Metallogenesis of the French Massif Central: Time-Space Relationships Between Ore Deposition and Tectono-Magmatic Events

The French Massif Central (FMC) is an old mining area. As early as in the Gallo-Roman times, it was mined for Au, Ag, Pb, and Sn; but the great mining epoch was in the 18th–19th centuries, with Sb as the main product. After a decline at the onset of the 20th century, exploration and mining were developed again after the Second World War, mainly for U, but also for Ba, Zn, W, and E The FMC is nowadays one of the major uranium-producing districts in the world and the main gold producer of Western Europe. It is also mined for F (containing, in the Morvan, 6 (Y0 of the world reserves), Ba, Zn, Ge, kaolin, and coal. Moreover, it contains important subeconomic deposits of W, Sn, Li, and Ta, as well as minor deposits of Sn, Be, Sb, Pb, Zn, Cu and Mo. The main deposits are located in Fig. 1 and listed in Table 1.