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| THE MONTBELLEUX MINE, FRANCE |
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The tungsten ore mine located at Montbelleux in northern France had
been operated during the years 1916-1918, following which the mine was
abandoned. The ore was of rather low grade and could be mined economically only
when prices were inflated due to increased demands for the metal. In 1936 the
French Government issued a decree of forfeiture against the lessees of the
mining concession. At that time nothing was left of the old installations; the
timbers had rotted, the mouth of the shaft had caved in, and the property
generally was quite inaccessible. Under French law all mineral rights are owned
by the State but the extracted ores become the property of the individual to
whom the government grants a lease or concession for the purpose of exploiting
a mine.
In 1938 the French Ministry of Public Works leased the
concession to one Edgar Brandt in order to develop the production of tungsten
in France. During the war years, tungsten which is a very important metal alloy
was very scarce in Europe and especially in France and Germany.
No
immediate steps were taken by the Brandt concern to reopen the mine which had
been closed for so many years but upon learning that the Germans were evincing
some interest in the mining concession a study was made in August 1941 with the
view toward a renewed exploitation of the mine. In the beginning of 1942
conferences took place between the German authorities and Brandt
representatives. Engineers from the Krupp firm and the Todt Organization were
present at these conferences. The German authorities offered to requisition
materials and equipment necessary to reopen the mine, provided that a certain
fixed percentage of the production would be sent to Germany. Some time
thereafter the Brandt representatives stated that they were unable to accept
the conditions laid down by the German authorities and the negotiations were
temporarily suspended.
In August 1942 the property was seized without
notice to the owner of the concession and without the issuance of a
requisition. A plan was put into operation by the Todt Organization under the
technical direction of the Krupp firm whereby the mine would be producing
within a year.
The business report of the Krupp Administration for Ore
Mining for the years 1942-1943 states the following (NIK-12908, Pros. Ex.
637): |
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“At the instigation of the
Reich Minister for Armament and War Production and of the Reich Economics
Minister, the draining of the Montbelleux Tungsten Ore Mine, shut down
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