical drawings, reports and documents that bear witness to the history of former mining operations and their development up to the present day.

Beyond their heritage value, these archives are essential sources of information for BRGM and post-mining stakeholders in understanding and managing former mining sites. They help us understand the structure of the subsurface, identify past mining works and structures, and also shed light on the current challenges relating to the monitoring and safety of the former Nord-Pas-de-Calais mining basin.

This immersion in a unique documentary heritage reveals a world often unsuspected by the general public, where the technical history of the mine becomes a genuine tool for public policy. Combining historical heritage with contemporary issues, this event offers a rare opportunity to understand how the traces of the past continue to inform, protect and shape our regions today.