IN PICTURES. We visited the powder magazine of this Orne mine: a historic place

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Very close to the headframe (still standing) of the Saint-Clair-de-Halouze mine (Orne) stands the old powder magazine. This mysterious site now closed to the public is a witness to the history of the workers of the south of Flers.
Today inaccessible, this part of the mining heritage made it possible to store dynamite to extract the ore. We visited it with the Le Savoir et le Fer association.

Behind the blast wall, the entrance to the powder magazine

“The legislation ensured that powder magazines were obligatory in each mine,” says Philippe Pichereau, vice-president of the Le Savoir et le Fer association.

In front of the entrance to the cave, the blast wall is still standing there, he who ensured that the explosion did not impact the tile of the mine, located behind.

It remains to enter the tunnel from the powder magazine… First, a walk is done with modern electric lights, to get to the bottom.

Traces of miners' work

On the ground, there is no longer the rail which allowed the dynamite to be brought. On the other hand, on the walls, there are still traces of the activity in this powder magazine: “A little everywhere, there are foil holes. The miners made one-meter holes and put dynamite in them,” explains Philippe Pichereau.

For this too, there were shooting shots made on the walls.

“The miners made a shot plan to score, to be able to make all their holes. They arrived in what was called the shooting sitemade a mark, then a hole of 1.20 or 2.40 meters. »

In order to immerse yourself in the atmosphere of the time, no more electric lamps. Place at the carbide lampwhich the miners used… Everyone had their own lamp and worked by placing it near them.

Without a lamp, complete darkness…

Arriving at the very bottom of the powder magazine where the dynamite was stored, Philippe Pichereau asks: “Do you know the complete black ? When they were out of light it had this effect…”

Everything goes out and it becomes dangerous in this underground space, as dark as coal.

Today, the site is no longer accessible, but it remains standing, witness to a mining pastgone.

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