Already about a year old but still highly recommended:
“L’industrie du fer dans le bassin de Longwy des origines à nos jours”
588 pages crammed with information (in French) and hundreds of photos about Longwy’s legendary steel mills (Longwy, Senelle, La Chiers and Rehon).
60,00 EUR. ISBN/GTIN978-2-916782-62-1, Edition Fensch Vallee.
In the 1960ies the small town of Longwy, France (pop. 60000) still housed more than 20 blast furnaces. A unique density.
The mills were running on local iron ores of a rather poor quality that became uneconomical in the 1970ies with high quality iron ore shipped into Europe from overseas.
35 years ago, after the announcment of La Chiers’ closure, Longwy’s steel workers started their long and exceptional violent struggle to keep their jobs.
Since the closure of Arcelor’s wire rolling mill in 1998 there is no more steel industry in town.
Jean-Marie Ottelé site: www.industrie.lu is a unique source of information about the Terre Rouge (Red Earth) steel industry.
1: Cockerill-Ougrée-Providence
Founded: 1865.
Closed: 1987
2: Lorraine-Escaut
Founded 1835
Closed 1987
3: Hauts Fourneaux De La Chiers
Founded: 1881
Closed: 1979
4: Aciéries de Longwy
Founded: 1880
Closed: 1978
5: Hauts-Fourneaux Réunis de Saulnes et Uckange
Founded: 1872
Closed: 1991
Hauts Fourneaux De La Chiers, 1950ies