Beringen Colliery.

The coaling mine of Beringen or better known as ‘Les Charbonnages de Beringen’ is located in the province of Limburg Belgium, a once heavily mined area which began extracting in 1901.

When approaching the area you can spot the slag heaps and headstocks looming over the town from miles around amidst an artificial landscape which was created from coal waste products and is more akin to a fertile teletubbie hill than the monstrosity it probably once was.

The area saw its final closure in 1989 as production ceased permanently due to a shift of popularity in the consumption of energy led by the competitive prices of oil and gas. The site is now partly occupied by a museum dedicated to offering a historical insight into the dark and dangerous world of mining and remains a testimony to some this industry’s bleaker past.