Map of quarries in France - Active quarries (2025).
© BRGM
To coincide with the congress of the Société de l'Industrie Minérale (SIM) being held in Orléans from 14 to 17 October 2025, BRGM and the SIM are presenting three 1:1,500,000-scale maps on the theme of France's quarries.
Available for purchase from Éditions du BRGM, these maps are intended to serve as communication tools for professionals in the French mining sector, but also for teachers who may find them to be useful material for certain parts of school curricula.
Produced with the support of trade associations and based on information from the "Carrières et Matériaux" database (Carma, managed since 2006 by BRGM on behalf of the French Ministry for Ecological Transition), the maps highlight France's requirements for raw materials to support regional development and industrial sectors.
They represent the 3 main areas of quarrying: industrial minerals, aggregate quarries and ornamental and building-stone quarries.
Nearly 3,000 active quarries represented and classified on a concise map
The first map shows the 2,988 quarries in operation in mainland France and its overseas territories. They are represented according to the substance exploited and the annual tonnage extracted per quarry, on a simplified lithological base map that shows the nature of the rocks.
As France's leading mining industry, the sector employs 34,000 people and generates sales of over €8 billion (UNICEM 2025 figures). Annual production of aggregates, mainly used in construction (especially concrete) and landscaping, amounts to 435 million tonnes, of which a growing proportion (10-15%) comes from recycling.
Map of quarries in France - Industrial rocks and minerals - Active quarries (2025).
© BRGM
A map of industrial rock and mineral quarries
The map of industrial rock and mineral quarries includes 457 active quarries, all in mainland France. These substances, which are essential to French and international industries, concern both rocks (diatomite, limestone for calcium carbonates, sand for silica, etc.) and specific minerals (talc, gypsum, kaolin, andalusite, etc.), some of which have even been listed as critical by the European decree on critical raw materials (Critical Raw Materials Act), such as feldspars and silicon metal.
This map update has benefited from the expertise of the sector's trade associations (Minéraux Industriels France, UP'Chaux, Fédération Française des Tuiles et Briques [FFTB]). The map shows all operating quarries by substance extracted, on a simplified lithological base map showing the nature of the different rocks.
Map of quarries in France - Ornamental and building stones - Active quarries (2025).
© BRGM
Map of ornamental and building stone quarries
The last map shows 461 quarries in the ornamental and building stone sector, which accounts for 4% of the construction market. These include limestone quarries (56%) and granite quarries (18%).
Slate, lava, Vosges sandstone, granite, marble, shale, tufa, etc. This is an exhaustive list of the types of rock used for building and ornamental purposes. Some are classified as Geographical Indications (GIs), reflecting their unique characteristics.
This map was produced in partnership with the Centre Technique des Matériaux Naturels et de Construction (CTNMC) and the Syndicat National des Industries de Roches Ornementales et de Construction (SNROC).
