Coal mining in Limburg, a province of the Netherlands, has taken place since the 16th century. Near the Augustinian Abbey of Rolduc, coal was found very close to the surface. The abbey owned the coal, and beginning in the 16th century hired local miners to extract the coal for sale as fuel. The true extent of the coal reserves in the south-east corner of Limburg first became apparent in 1870, when the wealthy Count Marchant and Ansembourg of Brussels ordered the first boreholes to be drilled near Eygelshoven, and a substantial seam of coal was found at a depth of 154 metres.