Merlebach mining town, 1974 (b/w photo)

Merlebach is a former commune in the Moselle department in the Grand Est region of France. It has been merged with that of Freyming since 1971. In 1973, the first oil shock gave hope for new development to the city's mining activities. To date, several generations of increasingly deeper coal mines were found there; in particular, the V well and the Cuvelette well brought back three tons of coal per day per miner, extracted 686 m underground. Merlebach. Merlebach is a former French commune in the Moselle department in the Grand Est region. It has been merged with that of Freyming since 1971 In 1973, the first oil shock gave hope of new development to the city's mining activities. There are indeed, at this date, several generations of large-scale deep coal mines; in particular, Well V and the Cuvelette well bring back three tons of coal per day and per miner, representing 686 m underground.