Mining in Luxembourg
Mining in Luxembourg mainly involved iron ore called Minette. For about a century, both open-pit and underground mining of Minette played an important role in the economy and politics, especially after the late 19th century when new technology let Luxembourg use the oolitic iron ore for iron and steel. The ore had been known since Roman times, but the necessary technology did not exist then. Besides Minette, Luxembourg also mined stone, shale, antimony (Goesdorf), lead (Allerborn), gypsum (Walferdange), and a copper mine near Stolzembourg, though copper never became important.
Output varied a lot. Production peaked at around 8 million tons in the 1950s, and then declined sharply from the 1960s onward. Minette was not as cheap or high-quality as iron ore from other regions and had a relatively high phosphorus content. Because many mines were private and not tied to steel mills, Luxembourg’s ore exports depended on neighboring markets and could be affected by problems nearby. Minette was exported mainly to Germany, the Saar region, France, and Belgium; in some years exports nearly stopped.
These fluctuations affected jobs. Many workers came from abroad, especially from Mediterranean countries, to help in the mines. By the late 1960s and 1970s mining declined, and in 1981 the Thillebierg mine in Differdange closed, ending Luxembourg’s mining era.
Today only the Saint Barbara festival and the National Mining Museum in Rumelange remain as reminders of the country’s mining past.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 15:18 (CET).