Groeve Sibelco

Euregioweg
Heerlen

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A little piece of history

Around 1800, parts of this area were reclaimed for agriculture and livestock. More than a century later, in 1912, the area was given a new purpose and the Oranje-Nassau IV coal mine was put into operation. This mine remains in operation for more than half a century and is closed in 1968.

The Heksenberg silver sand quarry has existed since the 1920s and was partly under what is now the slag heap and partly in what is now the Noordplas. New concessions for the extraction of silver sand were not granted here, due to the presence of a water extraction area for the Oranje-Nassau IV. However, this changed when the mine closures were announced…

Employment Compensation

Quarry Heksenberg was designated as a special project to compensate for the loss of employment due to the closure of the mines. The current Sibelco quarry therefore belongs in the ranks of DAF (now Nedcar), ABP/APG, DSM and CBS.

Originally, an excavation permit was issued for 200 ha (1968), including the area with the slag heap of the Oranje-Nassau IV. Later this was reduced to about 100 ha (2001), in which the slag heap is not included.

The excavation work in the Zuidplas has now been completed and the quarry was handed over to Natuurmonumenten and the municipality of Heerlen in mid-2021 on the basis of the final plan. The excavation work in the Centrale Plas and in the Noordplas will continue until at least 2032.

The final plan that accompanies an excavation permit contains agreements about the way in which a quarry will be handed over to the new owner after completion of the excavation work. In the case of the Sibelco quarry, the entire site is set up as a nature reserve, supplemented with paths and viewpoints.

This made it possible to lead the Tour of Groeves along the Zuidplas and to set up a beautiful viewpoint!

Do you know what is made of silver sand?

Silver sand has many applications. For example, it is used for the production of:

glass, from flat glass to hollow glass, technical glass and glass wool;
foundries and precision molds;
ceramics, from tableware to specialties such as teeth and artificial hips;
fertilizers and pharmaceutical preparations;
abrasive preparations, anti-slip preparations, grinding and polishing preparations;
masonry mortar, decorative plaster and tile adhesive;
water filters, golf and sports fields;
well drilling, brake sand and drilling sand;
ornamental stones, bricks and roofing sheets;
road asphalt and bituminous roofing membranes;
binders;
fillers;
crystal, optical fiber and glass fiber;
electronic applications and semiconductors;
paper and detergents;
paints, plastics, polymers and silicones.

This text has been automatically translated using an online translation service.

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Groeve Sibelco

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