It is a large basin, 600 meters long and 300 meters wide.
At the summit, about a hundred meters high, pines mark the beginning of the Colettes forest, 2000 hectares of conifers, oaks and beeches, which covers the south of the Allier department.
A very clear line of demarcation separates the mica schist rocks, brown in color, from the almost white granite.
On the granite part, steps indicate human exploitation.
On the last of them, a mechanical excavator fills a dump truck.
Welcome to the Beauvoir quarry, on the border between Allier and Puy-de-Dôme.
On this Wednesday afternoon, the sun is shining, but it could have snowed since the quarry is located in the foothills of the Massif Central, at more than 700 meters above sea level.
Today, the Imerys group exploits Beauvoir granite to extract kaolin, which will be used to make porcelain.
Tomorrow, the site could be one of the most important lithium mines in Europe
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