Presentation

Composed mainly of gneissic rocks, the Val d’Argent Mountains provided over time great quantites of silver, cobalt, galena and arsenic... These coveted veins are resulting from unique geological phenomena: the rocks allow hydrothermal fluids circulation because they are fractured by the regional seismic activity. When they cool down, mineral deposition occurs.

The silver mines of Saintes-Marie-aux-Mines are long gone, however the city still holds a central place for mineralogy, partly due to its festival Mineral & Gem. This is the 2nd largest mineral event in Europe (after Munich), and the 3rd largest in the world (Tucson, Munich). Moreover, it’s the best and longest running mineral show in France with over 1500 exhibitors from 52 countries, which makes it very attractive to the over 30,000 gem and mineral enthusiasts and visitors.

A "village" is fully devoted to educational activites in order for the children to discover rocks and mineral, or in a broader sens, to discover the Earth. During the first 2 days of the exhibition, the educational space is available for elementary classes (6 to 11 year old). During the following week-end, anyone can enter and discover the various activities.

EOST participated in the Mineral & Gem exhibition in 2014 for the first time because the educational village was openend on this year. The two first workshops "Hydrogeology" and "Seismology" were created on this occasion. The newly created association took over in 2015 and then set up a new workshop "Rock magnetism" in 2016.

Gé-P-To association organizes science’s popularization activities and presents EOST’s courses and studies.

Pictures of the 2018 edition and the 2019 edition right here !