This small hamlet, with approximately 400 inhabitants, was home to one of Belgium's most important slate mines at the beginning of the 20th century. The history of this slate quarry began in 1845 with the drilling of a 30-meter-deep borehole, which allowed the identification of an 8-meter-thick vein. The slate quarry became Belgium's most important operation. In the early 20th century, it employed 300 workers and produced up to 12 million slates per year. Its development was hampered in 1912 by a major landslide that made part of the mine inaccessible. In March 1912, part of the underground construction site was swept away by a major landslide, which had repercussions reaching the surface, where parts of the village sank by up to 2.5 meters and several houses collapsed. All underground work was immediately halted, and the company itself was dissolved. The operation resumed in 1923. Various companies would succeed each other in managing the operation until its definitive closure in 2002. The company, which at that time employed 18 workers, did not have the necessary funds to modernize its equipment, which was necessary for increased productivity in a market where selling traditional slate was becoming increasingly difficult.