Puits n° 1 bis, Liévin

The Compagnie des mines de Liévin was a mining company that exploited coal in Liévin, Éleu-dit-Leauwette, Avion and Angres in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais mining basin. The company was founded on December 1, 1862. After numerous drillings, a No. 1 shaft was started in Liévin in 1858 and began producing in 1860.

However, production remains low, even with the acquisition of the pit, which became Pit No. 2, purchased from the Société d'Aix. Production stagnates. The deepening of the No. 1 pit increased production from 67,761 tons in 1869 to 146,787 tons in 1873. Two years later, mining began in the No. 3 - 4 pit at Éleu-dit-Leauwette, later named 3 - 3 bis. A No. 5 pit, later named No. 1 bis, was added to the No. 1 pit. From then on, production increased considerably and reached 210,591 tons in 1878 and 285,331 tons in 1879. The No. 4 - 4 bis pit, established in Avion, began production in January 1894. That year, production was 665,742 tons and the Company employed 2,418 underground workers and 601 day workers.

The No. 5 - 5 bis pit, started in Liévin in 1899, began to produce in 1903 and the No. 6 - 6 bis pit began to produce in 1907, after three years of work. That year, 6,824 workers enabled the Company to produce 1,484,000 tons of coal. Production reached 1,996,450 tons on the eve of the First World War and the Company employed 9,695 workers. All the shafts were blown up during the war, with the exception of No. 2 shaft. The galleries were flooded and everything had to be rebuilt. The No. 7 - 7 bis pit was started in Avion in 1920 and went into production in 1923. In 1938, the Company produced 1,419,545 tons of coal, and in 1939 employed six thousand nine miners and 2,288 day laborers. The mining towns consisted of 6,543 houses.

After the Second World War, in 1946, the Compagnie des mines de Liévin was nationalized and became part of the Liévin Group, which also included the concession of the Compagnie des mines de Vimy-Fresnoy. In the south of the concession, shaft no. 8 was dug in 1948 to ensure ventilation. The pits No. 6 - 6 bis and 7 - 7 bis became concentration pits. The last backfilled pits were those of pit no. 4 - 4 bis in 1988. One of the best known remains of the Company is the headframe of pit No. 1 bis, although thirty-three buildings and several thousand dwellings remain from the seven open pits. The Pinchonvalles slag heap is well known and is a protected area.