Latitude: 50°42'45"N
Longitude: 3°51'22"E
Carrières Unies de Porphyre
The quarry operation started in 1862 as "Société pour l'exploitation des carrières Tacquenier et la construction des routes pavées", in 1919 the name was changed to "Carrières Unies de Porphyre".
Porphyry is a variety of igneous rock known for its hardness and durability.
Originally, because of its durability, the Porphyry was used for the production of cobble stones for roads, one can still see them in many old roads in Belgium and France (the annual speed cycling event Paris-Roubaix is an epic event due to the many strips of cobble stones (Pavés or Kasseien) that are very hard physically on the athlete but also ruin many bikes)
Nowadays the main product is gravel for projects where hardness, durability and resistance of the gravel is of great importance.
Porphyry from the area has been used for instance in the huge Delta Works in Holland, in the "chunnel" (the tunnel under the channel linking France to the United Kingdom) and for the high-speed TGV tracks (they exclusively use Porphyry)
Today four Porphyry quarries are operated (in order from east to west): Quenast, Bierghes, and the side by side located quarries of Lessines and Deux-Acren.
Mineral List
27 entries listed. 24 valid minerals.
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