Now the UNESCO World Heritage-recognized area hosts hiking trails
Their presence is a reminder of both environmental and economic disaster
as the mines’ closure plummeted a region—already ravaged by industry—into unemployment and poverty
Today the slag heaps (also known as spoil heaps) symbolize something else
What from a distance appears black turns green up close—the vegetation as promising as the sustainable tourism initiatives now starting to revitalize the region’s economy
its mating call so loud you can hear it [about a mile] away.”
From the café operated by the tourism office
you can sign up for a range of activities on the terrils: an art therapy class
This archival photo (date unknown) shows several coal slag heaps from the Lens Mining Company in Nord-Pas-de-Calais
Alamy Stock PhotoCoal wagons parked in Lens
coal helped boost the region’s economy.Photograph by AFP
Getty ImagesMiners leave a coal mine in Douai
After nearly three centuries of coal mining in the region
the last mine closed in 1990.Photograph by Alain Nogues
Sygma/Getty Images“It’s nature’s revenge,” says Bernard Lefrançois
a former miner who guides tours at the Base 11/19
the slag heaps also represent important industrial heritage
returning to his former workplace in a new tourism vocation inspires strong emotions and pride
“I feel that I’m resurrecting the memory of the miners
I always get chills … I cannot help but think of the toil
There are monuments to the memory of soldiers who died for France all over the country; the slag heaps
are the national monuments to the miners.”
The French mining basin stretches about 75 miles west from the Belgian border
following coal seams far beneath the earth’s surface
nearly 2.4 billion tons of coal were extracted from the time coal was discovered in 1720 and the closure of the last mine in 1990
the region’s network of tunnels produced half of the French supply from 1940 to 1960
contributing to the country’s reconstruction after World War II
the closure of the mines triggering a catastrophic economic collapse
What to do in the aftermath? In this post-mining world, the initial impulse was to raze the slag heaps to the ground and plant them with vegetation, whatever the cost. “Helicopters flew overhead, dropping seeds, to cover up what was perceived as ugly black hills,” explains Jeremie Le Sage, a guide with Eden 62
an organization that manages and protects Pas-de-Calais’ natural sites (including 15 terrils)
inhabitants began to reappropriate the slag heaps
using them as motocross circuits and party spots
(These abstract aerial photos show mining’s scars on the planet.)
a few visionaries imagined a new strategy for the future
the destruction of the slag heaps would erase a page of history
“The miners are just as important as the kings in the history of France,” says Loos-en-Gohelle Mayor Jean-François Caron
Preserving this important heritage could also valorize it
giving the slag heaps a new purpose while safeguarding their unique biodiversity
the organization tasked with the area’s redevelopment
(Here’s what life is like inside India’s coal mines.)
Not all the terrils can be rehabilitated; some are still dangerous
and others are better left untouched as nature preserves
Aerial surveillance monitors some slag heaps’ combustion with infrared cameras
The Mission Bassin Minier has sought to create links between the terrils
mostly along the railroads that once transported coal
to serve as both nature corridors for fauna and recreational greenways for people
Unemployment in Lens has been steadily decreasing since hitting a high of 15.5 percent in 2009
the region recorded unemployment of 9.4 percent
Tourism businesses in the private sector are now following the large initial public investment
“We started at zero and we’re still in the beginning stages of a strategic approach for the tourism economy that will last decades,” says Dailliet
Julien’s brother Olivier operates a lively restaurant onsite where you can try the goat cheese and hearty regional specialties with local beer. The popular “rando biquette” (goat walk) allows visitors to join Julien on his daily transhumance across the terril, listening to his anecdotes and admiring the goats.
“These terrils are emblematic of the region,” says Graf, who’s originally from Douai. “Growing up, when we would come back from a trip and see the terrils from the highway, we knew we were home. Each of these rocks has passed through the hands of miners. If these terrils were covered in forest, we wouldn’t remember that.”
Volume 9 - 2022 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fmats.2022.1035551
This article is part of the Research TopicWomen in Science: Materials 2021View all 8 articles
Calcium sulfoaluminate cement is a relatively new type of cement with environmental advantages linked to its low carbon emission
there is a lack of knowledge on its use with supplementary cementitious materials
This article aims to study the effect of utilizing the activated flash-calcined sediment from Noyelles-sous-Lens (SC) as a supplementary cementitious material in calcium sulfoaluminate mortar
four mixes are prepared by replacing calcium sulfoaluminate cement with 5%
The reactivity of the cement pastes with and without the sediment is studied by isothermal calorimetry and by measuring the setting time
The results show that adding the flash-calcined sediment has an accelerator effect on cement hydration and decreases the induction period
The cumulative heat release and the compressive strength at 28 days are almost the same up to 10% of sediment substitution
The main phase in the CSA clinker is ye’elimite
also called Klein’s compound C4A3Ṧ
in addition to other secondary phases such as C2S
This last study investigated the influence of the temperature of treatment and the final reactivity of sediments
The authors tested three calcination temperatures
and they showed the effectiveness of the process
the use of flash-calcined sediments as a substitution for the CSA cement has not been largely investigated
and microstructure in CSA–SC blends are not well understood
From an ecological and economic point of view
the combination of the CSA cement and sediment as SCM is advantageous
It leads to a lower cement content by replacing it with SC
the production of CSA cement requires less energy than is needed in OPC manufacture
the use of SCM reduces the quantity of the clinker to be produced
the flash-calcined sediment from Noyelles-Sous-Lens is blended with the commercial CSA cement in order to test its effect on the hydration process and the mechanical properties of mortars
The materials used in this study are sulfoaluminate cement (CSA)—Alpenat®—produced by VICAT® and the fluvial sediments dredged from Noyelles-sous-Lens in the north of France. The latter was dried at 100°C, then crushed, and sieved. The sediment was treated through the flash calcination method at 750°C, as described by Amar (2017)
Calcination was carried out in a flash furnace at IMT Nord-Europe in France. The flash calcination process is illustrated in Figure 1 (Amar, 2017)
Four mortar mixes were designed and produced with and without flash-calcined sediments. Formulations were made under the NF EN 196-1 standard. Mixes were prepared following a water/binder ratio of 0.5 and fine siliceous sand (NS) in a proportion of 1:3. CSA stands for the control mortar without sediment, whereas CSA5, CSA10, and CSA20 refer to mortars containing, respectively, 5%, 10%, and 20% of flash-calcined sediments. The mortar compositions are given in Table 1
The mineralogical composition of the CSA cement and the calcined sediment was determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) using a Bruker D2 instrument with Cu Kα radiation
The X-ray patterns were acquired in 2θ (10–80°) with a step of 0.02 and 1 s per step
The chemical composition of the CSA cement and the flash-calcined sediment SC was determined by X-ray fluorescence (XRF) using a Bruker S4 Pioneer spectrometer
The particle size distributions of the materials (cement
and sand) were determined using a Coulter laser granulometry type LS 13 320
The heat flow was measured using an isothermal calorimeter at 20°C to study the reactivity of the cement paste with a water/cement ratio of 0.5
The calorimeter used is a homemade calorimeter equipped with flowmeters
allowing the calorimeter to equilibrate in less than 5 min
The initial setting time of the cement pastes was determined according to the standard NF EN 196-3 and using the VICATRONIC I06 091 device
The compressive strength of mortars was determined according to the standard AFNOR NF EN 196-1 on prismatic samples 40*40*160 mm
The mechanical properties were measured at 1
and 28 days using the INSTRON 5500 R apparatus
The porosity was also investigated on specimens at 28 days with the mercury porosimeter MicroActive AutoPore V9600 2.00
XRD diffractograms of raw and flash-calcined sediments
Table 2 presents the chemical composition of the CSA cement and SC
and Fe2O3 in addition to SO3 in the CSA cement
Concentrations of the major oxide elements for the CSA cement Alpenat from VICAT and the flash-calcined sediment
The physical properties of materials are shown in Table 3
The results show that the SC is a fine material
and this could impact the activity and water demand of the material
Physical properties of the flash-calcined sediment SC and CSA
The particle size distribution determined by laser granulometry shows that the CSA cement and SC sediment have approximately the same D50 (7.23 and 7.22 μm for CSA and SC, respectively). Therefore, partial substitution of cement by the flash-calcined sediment is possible. The particle size distribution is given in Figure 4
Particle size distribution for the CSA cement
was followed by isothermal calorimetry at 20°C
The hydration of the cement paste is an exothermic process; therefore
the heat released can be correlated with the kinetics of cement hydration
Heat flow and cumulative heat released for the four cement pastes: CSA
When comparing the heat released from the CSA cement paste (without the SC sediment) to cement pastes with sediments (CSA5
it can be seen that the peaks are shifted to the left when adding the flash-calcined sediment in the mortar as supplementary cementitious materials
indicating that the reactions are accelerated
This acceleration increases with the increase in the sediment amount in the cement paste
The initial setting time for CSA begins after 3 h of hydration
it begins after 2 h 45 min
and 2 h 15 min of hydration
Concerning the cumulative heat released from the cement pastes
the results show that at the beginning of the hydration process and until approximately 8 h of hydration
the cumulative heat released increases with the amount of the flash-calcined sediment in the mortar
the cumulative heat released from the CSA cement paste is the highest
and the CSA20 has the lowest cumulative heat released
Different parameters could influence the heat release of the CSA cement according to the literature. Burris and Kurtis (2022) showed that the water/cement ratio (W/C) and the cement composition (anhydrite/ye’elimite content in the cement) have an influence on the hydration mechanisms (retarder or accelerator effect depending on the ye’elimite content in the clinker)
more sulfates are available to react with ye’elimite when adding more SC to the cement paste
and the hydration mechanisms are accelerated
the cement paste containing the sediment released more heat than the CSA cement paste due to the acceleration of ye’elimite hydration
the total heat released is lower for the sediment-based cement paste
there is less ye’elimite in the mixture to react
The setting time results are presented in Figure 6
The initial setting time is determined when the needle penetrates the mixture to a depth of 34 ± 1 mm
The results show that the initial setting time is reached faster when the mortar contains the flash-calcined sediment
This time decreases with the increase in sediment substitution in the cement paste
The same behavior is observed for the final setting time
The latter is shorter when adding the sediment to the cement paste
As for the calorimetric study, many factors could influence the setting time of the cement paste, such as the temperature, W/C ratio, and cement composition (Burris and Kurtis, 2022)
the faster setting time with sediment cement pastes could be due to the additional anhydrite brought by the flash-calcined sediment as CSA reactions rely on anhydrite availability
The compressive strength results at 1, 7, and 28 days are presented in Figure 7 for the different mix designs
The results show that up to 10% substitution with SC
the compressive strength of mortars is slightly higher than the reference mortar CSA without SC
and CSA10) present almost the same compressive strength of around 34 MPa
whereas for the mix with 20% of SC substitution
the compressive strength is the lowest compared to the three other mortars and at all testing times
almost 80% of the compressive strength for all of the mix designs is reached
The results show that CSA20 has the highest porosity among the four designed mortars
mortars with lower porosity present better compressive strength (CSA
and total pore area on the mortar tested at 28 days
it could be considered that the presence of the calcined sediment has no significant negative effect on matrix properties for a substitution rate below 10%
Activity index and activity coefficient calculated at 28 days
In addition, multiple parameters such as fineness, heat treatment temperature, and calcination time may also impact directly and control the final product efficiency and pozzolanic activity (Gastaldini et al., 2015; Walker and Pavía, 2011; Zhang, 2013; Lynn et al., 2015)
a better investigation of these could be interesting and helpful in understanding the involved physicochemical processes
Investigations have shown the benefits of the use of the flash-calcined sediment in CSA blends
The presence of SC generates an acceleration of reactions involved during hydration
This effect is attributed to the anhydrite identified in the XRD analysis
The compressive strength test demonstrated that below 10% replacement of CSA by SC
no negative effect has been identified as the mercury porosity test has also shown a similar pore structure between CSA and CSA10
This work aims to study the effect of the substitution of the calcium sulfoaluminate cement by the flash-calcined sediment from Noyelles-sous-Lens in France
The main conclusions that can be drawn throughout this work are the following
1) Isothermal calorimetry shows that adding the flash-calcined sediment has an acceleration effect on cement paste hydration
The presence of anhydrite in the sediment after treatment could be the reason for this acceleration
This result is consistent with the setting time test
2) The cumulative heat release after 24 h of hydration is the same for cement pastes containing up to 10% of flash-calcined sediments in the mixture
Adding 20% sediment to the cement paste decreases the total heat released at 24 h
and this could be due to the dilution effect and the decrease in the ye’elimite content and consequently in ettringite formation
that adding up to 10% of the sediment in the mortar does not influence the mechanical performances at 28 days
This study shows that the flash-calcined sediment could be recycled
as supplementary cementitious materials in a CSA cement matrix without affecting the performance of the cementitious material
It would be interesting to continue this study in order to evaluate the effect of this substitution on the durability of the cement matrix when incorporating sediments
The raw data supporting the conclusion of this article will be made available by the authors
and N-EA contributed to the methodology and reviewing and editing of the study
JK and MA contributed to the investigation of the study and to the experimental program
JK and MA wrote the first draft of the manuscript
All authors contributed to the manuscript revision and read and approved the submitted version
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations
Any product that may be evaluated in this article
or claim that may be made by its manufacturer
is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher
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Received: 02 September 2022; Accepted: 13 October 2022;Published: 01 November 2022
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*Correspondence: Joelle Kleib, am9lbGxlLmtsZWliQGltdC1ub3JkLWV1cm9wZS5mcg==
†These authors have contributed equally to this work
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Thierry Deleruyelle's 'Fraternity' may recall unimaginable
destructive loss — but it is also a work filled with a sense of dignified hope
communal: The capriciously destructive influence of both man and nature has always been the omnipotent
ultimately horrific accompaniment to the extraction of coal from deep beneath the surface of the earth.
The lingering effects still resonate around the world today; from distant memories of individual family bereavement to the names of villages whose timeless identity will forever be associated with unimaginable mourning; Senghenydd in Wales
It is a long and stark statistical obituary
Thousands upon thousands have been killed - including the 116 children and 28 adults submerged by the wave of colliery mining waste that engulfed Pantglas Junior School in Aberfan on the morning of 21st October 1966.
It is not the romantic notion displayed by sunken pit wheels
painted coal trams and shiny brass gift shop miner’s lamps that recall the story of the true of cost of mining coal - but the cold rows of bleached headstones that fill graveyards in proud communities across the globe.
It is that reality that informs Thierry Deleuyelle’s outstanding composition ‘Fraternity’ - an intensely thoughtful work that recalls one such horrific disaster; that of Courrieres near Lens in Northern France in 1906
when 1099 miners were killed by an explosion of coal dust
It remains the second largest loss of life in the history of the industry.
There is personal connection for the composer – his paternal grandfather was a miner from the age of 12 in the type of pits that formed the focal point of villages such as Mericourt
Billy-Montigny and Noyelles-sous-Lens that were to be denuded of a generation of proud husbands
Written as the set-work for the 2016 European Brass Band Championships in Lille
the timeline of a single catastrophic day and its immediate aftermath.
it is also a powerful exploration of the binding sense of fraternal identification that led miners from as far afield as Belgium and Germany to come to offer assistance in the task of both rescuing survivors and in bringing out the dead.
Seven linked sections form the narrative chapters of the 10th March 1906; opening with the dawn rituals of personal preparation and the unworldly
icy mystery of the men’s trek to work
as the imposing triangular edifice of the colliery tower slowly emerges from the damp mist of the early morning.
The layered music unfolds with a deliberate sense of tension and unease – revealing the palpable sense of foreboding of what fate is soon to bestow upon them
the tubas the shadow figures of colleagues heading to their collective destination
Into the gullet of the shaft the miners drop like stones to the pit floor – some 340 meters below the surface; the simple cornet solo increasing in intensity and extremis as the cage finally hits pit bottom; a fraternal dialogue between the baritone and horn leading the men to the coal face
Here they arrive at the truly unromantic heart of industrialised mining life - and the hours of laborious
rhythmic extraction of coal amid hellish conditions; picks
hammers and shovels working in a unified cause.
The deliberate low pitched passagalian foundation that pulsates with intensity is matched by the mechanical sounds of the percussion and the busy interjections of the higher brass as the coal is ripped
There are hints of unimaginable forces though – touches of Paul Dukas and ‘The Sorcerer’s Apprentice’ as the miners burrow with increasing ferocity
The music here is full of controlled detail
purpose and precision – yet still one false move away from disaster
It comes; a ripping ferocity of explosive slaughter that blasts its way through the tunnels and walkways obliterating humanity in its wake – the heated percussion forcing the music forward before the bubbling semi-quaver undercurrents of gas bring chaotic mayhem
The music has a chilling inhumanity; stabbing fissures emerging from almost nowhere to suck air from lungs
small elemental motifs and fleeing semi-quaver runs signalling life or death throughout the ensemble as panic sets in.
the force loses its destructive energy and ebbs to a funereal close
A deathly tuba chord heralds the task of bringing out the dead; the timpani motif evoking the same early morning ritual of preparation and journey – although this time the anticipation is filled with an overwhelming feeling of loss
Above ground the realisation of what has occurred is heralded by the simple paean of grief from the solo cornet - a prayer joined in melancholic recitation by an ever increasing ensemble
Saturday 10 May • Winter Gardens Complex
May 5 • Ocean Brass are inviting applications for our Principal Cornet position
as we prepare for an exciting schedule of concerts and contests in the second section through 2025 and beyond
May 4 • Following a successful start to our 2025 contest season
Rode Hall Band are looking for a good FRONT ROW CORNET player to join this enthusiastic
friendly and progressive 3rd section band based on the Cheshire/Staffordshire border
Rode Hall Band are looking for a good SOPRANO CORNET player to join this enthusiastic
COPS have discovered a "house of horrors" where 10 children were allegedly abused - including a two-year-old who was found shackled to his highchair and had NEVER touched the ground
The ten siblings were allegedly abused by their parents at the property in Noyelles-sous-Lens
Police have launched an investigation into the case after being alerted by one of the couple's older children about the house on August 30
were reportedly found sleeping tied up to their highchairs with a harness and other ropes around their bodies "in a deplorable state of hygiene"
21 and 24 - told officers their young siblings were tied up all day because "the parents were too lazy to care for them"
The youngest had "never stepped foot on the floor" as he was trapped in the highchair, public prosecutor of Béthune, Thierry Dran, told La Voix du Nord
The dad , 44 and mum, 40, have been arrested for violence against minors and a threat to the hygiene or health of the children.
Police said the mum claimed the children were tied up to stop the five-year-old from causing mischief and to protect the toddler.
She also claimed she struggled to care for them because she had cancer.
the children - ranging four months to 24 years old - had allegedly been living in the horror condition for years
The public prosecutor described the alleged abuses as deplorable - saying the kids were deprived of their freedom
grew up in grim conditions and were the victims of brutal abuse
According to TF1 Info
the children were allegedly regularly insulted
hit and thrown to the ground when they asked for food or refused to go to school
Although they were all registered at local schools
said her daughter went to school with the couple's daughter and said she often had lice
“What is reproached is above all the total lack of hygiene
or “the fact of not having taken care of their children in a normal way”
The children are hoped to make a full recovery
The children's aunt, who has not been identified, told RTL the children were tied up to their highchairs "simply so that they wouldn't fall off the chair"
The mum is a stay-at-home mum while her husband works
as a mechanic and a second hand car parts sales
The parents were followed by social services
Seven minor children have been provisionally placed in the care - but had to be washed before they could be moved to social centres
The parents have appeared at the tribunal where they were placed under court supervision
The couple is also banned from seeing their children
Alain Roger told La Voix du Nord: "For us
the children go to kindergarten and primary school and we see the mother driving them to school
He added: "It gives goosebumps to hear the fate of these children.”
Nantes visit the Stade de Paris on Saturday to face-off with Drancy in the round of 64 of the French Cup
looking to recover from a heavy loss at the weekend
The Canaries were thumped 4-1 by Brest in Ligue 1
their seventh top-flight loss of the season
pushing them ever closer to the relegation zone
they are in 14th position in the league standings
it hasn't been a good run for them domestically
but they will look to the cup for some respite
losing their most recent two outings in the league
a 4-0 drubbing at the hands of IC Croix followed by a 1-0 loss to Reims 2
beating Pays de Cassel 2-1 in their first game before seeing off Noyelles-sous-Lens 3-0 in the next
Ligue 1 side Nantes will be their toughest challenge so far
as the Parisian outfit will have to produce their A-game to pull off an upset and stand a chance of progressing into the next round
The Canaries are the favorites here given their experience and superior quality
Drancy will look to pounce on their vulnerabilities
but they do not have the means to capitalize on them
Nantes should secure a victory in this encounter
Tip 2 - Goals over/under 2.5: Under 2.5 goals
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