Today I am telling you about a surprising place: the talc quarry of Trimouns in Luzenac in the Ariège Pyrenees, very close to Ax-les-Thermes. After having surveyed a winding road in the green landscape of nature, stands before us a completely different panorama: a stunning and grandiose view of the open-air quarry. It looks like a slightly lunar landscape, like an immense desert of rocks and pebbles with shades of white as far as the eye can see!
PRACTICAL INFORMATION & ACCOMMODATION
The Talc quarry is located 50min from Foix and 1h50 from Toulouse.
Please note, it is not a free visit. Guided tours are organized from Monday to Friday excluding public holidays from mid-May to mid-October (by bus).
Adults: 8.40 €
Children: 5.70 €
Information atPyrenees Ariégeoises tourist office
The largest open pit talc quarry in the world
Located at an altitude of 1800m, the talc quarry of Trimouns is the largest talc quarry exploited ... in the world!
It is a grandiose spectacle. It almost feels like the land of giants! On giant stairs, the ball of the machines. Huge machines extract, sort and transport the white gold to the cable car which carries the loot below to the Luzenac factory. Everything seems colossal. From a distance, the excavators look very small. But the closer we get, the more we realize the immensity of this place and especially the machines that work there. So you can imagine: just one wheel has to be at least twice my height!
The backdrop to this spectacular ballet? The chain of the Pyrenees and its countless peaks as far as the eye can see which makes the place even more grandiose!
Guided visit
The quarry tour takes place from mid-May to mid-October, Monday to Friday. To do this, you must check with the Pyrenees Ariègeoises tourist office or go directly to the farm. Of course, the visit is only possible with good weather conditions even if it is done by bus. Anyway you wouldn't see much if the conditions were not right!
As mentioned previously, the visit is only by bus. The industrial site is operated and is in activity (it is the only one in France). You will discover this unique place accompanied by a guide who will reveal all the secrets of this unusual place.
On the program: the history of the formation of this natural deposit, its exploitation from extraction to production, its geological properties, its use… In short, talc will no longer hold any secrets for you!
Good to know
• From recent analyzes, we know that prehistoric man used talc in his cave paintings.
• Talc figurines dating from the XNUMXth century were found near the Montségur castle
But above all, you will quickly realize that it is omnipresent in your daily life, even in objects or for unsuspected uses.
As you will have understood, it was fascinating to discover this unique site with its large machines and its splendid panorama. This day leaves us with lasting memories in our memories.
You can also bring your children! they will be amazed by all these machines, each one bigger than the other!
