Cokeries et Houilleres d’Anderlues
‘SA des Cokeries et Houillères d’Anderlues’ processes and distributes coal and its related product, coke. It is situated in Anderlues, a village in Belgium close to Charleroi. The origin of this company lies with a mining company, ‘SA des Houillères d’Anderlues,’ founded in 1860. Activities took place between
1906 and 2002.
- Built: 1903 – 1906
- Abandoned: 2002
- Demolished: 2015 – 2015
- Visited 2008
The mining activities in the Anderlues region already started in 1850. In 1906 this coking plant was built on the 31.5-hectare site, next to the coal mines of Anderlues. Together with another plant that processed the byproducts released during the purification of the coke. In 1908 the plant produced 74 thousand tons of coke a year. The coke that was produced in this plant was considered one of the most qualitative in Europe. The company also provides storage services, including natural gas storage in underground reservoirs.
Closure
Eventually coal mining in the Anderlues region stopped in 1969. As a result, the coking plant had to switch to imported coal.
After years of production, the installation became outdated, and there was no money left to invest in order to meet the environmental and safety requirements. As a result, ‘Cokeries et Houilleres d’Anderlues’ closed in 2002 and had to let the 113 employees go. The factory was the longest-running coking factory in Belgium. In 2004, a private company bought the place for the operation of a test center for the treatment of minerals. In 2006, restoration of some buildings stopped due to a lack of permits.
From Industry to Ruin
After the closure, the Cokeries et Houillères d’Anderlues remained abandoned. The ground was heavily polluted after decades of industrial use. Investigations found mineral oils, cyanide, phenols, heavy metals, asbestos, and other contaminants. SPAQUE started environmental studies and prepared the site for rehabilitation. Demolition began in 2015 and continued in several phases until 2025, making way for future redevelopment.
Today, almost nothing remains of the Cokeries et Houillères d’Anderlues. Only photographs and memories preserve the story of one of Belgium’s last great coking plants and an important chapter in the industrial history of Wallonia.
