The western portion of the Belgian city of Charleroi was long dominated by iron and steel industries, established there in mid XIX century due to the flourishing coal mining business. Different companies contributed to shape this unique industrial landscape, actually a true palimpsest integrating many facilities and infrastructures from different technological ages. In particular, the Forges de la Providence (1838) and the Forges de Thy-Marcinelle (1888) played a key role in this process, with their large steel complexes extending on both sides of the river Sambre. Independently developing and growing until the 1970s, the two companies and their respective facilities merged first in Thy-Marcinelle et Providence (1979) and then in Cockerill-Sambre (1981), in the context of a wider restructuring of the Belgian steel sector.  In Charleroi, the rationalization process of the local steel industry was completed in 2001 with the creation of Carsid, a joint venture of Duferco and Arcelor. The company, which inherited part of the historical facilities such as Providence's coking plant and Thy-Marcinelle's sintering plant, blast furnace n.4 and OBM shop, lasted only until 2012. The whole site is currently under demolition, awaiting to be then redeveloped as part of Charleroi Port Ouest urban regeneration project.