Werkzaamheden van het geologisch bureau van de Rijks Geologische Dienst te Heerlen, voorheen en thans

Abstract

At the end of his paper the author provides his own summary, when he states "that the character of the activities of the Geological Bureau did not essentially change as the years went by". What did change was the quantity of certain investigations which were done for third parties. The article contains a tabulation of the number of reports, publication and of papers presented during the last decade. There is an increase in recent years in the number of studies on surface minerals, and also in the number of times the Bureau's advice was sought in connection with the exploration and exploitation of potable or industrial water. This directly reflects the increasing industrialisation of Southern Limburg. The Bureau was also more frequently consulted on matters of road construction. Surprisingly in these days of mines closing down. requests for advice on their part appear to be more frequent than had been expected. As from 1st January, 1968 the two geological institutions then existing in this country were re-organized into the one Geological Survey. After 60 years the Geological Bureau for the mining area ceased to be an independent unit. Its history goes back to 1907, the year in which the mining industry became actively interested in the geology of Southern Limburg. Geological mapping was also started, and likewise the Bureau was put in charge of the study of palaeobotany, the drawing up of a stratigraphy of the Carboniferous and the correlation of the individual coal seams. Both in 1927 and 1935 as in 1951 and 1958 congresses of carboniferous stratigraphy and geology were held at Heerlen. These contributed to the reputation the Bureau enjoyed abroad. The above re-organization was primarily prompted by the direct interest which the Ministry of Economic Affairs had in the increasing exploration for and exploitation of natural gas. The present paper lists the six newly created departments, which deal for instance with the investigation of the North Sea, the geology of petroleum and natural gas reservoirs in as far as they concern the Netherlands, etc. The Bureau's staff numbers six graduates and 29 non-graduates. The Bureau's achievements in the field of Carboniferous stratigraphy and of mining geology are reported in detail. The Fossilium Catalogus, of which 76 parts have already appeared, will soon be complete. Repeatedly foreign companies called on the Bureau's expertise, mainly for the stratigraphy of the Carboniferous in coal basins or in exploration wells. The next chapter deals with the practical mining geology, and emphasizes that the new methods of investigation serve to give better and more efficient information to the mining industry. The paper reviews the activities of the Bureau in its eight different aspects, and recalls that also in behalf of the "Pumpmine Domanial" several geoÌogical and hydrogeological reports have been produced. A renewed exploration of the Netherlands, with a new set of maps show the results, is necessary. The hydrogeology, as practised by the Bureau, is gaining importance in recent years because of the increasing demand for potable and industrial water. During 1969: 57 million cubic metres of ground water were produced in Southern Limburg, or, if one includes the middle part of Limburg: 85 million m3. More research is required to substantiate the expectation that this production can be doubled.