Visit to the Pont-Péan mine site

Name: Visit to the Pont-Péan mine site
Start: 2022-09-17T14:30:00+02:00
End: 2022-09-18T17:30:00+02:00
Location: Mine de plomb argentifère de Pont-Péan

Guided tour of the mining site by the GALENE association and on Sunday 18 September at 4.30pm, musical animation by the Orchestre à Vent d'Orgères Rive Sud, in front of the administrative building.

17 and 18 September 2022Passed

Conditions

Free entry

Jean-Pierre CUDENNEC

Discover the history of the largest silver lead mine in Europe in the 19th century. Visit the chapel, a former miners' locker room, admire the old administrative building, and observe the remains of this farm on a short walk. Exhibition of GALENE at the Espace Beausoleil after the visit Only on Sunday 18 September at 4.30pm, a musical animation is proposed to you by the OVO – Orchestre à Vent d'Orgères Rive Sud in front of the porch of the administrative building.

About the location

Mine de plomb argentifère de Pont-Péan

Eglise, 2 rue de la Mine, 35131 Pont-Péan

Ille-et-Vilaine
Bretagne

This lead mine, inaugurated in 1730, which operated a set of four metalliferous seams, has kept traces of the first workings, especially the upper part of the Wells of Deputies. It was first operated by a company founded by the Malouin shipowner Danycan de L'Epine and taken over in 1755 by the financier Pâris-Duverney. The mine first worked with a bead of 80 buckets, then the engineer Laurent pushed the extraction up to 120 m (1794). In 1757, 1,000 workers were working there. After a long interruption, mainly due to the difficulties raised by the infiltrations of the Seiche, the revival took place in 1844 under the impulse of the English engineer J. Hunt. Production was increased thanks to new pump systems (Bicêtre and German wells). In 1853 the Société pour l'exploitation des mines de Pont-Péan, a limited partnership with a majority of English capital, was created. Several models of steam engines followed one another, and by 1893 there were 18 on the entire mine site. In 1880, under t