Georges Rolland (23 January 1852 – 25 July 1910) was a French geologist and industrialist, a member of the Corps des mines, who worked in Algeria in the 1880s.

[2] Rolland became an engineer in the Corps des mines in 1877, attached to the office of Charles de Freycinet, Minister of Public Works.

[6] Rolland remained in the region, where he paid particular attention to the hydrography, including the underground waters, which could be used to irrigate arid land.

[7] He established a colony in the Sahara of Constantine and introduced an irrigation system in the desert regions of Oued Righ between Biskra and Touggourt.

[8] In 1902 he was asked by the Ministry of Education to write all the results of the Tunisian Scientific Exploration Mission, but he had to refuse for health reasons.

[8] Rolland remained interested in the idea of a railway, and in 1889 gave a lecture at the Geographical Society of Paris in which he described the scheme.

The idea was also advocated by the retired General Charles Philebert, who had been involved in the conquest of Algeria as a young man.

The Minister of War appointed a committee on the question in April 1890, which stated that the railway would be feasible and profitable, as well as necessary from a military standpoint.

[11] Rolland and other promoters tried to form a chartered company to build the railway, but could not get the Algerian departments to agree which would have the terminus.

He made a thorough study of Lorraine geology, particularly the Briey iron basin, where he played an important role in discovering its mineral wealth.

Georges Rolland suffered from a lingering disease in his later years that increasingly restricted his activity and would eventually cause his death.

[3] In December 1897 he was elected an honorary member of the Société nationale d'agriculture, in the mechanical agriculture and irrigation section.

Shortly before his death the French Academy of Sciences awarded him its gold medal for his contribution to the discover of the Briey Basin.