For around forty years, there was no more gold mining in Haute-Vienne. But around thirty years after the closure of the Cheni mine, research was undertaken, on behalf of the Geological and Mining Research Bureau (BRGM), in the south of Haute-Vienne, near Saint-Yrieix- la-Perche, du Chalard, de Ladignac-le-Long… We are looking for gold again, on the fault almost 10 kilometers long where centuries earlier, the Gauls exploited the precious ore. The results are conclusive. We’re going to start digging again. Up to 400 meters this time.
1982-2002, the Société des mines du Bourneix
In 1982, the Société des mines du Bourneix was created by BRGM (via its subsidiary Coframines), and by the mining company Penarroya. The mine employs around a hundred people including 70 miners and supports around a hundred other people in indirect employment. Every year, 2 tonnes of gold leave Bourneix on average. In 1988, the company was taken over by Areva. The Bourneix mines will close in 2002, due to the drop in gold prices.
Or et arsenic
For 20 years, ore was extracted from several mines, which were either open-air or underground. Explosives, trucks, specific equipment for miners, ventilation ducts, ventilation shafts going outside: the operating tools have evolved. The objectives remain the same: extract the gold and separate it from the rock. The ore extracted from the various Bourneix mines goes to the factory, to be crushed there a first time, then a second time, giving a gray powder, loaded with gold but also arsenic.
Belgium
