Minett Mash-Up: Carlo Jones X Metzeschmelz

Fire, Heat and Iron

How Minett-ore was transformed into steel, and how the Minett-ore travelled from the mountains along the French border to the steelworks: these are the stories that bring our podcast to life this season. In this episode, we focus in particular on the technology and the setting it took to turn stones into steel – right in the middle of a place where industrial history can still be felt..

Our “Minett Location” of the month: Metzeschmelz

This time, the Minett Mash-Up journey takes us to Metzeschmelz, an industrial brownfield and a remarkably powerful witness to the time when steel production and everyday life here in the south were closely intertwined.

For this episode, we are guests in the former central workshop of the Esch–Schifflange steelworks – an impressive hall where Ferro Forum has found its home for several years now. This is not just a place where people “talk about the steelworks”: memories are kept alive here, stories are collected, and industrial culture is shared with people who want to understand the Minett and its development better.

The conversation also touches on an urban legend: in the 19th century, the steelworks was supposedly built by two co-owners – completely mirrored – so that each could have operated “their half” independently, should a dispute ever arise. Details like these turn the Location of the Month into more than just a backdrop: it is a gateway into history, economic necessities, and the everyday life of then and now.

At the same time, Metzeschmelz is a place in transition: the site is to be redeveloped into a completely new district. This raises an exciting question: how does an association-led project that lives industrial culture fit into a space that is reinventing itself? Which changes spark hopes – and where do the concerns lie?

Our guest: Carlo Jones

Our guest Carlo Jones is a member and volunteer at Ferro Forum – described there as “homme à tout faire, même la trésorerie”. In the episode, we talk with him about his connection to Luxembourg’s steel industry and his own path through working life.

The conversation highlights many facets that shaped (and still shape) the world of the steelworks:

the commute to work and the journey at work,
the question of what drew someone to a demanding and sometimes dangerous industrial environment,
fire, heat and furnaces: between fascination, respect and energy, and what that can mean for a person,
how difficult (or important) it is to pass on passion for such “hard” work to younger people,
the development of safety and changing attitudes toward risk,
technological developments that changed everyday life at the steelworks,
and the question of what you want to pass on to a new generation entering a modernised industrial environment.

Our quiz:

When was the Metzeschmelz founded?

1882
1872
1871*

How many people used to work there and how many are expected to work there in the future, once the steelworks will have been transformed into a new district?

Past: ~2.600 | Future: ~7.000*
Past: ~5.000 | Future: ~5.000
Past: ~1.200 | Future: ~10.000

What percentage of the entire Minett iron ore deposit lies on Luxembourg territory?

0,24 %
3,40 %*
7,28 %

Links to the topics of this episode:

Schmelz Esch-Schëffleng: former steelworks in the south of Luxembourg, closed around 15 years ago
Ferro Forum: association aiming to keep the memory of work at the steelworks and iron processing alive
Arcelor-Mittal: the world’s largest steel producer, which also operates steelworks in Luxembourg
Emile Mayrisch: pioneer of Luxembourg’s steel industry
Grey-Träger: a special type of steel beams rolled at the steelworks in Differdange and exported worldwide
Micheville steelworks: former French steel plant just behind the French–Luxembourg border
Quartier Metzeschmelz: new residential district that will be created on the site of the former Esch–Schifflange steelworks
Minett Basin: the planet’s largest iron ore deposit that formed after the atmosphere became enriched with oxygen