C-mine
C-mine is a municipal cultural and creative campus in Genk, Belgium, operating exhibitions, performances, and an immersive underground mine experience (C-mine Expeditie) across 7 heritage buildings. It serves families, schools, corporate clients, and arts organizations, and houses the C-mine Crib startup incubator and LUCA School of Arts campus.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded-
- HeadquartersGenk, Belgium
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What C-mine does
C-mine is a municipal cultural and creative campus operated by the City of Genk (Stad Genk) on the redeveloped Winterslag coal mine site in Genk, Belgium. The site comprises 7 restored heritage buildings and new constructions with more than 30 indoor and outdoor spaces, hosting 42 companies and organizations (including 33 creative enterprises representing approximately 200 jobs) alongside the LUCA School of Arts campus, the C-mine Crib startup incubator, and anchor tenants such as Studio Pieter Stockmans.
The site's flagship experiential product is C-mine Expeditie — a 1.5-kilometer underground immersive mine experience featuring interactive installations, virtual reality story pods with animations and holograms, an interactive sound cell, an audio guide, and a 60-meter authentic mine shaft tower climb. Pricing is €14 standard (€11 for C-mine Pas members, free with Museumpas). Additional offerings include venue rental (meeting rooms €50–€160 per half day, Creative Room €55/hour, Creativity Loft €330 per half day, larger venues up to 300+ seats), educational programs for preschool through secondary schools, a children's birthday experience (€13/child), and the annual C-mine Pas membership (€10, €5 for seniors 65+).
C-mine generates revenue through five streams: (1) ticket sales via the Ticketmatic online platform and physical visitor reception; (2) one-time venue rental across 30+ spaces; (3) recurring subscription membership (C-mine Pas); (4) transaction-fee catering through on-site food operators (Norma, Barenzaal); and (5) incubator and tenant rentals via C-mine Crib. Its go-to-market combines event-driven programming (Play, Words, Music, Host, Design, Film categories) with a community-led model anchored by strategic arts partnerships with B-Classic (classical music), Het nieuwstedelijk (theater), Pathé/C-NEMA (film), and CIAP (contemporary art). Customers span families, schools, corporate clients seeking unique event venues, and arts organizations across Flanders and the broader Limburg cross-border region.
C-mine firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- C-mine
- Legal name
- Stad Genk
- Website
- https://c-mine.be
- Company type
- Private
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- C-mine is a municipal cultural and creative campus in Genk, Belgium, operating exhibitions, performances, and an immersive underground mine experience (C-mine Expeditie) across 7 heritage buildings. It serves families, schools, corporate clients, and arts organizations, and houses the C-mine Crib startup incubator and LUCA School of Arts campus.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
C-mine industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Cultural Heritage Center and Creative Campus
- NAICS
- Historical Sites (712120), Historical Sites (71212), Museums (71211), Museums (712110)
- SIC
- Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990), Hotels, Rooming Houses, Camps & Other Lodging Places (7000)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Specialty & Historic Venues (Landmarks, Estates) (THAHAAAK)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Historic Inns & Heritage B&Bs (THAGAHAC), Adventure/Outdoor Base Hostels (Ski/Surf/Trek) (THAGAGAG)
Keywords
Where C-mine is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Genk
- HQ country
- Belgium
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
C-mine business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Ticket Sales: Revenue from selling tickets to exhibitions, performances, C-mine Expeditie, and other events. Online sales through Ticketmatic platform with physical sales at visitor reception.
- Venue Rental: Rental income from over 30 spaces across 7 architectural buildings including meeting rooms, conference halls, event spaces, and outdoor areas. Managed through Infrastructure team and individual venue operators.
- C-mine Pass Membership: Annual membership card costing €10 (€5 for 65+) providing discounts on performances, exhibitions, C-mine Expeditie, and partner restaurants. Generates recurring membership revenue.
- Catering and Food Services: On-site restaurants and cafés including Norma, Barenzaal, and other food operators contribute to revenue ecosystem.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Birthday Party Game - €13 per child |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Meeting Rooms - €50-€160 per half day |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Creative Room - €55/hour or €440/day |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Creativity Loft - €330 per half day |
| Subscription | Annual | C-mine Pass - €10 annual membership |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | C-mine Expeditie - €14 standard |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels4 records
C-mine product offering
Product offeringCore offering
C-mine operates a hybrid cultural-heritage campus on the former Winterslag coal mine in Genk, Belgium, offering immersive underground mine experiences (C-mine Expeditie), exhibitions, theater and music performances, school educational programs, family activities (birthday parties, PLAYGROUND), venue rentals across 30+ spaces, and a creative business incubator (C-mine Crib). The site integrates arts, education, and creative enterprise with 7 architectural buildings housing 42 companies and organizations.
Product overview
C-mine is a hybrid creativity campus located on the former Winterslag coal mine site in Genk, Belgium. The cultural center operates as a multi-venue complex with heritage spaces and offers C-mine Expeditie as its primary experiential product—an immersive underground mine exploration using virtual reality, holograms, and interactive installations. Additional offerings include venue rental services across 7 architectural buildings (over 30 spaces), educational school programs, birthday party packages, and a membership card (C-mine Pas). The site also hosts rotating exhibitions, theater performances, and events through partnerships with arts organizations.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- C-mine Expeditie: An immersive underground mine experience expedition featuring a 1.5km adventure through old tunnels, interactive installations, and a 60-meter mine tower climb.
- C-mine Crib
- PLAYGROUND
- C-mine Pas
- Flanders Heritage Venue
Products and services
- C-mine Expeditie
Quantifiable outcome
- €3 discount on performances with C-mine Pass
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use C-mine
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
C-mine technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature2 records
C-mine partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- LUCA School of ArtscoreLUCA School of Arts has a campus at C-mine, providing education in arts and design. The partnership includes the FabLab facility and educational programs for students.
- B-ClassiccoreB-Classic programs classical music concerts at C-mine year-round, including 'Het Concept Van Thomas' and the B-Classic festival. Their motto: 'Our hall is Limburg, our public the world.'
- Het nieuwstedelijkcoreTheater company based at C-mine, active in Genk, Hasselt, and Leuven. Produces quality performing arts including theater, music, and audio presentations, with international ambitions.
- Pathé / C-NEMAminorFilm club C-NEMA, a partnership with Pathé and LUCA School of Arts, offers monthly curated quality film programming from around the world.
- C-mine CribcoreIncubator for young creative enterprises providing office space, meeting rooms, and startup support. Contact: Marijke Steegen, Manager.
- Toerisme VlaanderencoreAwarded C-mine the Flanders Heritage Venue designation in 2020, recognizing it among 15 select heritage venues for international congress market.
- MuseumpasminorC-mine Expeditie is free with Museumpas. C-mine also holds 'blauw vlekje' family-friendly certification from Museumpas.
- PasserelleminorOrganization that guides children and teenagers in developing artistic personality through dance, movement, expression, and performance, with workshops and school programs.
- CIAPminorContemporary art organization at C-mine since 2020, inviting artists, curators, researchers, and locals to participate in projects on current topics like future energy.
- Studio Pieter StockmansminorInternationally renowned ceramicist has workshop and studio in former metal warehouse at C-mine. Offers tours to discover the atelier.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
C-mine competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- TextielMuseum: Textile heritage museum and creative workspace in Tilburg, Netherlands, combining exhibitions, educational programs, designer residencies, and creative-business tenants — structurally similar to C-mine's heritage-plus-incubation model.
- Westergasfabriek: Former gas factory in Amsterdam transformed into a cultural venue hosting events, exhibitions, and creative tenants — comparable multi-building heritage site with venue rental, programming, and creative-ecosystem dynamics.
- NDSM-werf: Former shipyard in Amsterdam turned into a creative hub with studios, events, and cultural programming. Closely parallels C-mine's blend of industrial heritage, artist tenants, and visitor programming.
- Duisburg-Nord Landschaftspark: Former ironworks in Duisburg, Germany, redeveloped into a public park and event venue with climbing, concerts, and exhibitions inside repurposed industrial structures — mirrors C-mine's experiential reuse of authentic mining architecture.
- Zollverein: UNESCO World Heritage former coal mine and coking plant in Essen, Germany, converted into a cultural and creative campus with museums, events, and design school tenants — directly comparable to C-mine's industrial-heritage-to-creative-campus model.
- Werkspoorkathedraal: Former locomotive factory in Utrecht repurposed as a large creative and event venue with theater, exhibitions, and creative tenants. Closely mirrors C-mine's adaptive reuse of a single industrial heritage building for cultural and commercial use.
- Big Pit National Coal Mining Museum: National coal mining museum in Blaenavon, Wales, offering underground mine tours with former miners as guides. Directly comparable to C-mine Expeditie's underground heritage experience and immersive storytelling model.
Emerging players
- La Machine: French mechanical-arts company producing large-scale industrial-heritage theatrical machines and events in former shipyards and steelworks (Nantes, Toulouse). Comparable in converting industrial heritage into immersive live experiences, though more focused on touring productions than a fixed campus.
Regional players
- MIAT (Museum of Industry Ghent): Belgian industrial heritage museum in Ghent presenting the history of industry. Comparable as a Flemish industrial-heritage visitor attraction though focused on museum display rather than C-mine's venue-rental and incubation model.
Broad incumbents
- Heureka Science Centre: Finnish science centre with VR, interactive exhibits, and educational school programming. Comparable on the experiential/educational and technology-layered attraction side, but operates a single science museum rather than a multi-venue heritage campus.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
C-mine social profiles
Digital presenceC-mine financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
C-mine leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
C-mine funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
C-mine M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about C-mine
What does C-mine do?
C-mine operates a hybrid cultural-heritage campus on the former Winterslag coal mine in Genk, Belgium, offering immersive underground mine experiences (C-mine Expeditie), exhibitions, theater and music performances, school educational programs, family activities (birthday parties, PLAYGROUND), venue rentals across 30+ spaces, and a creative business incubator (C-mine Crib). The site integrates arts, education, and creative enterprise with 7 architectural buildings housing 42 companies and organizations.
Is C-mine a public or private company?
C-mine is a private company. It is classified as state government owned and is currently operating.
When was C-mine founded?
C-mine was founded in -1. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is C-mine based?
C-mine is headquartered in Genk, Belgium, in the Europe region.
How does C-mine make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Ticket Sales are the primary driver. The others are venue Rental, C-mine Pass Membership and catering and Food Services.
Who are C-mine's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are TextielMuseum, Westergasfabriek, NDSM-werf, Duisburg-Nord Landschaftspark, Zollverein, Werkspoorkathedraal and Big Pit National Coal Mining Museum. La Machine is listed as an emerging player. MIAT (Museum of Industry Ghent) is listed as a regional player. Heureka Science Centre is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does C-mine have an API?
No public API is recorded for C-mine.
What industry is C-mine in?
C-mine's product category is Cultural Heritage Center and Creative Campus. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAHAAAK, Specialty & Historic Venues (Landmarks, Estates), with a secondary code of THAGAHAC, Historic Inns & Heritage B&Bs. Its NAICS code is 712120 and its SIC code is 7990.