diff --git a/OpenGALib/MetricGeometry/ProperExhaustion.lean b/OpenGALib/MetricGeometry/ProperExhaustion.lean
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..0f4ca8cc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/OpenGALib/MetricGeometry/ProperExhaustion.lean
@@ -0,0 +1,62 @@
+import Mathlib.Order.Filter.AtTopBot.Archimedean
+import Mathlib.Topology.MetricSpace.ProperSpace.Lemmas
+import OpenGALib.Util.Attributes
+
+/-!
+# Properness via divergent compact exhaustions
+
+do Carmo, *Riemannian Geometry*, Ch. 7, Theorem 2.8, b) ↔ e): a metric space
+has the Heine–Borel property (closed bounded sets are compact, i.e. it is a
+*proper* space) iff it admits a monotone exhaustion by compact sets `K n` such
+that every sequence escaping all the `K n` diverges in distance from a fixed
+base point. This is the purely metric-topological part of the Hopf–Rinow
+circle of equivalences; no manifold structure is involved.
+-/
+
+open Metric Set Filter
+
+namespace OpenGA
+
+variable {α : Type*} [PseudoMetricSpace α]
+
+/-- **Math.** do Carmo Ch. 7, Theorem 2.8, b) ↔ e). A pseudometric space is
+**proper** (closed balls — equivalently closed bounded sets — are compact) iff
+there is a monotone exhaustion `K 0 ⊆ K 1 ⊆ ⋯`, `⋃ n, K n = univ`, by compact
+sets such that any sequence `q` with `q n ∉ K n` satisfies
+`dist p (q n) → ∞`, for a fixed base point `p`. -/
+theorem properSpace_iff_exists_compact_exhaustion (p : α) :
+    ProperSpace α ↔
+      ∃ K : ℕ → Set α, (∀ n, IsCompact (K n)) ∧ Monotone K ∧ (⋃ n, K n) = univ ∧
+        ∀ q : ℕ → α, (∀ n, q n ∉ K n) →
+          Tendsto (fun n ↦ dist p (q n)) atTop atTop := by
+  constructor
+  · intro hprop
+    refine ⟨fun n ↦ closedBall p n, fun n ↦ isCompact_closedBall p n,
+      fun m n hmn ↦ closedBall_subset_closedBall (by exact_mod_cast hmn), ?_, ?_⟩
+    · rw [eq_univ_iff_forall]
+      intro x
+      obtain ⟨n, hn⟩ := exists_nat_ge (dist x p)
+      exact mem_iUnion.mpr ⟨n, mem_closedBall.mpr hn⟩
+    · intro q hq
+      refine tendsto_atTop_mono (fun n ↦ ?_) tendsto_natCast_atTop_atTop
+      have hn : ¬ dist (q n) p ≤ n := fun h ↦ hq n (mem_closedBall.mpr h)
+      rw [dist_comm]
+      exact (not_le.mp hn).le
+  · rintro ⟨K, hKcomp, -, hKuniv, hKesc⟩
+    -- every closed ball around the base point is contained in some `K n`
+    have key : ∀ r : ℝ, ∃ n, closedBall p r ⊆ K n := by
+      intro r
+      by_contra hcon
+      push Not at hcon
+      choose q hq hq' using fun n ↦ Set.not_subset.mp (hcon n)
+      obtain ⟨n, hn⟩ := ((hKesc q hq').eventually_gt_atTop r).exists
+      exact absurd (mem_closedBall.mp (hq n)) (by rw [dist_comm]; exact not_le.mpr hn)
+    refine ⟨fun x r ↦ ?_⟩
+    obtain ⟨n, hn⟩ := key (dist p x + r)
+    refine (hKcomp n).of_isClosed_subset isClosed_closedBall (fun z hz ↦ hn ?_)
+    rw [mem_closedBall] at hz ⊢
+    calc dist z p ≤ dist z x + dist x p := dist_triangle z x p
+      _ ≤ r + dist x p := by linarith
+      _ = dist p x + r := by rw [dist_comm]; ring
+
+end OpenGA