Route de la Mine de Montbelleux à Luitré

The start of this walk is located near the entrance to the old mine buildings.

(S) Head north-north-east for about 200 metres, then turn right onto the access road to the village of Haut Montbelleux. After passing a wood, ignore the dead-end (sign) and turn left.

(1) From the crossroads, you’ll enjoy a lovely view of the Bretillien and Mayenne countryside. Turn right, then right again, and walk through the village of Haut Montbelleux. Leave the village on the left, taking a stony path.

(2) Turn right: from here, for over 600 metres, you’ll follow a shaded sunken lane typical of the region’s bocage. This very pleasant section ends near the Cochonnière farm. Leave the lane on the left and take the farm access road on the left.

(3) Turn right onto the road. Please be careful, as there is heavy traffic on this road. Continue for about 500 metres.

(4) Turn right onto a stony track. From here, a magnificent view of the bocage and the town of Fougères will gradually come into view. After the Haut Montbelleux farm, you’ll return to the tarmac. You’ll arrive at the foot of the headframe and the buildings that mark the actual site of the mine. Continue on to reach the starting point (E).

As with any mining site, access to the pit is strictly prohibited.
Cars can be parked at the side of the road.
The route is marked by small white signs marked "3M" (Mémoire de la Mine de Montbelleux). Orange markings are painted on posts, trees and sometimes the logo is painted on the tarmac.
A few information boards, placed along the route, tell the story of the mine, its inhabitants, and the elves and goblins that still haunt the area.
Definition of "Bretilliens": this is the new name for the inhabitants of Ille-et-Vilaine since 2013.

History of the Montbelleux Mine

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, mining exploration work concluded that wolfram (tungsten ore) and cassiterite (tin ore) were present at the Montbelleux site, and very small quantities of topaz and gold were also found there.
The distinctive feature of this mine is that it was not operated continuously, but in phases, in line with fluctuations in the market prices of the ores found underground.
In 1903, a mining concession covering 482 hectares in the municipalities of Luitré and Parcé was granted. Initial mining operations began in 1907 and ceased in 1918. In the intervening years, there were periods of inactivity, modernisation and expansion of the facilities, as by the time operations ceased, the mine had three shafts.
In 1942, it was restored by the Germans, and a railway access route was created, along with a connection to the high-voltage power line. This period of operation ended with the Germans dynamiting the facilities and their departure in 1944.

Another period of operation, from 1951 to 1957,
From 1977 to 1980, a new and final phase of exploration took place. A road access tunnel was dug to reach the -130-metre level. Despite various modern facilities, and due to the unsuitability of the mining method which led to collapses, the mine ceased operations on 9 August 1983.
Currently owned by the community of communes, management of the site has been entrusted to an association called ‘3M’, which works to preserve and maintain the memory of this place.