Compagnie des mines de Béthune
Early years 1847–1859
### Early years 1847–1859

[thumb\|Mine locations in Pas\-de\-Calais](/wiki/File:Compagnie_des_mines_de_B%C3%A9thune_locations.svg "Compagnie des mines de Béthune locations.svg")
Many soundings were conducted in the Pas\-de\-Calais from 1847, showing that the Valenciennes coal basin extended westward.
The Société des mines de Béthune was constituted on 1 October 1850 to explore for coal in the Pas\-de\-Calais department.
Founders were the Boitelle brothers, Constant Quentin, Petit\-Courtin, André Courtrai and Courtray\-Copin.
The company explored the area west of [Béthune](/wiki/B%C3%A9thune "Béthune"), which had not yet been surveyed by other companies, making the first drilling at Annezin, where coal was found on 26 April 1851\.
Further test drills at [Fouquières](/wiki/Fouqui%C3%A8res-l%C3%A8s-Lens "Fouquières-lès-Lens"), [Haillicourt](/wiki/Haillicourt "Haillicourt") and [Bruay](/wiki/Bruay "Bruay") found coal at depths between .
Based on the favorable results, the exploratory company was changed to an exploitation company on 25 September 1851\.

Another exploration company, the Société des mines de Bruay, was formed in 1851 to explore for coal in the region by Leconte, Lalou and others.
The owners of the Mines de Béthune acquired shares in this company, and on 13 April 1852 the six partners of Bruay sold to Constant Quentin, Petit\-Courtin, Joseph Tellier, Alexis Boitelle and Lobez, in their capacity of president and members of the society of Bethune, all the results of their soundings and their rights.

M. Dusouich, an engineer from the Arras mines, advised the administrators of the Mines de Béthune to abandon work they had started in the Bruay and Béthune region and to establish themselves in the area between [Lens](/wiki/Lens%2C_Pas-de-Calais "Lens, Pas-de-Calais") and [Nœux](/wiki/N%C5%93ux-les-Mines "Nœux-les-Mines").
The first site was near the village of Bully (today [Bully\-les\-Mines](/wiki/Bully-les-Mines "Bully-les-Mines")), with 400 inhabitants.
The land was poorly wooded, so the company had to bring timber and workers from [Cambrai](/wiki/Cambrai "Cambrai").
On 17 February 1852 the drill hole reached coal at .
Sinking of Mine 1 at Bully began on 26 March 1852, and the mine came into operation in 1853\..

An imperial decree of 15 January 1853 granted the Compagnie de Béthune, created by act of 25 September 1851 and represented by Constant Quentin, Petit Courtin and Joseph Lobez, the concession for coal mines in the communes of Haisnes, Auchy, Violaines, Cuinchy, Beuvry, Sailly, Labourse, Sains, Bouvigny, Aix, Liévin, Loos, Hulluch, Cambrin, Annequin, Noyelles, Vermelles, Mazingarbe, Grenay and Bully in the arrondissement of Béthune, Pas\-de\-Calais. The concession was named the Grenay concession.
The  Grenay concession lay between the Noeux and Lens concessions.
At first the company had great difficulty disposing of the products, which had to be transport by horse\-drawn carts to [Arras](/wiki/Arras "Arras"), where it could be transferred to barges or railway cars.
An attempt to form a company to make [coke](/wiki/Coke_%28fuel%29 "Coke (fuel)") near the canal at [Violaines](/wiki/Violaines "Violaines") in 1856 failed.


Who had great difficulty disposing of the products initially?