Lavoir des Chavannes, Industrial washing place in Montceau-les-Mines and Saint-Vallier, France

The Lavoir des Chavannes is a coal-washing plant straddling Saint-Vallier and Montceau-les-Mines, built from 1922 to 1923 for the Houillères de Blanzy. Its brick and weathered-panel buildings stand beside water: a long multi-storey block with rows of rectangular windows, a lower wing with a sawtooth roof, and a tower of pale rusty panels at the right end. Walkways and a metal staircase cross the facade. The site covers 32 hectares, with 8,000 m² of buildings.

The coal washing plant was built between 1922 and 1923 at the initiative of the Houillères de Blanzy, on the territory of Saint-Vallier south of Montceau-les-Mines. It sorted coal by particle size and ran until November 1999. It was listed as a monument historique on 13 October 2000 under the label "Patrimoine du XXe siècle", then struck off the list in November 2020 after the loss of components and severe deterioration.

The name Chavannes comes from the hamlet where the wash plant stands, on Saint-Vallier land south of Montceau-les-Mines. Coal arrived by the plant's own standard-gauge electrified rail network, linked to the surrounding shafts and to the Montchanin–Paray-le-Monial line and Montceau station over a metal bridge across the Canal du Centre. Walking the rails north for about ten minutes brings you to the adjoining Lucy thermal power station.

The site is accessible via coordinates 46.6604° N and 4.3436° E and sits near the town center of Montceau-les-Mines. The facility occupies a former industrial zone and can be viewed from the exterior, allowing visitors to appreciate the architectural scale from surrounding pathways.

The washery had its own standard-gauge (1.435 m) rail network linking it to the surrounding pits, to the Montchanin–Paray-le-Monial line and to Montceau station, crossing the Canal du Centre on a metal bridge. Unlike the RFF tracks through the town, this private network was electrified. Walking north along the rails, the Lucy thermal power station is about ten minutes away.