Carrières de Namêche
The Carrières de Namêche is a lime and dolomite factory operated by the Lhoist Group in Namêche, a village in the municipality of Andenne, Belgium. Production started in the 1930s and was abandoned in 2008.
As part of the region’s industrial history, Namêche hosted not only lime kilns but also dolomite and limestone quarries, reflecting a deep-rooted tradition in mining and mineral processing.
The Carrières de Namèche were formerly known as Gillard Frères, a family business that operated limestone and lime kilns. It used a firing process to produce lime and dolomite. They produced various products such as lime, molten clay, building bricks, and lime waste for the cement industry and agriculture. The company was connected to the railway via a siding at Namèche station and had its own jetty on the Meuse River.
The rotary kiln had become energy-intensive. Its renorvation was under concideration for many years. The Société Anonyme Carrières de Namêche submitted plans on January 31, 1995, for surface reshaping and building technical installations, like lime kilns, at the quarry. Hundreds of complaints followed. Eventually, the factory closed down in 2008.
Lhoist has decided in 2022 to demolish its dolomite production plant in Namêche, which has been closed since 2008. This deconstruction fulfills a contractual obligation.
Despite the dismantling of the lime plant, Lhoist are not leaving the Namêche site. Industrial activity will continue. Lhoist will maintain a geological repository for analyzing stone from different regions.
As for the future of the new available space, the company is still considering it. I visited the factory in 2021.
