DVD set shows visual history former Dutch State Mines

HEERLEN - The history of the former coal mines in the district and that of the lives of the miners has been assembled on a series of DVDs issued on behalf of DSM, the giant chemical company which originally was the mines’ operator. The first disc in the series examines the last years of the mines, their shutdown ordered by the government in 1965 and the first years of transition. In the 1950s, over 55,000 people found employment at the mines, with half of them working in the shafts. In over 60 years of mining, DSM produced 570 million tons of coal.