Société Mokta El Hadid
 | |
 View of the mines in June 1865 | |
| Industry | Mining |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1845 |
| Founder | Paulin Talabot |
| Headquarters | Algeria |
| Products | Iron ore |
The Société Mokta El Hadid was an iron ore mining company in Algeria.
First discovery
Algeria in the 19th century did not have coking coal, so did not process its iron ore. Instead, the ore was shipped to the coast and sold to a shipper, who in turn sold it to European steel mills for about twice the price.[1] The geologist H. Fournel discovered iron ore deposits near the port of Bône.[1] The businessman Paulin Talabot had a "Mediterranean dream" involving "the exploitation of the mines of the Bone region, which would feed his coal mines in the Grand-Combe by means of rapid transport in his ships of the Compagnie generale transatlantique, relayed by his Algerian railroad cars and those of the PLM." Before Fournel's survey was complete, in 1845 the Talabots or their associates had obtained three of the four concessions in the Bône region. Talabot thought of building an ironworks at Bône, but abandoned the idea in 1848 part due to the danger of attack by the Algerians and in part to a threatened boycott of Algerian iron ore by the Schneiders of Le Creusot.[2]
Due to shortage of both labour and capital, little progress was made and in 1849 the government revoked the three Talabot concessions. In 1852 they were restored after Napoleon III had taken power. In 1857 the Mokta el Hadid mine was found, and the Talabots gained the concession. The ore was in a vein 2,500 metres (8,200 ft) long and 10 to 50 metres (33 to 164 ft) wide. The ore was magnetite, 70% pure iron.[2]
Operations
A short railway line was built from the mine at Ain Mokra to the Bône docks.[3] Extensive construction was undertaken at Bône in 1856–69 to build an 80 hectares (200 acres) sheltered port facility to handle the ore from Mokta el Hadid.[4] In 1865 Napoleon III visited Algeria, including a trip to the mine and the city of Bone. A photograph survives of the emperor and his entourage taking refreshment under a tent at the mine site. In the 1870s 2/3 of all miners in Algeria were working the Mokta-el-Hadid mine.[2] In 1875–76 the Bou Djima River, which was carring silt into the port, was diverted to the Seybouse River. The railway could now be extended to the port, considerably reducing transport costs.[4]
Philippe de Cerner, the company manager in Bone, convinced the government to extend the railway west from Ain Mokra to connect with the main line to Philippeville. He then persuaded the government to assume responsibility for running the line in the public interests. From 1908 to 1917 de Cerner directed the line himself.[3] After the deposits were exhausted the company found another rich source of iron ore in western Algeria near the sea at Beni Saf, where a port was built.[1] Mokta el Hadid was the largest mining company in Algeria until 1927, when it was overtaken by the Societe de l'Ouenza.[5]
Notes
- ^ a b c Prochaska 2002, p. 103.
- ^ a b c Prochaska 2002, p. 81.
- ^ a b Prochaska 2002, p. 109.
- ^ a b Prochaska 2002, p. 111.
- ^ Prochaska 2002, p. 108.
Sources
- Prochaska, David (2002), Making Algeria French: Colonialism in Bône, 1870-1920, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0-521-53128-3, retrieved 2017-08-12