"St Joseph des Mines de Poux" amethyst quarry

Welcome to our adventure ! This is the first project of modern amethyst quarry in metropolitan France. The largest amethyst deposit in Europe, a fine, purple-coloured stone, is located in the Livradois region (Puy de Dôme, French Massif Central) . Our project aims to open a micro-quarry (2.6 ha, 5 ac 40 ft²) on one of the veins of this deposit, in order to relaunch the mining of French amethyst in an ethical, optimized and legal way. This amethyst will be dedicated to various markets from decoration/outdoor ornaments, to jewelry, including decorative objects, collectible pieces, etc. At the same time, the project will valorize the granitic materials around the vein that has to be excavated to give us access to the amtehyst. No wastes ! The micro-quarry will therefore have a double production: amethyst and construction materials (sands and aggregates). Our experiences in the domain of international mineralogy showed us that it is quite unethical (even in France) : in matter of work conditions, security, salaries, environment or legal aspects of exploitation sites, only a few people seem concerned. The project therefore also has an ethical and environmental aspect by proposing an alternative local model, optimized, secure and innovative, which will respect French standards, employees, and its environment. We have been working on this project for four years now to make it to its present version, as complete as possible. It is now almost ready to be launched, but for that we need your help. Read more about us on our website.