A preserved metal headframe from the former Sainte-Marie coal workings, now standing beside the mairie of Blaye-les-Mines as a local industrial heritage monument.
The Mines de Carmaux — Puits No.2 formed part of the Sainte-Marie seat of the Société des Mines de Carmaux, established in the coal-bearing basin of the Tarn department at Blaye-les-Mines. Fonçage of Puits No.1 of the Sainte-Marie seat began on 26 July 1893, and that of Puits No.2 in 1898; the headframe over Puits No.1 was erected in 1900 and that over Puits No.2 in 1903. The seat, intended to open the southern portion of the Carmaux coalfield, operated for extraction until 1954 and was definitively closed in 1973.
The Carmaux coalfield was nationalised in 1946, passing to the Houillères du Bassin d'Aquitaine and subsequently the Houillères du Bassin du Centre et du Midi. Following closure, the metal headframe of the Sainte-Marie seat was preserved and was transferred at the initiative of a former mayor of Blaye-les-Mines, Jean Coutouly, to stand beside the new mairie of the commune, on the RN 88. The site is associated with the ASPICC, a local association of former miners that organises heritage events around the headframe.
The coalfield exploited at Blaye-les-Mines forms part of the historic Carmaux basin in the Tarn department of southern France, where coal extraction is documented from at least the thirteenth century. The Société des Mines de Carmaux, predecessor to later nationalised operators, structured the southern part of its concession through the creation of the Sainte-Marie seat. Fonçage of the first shaft of this seat, Puits No.1, began on 26 July 1893, and that work was halted in March 1896 at a depth of 340 metres. The installation of Puits No.1 was ready for operation in 1898, with the headframe over it erected in 1900. Puits No.2 was sunk in 1898 and its headframe was erected in 1903. The two shafts together constituted a seat intended to develop the southern extent of the Carmaux coalfield. Active coal extraction from the Sainte-Marie seat continued until 1954. The seat was definitively closed in 1973.
The broader Carmaux coalfield was nationalised in 1946, passing first into the Houillères du Bassin d'Aquitaine (Groupe Tarn) and subsequently, in 1969, into the Houillères du Bassin du Centre et du Midi. With the progressive closure of underground workings across the basin — La Grillatié in 1969, Sainte-Marie in 1973, Cagnac in 1979, and La Tronquié in August 1987 — the era of deep mine extraction came to an end. Open-cast extraction at the grande découverte de Sainte-Marie continued until 30 June 1997.
Following the closure of the Sainte-Marie seat, the metal headframe was retained. At the initiative of Jean Coutouly, a former mayor of Blaye-les-Mines, it was transferred to stand adjacent to the new mairie of the commune, beside the RN 88, where it serves as a public heritage monument. The ASPICC — Association de Sauvegarde du Patrimoine Industriel Carmaux-Cagnac, an association of former miners — organises regular heritage events around the headframe, including the Journées Européennes du Patrimoine, with demonstrations, reconstructed mine galleries, and testimonies from former workers.
The minespatrimoine.fr inventory of surviving French headframes lists the Puits no 2, commune de Blaye-les-Mines, as belonging to the Houillères de Carmaux, of metal construction, and as one of the surviving headframes of the Occitanie region.
