The Beauvoir site opens its doors to schoolchildren from Échassières

On the agenda: first, a presentation by site director Christopher Heymann about kaolin ore, its geology, extraction process and many different uses. After donning their personal protective equipment, the Échassières schoolchildren explored the quarry, giving them a chance to discover a drilling machine from the EMILI project and to observe several core samples. For the occasion, Patrick Fullenwarth, senior geologist at Imerys, provided a general explanation of lithium geology.

The tour then continued with the facilities dedicated to kaolin processing (washery, pewter table, settling tank and filter presses). To end the tour on a fun note, the children took part in a geological treasure hunt allowing them to collect a few precious stones. They also had a chance to act as mobile equipment operators by climbing into the driver’s seat of a dump truck – with the engine off, of course! 

Despite the heat, the schoolchildren remained quite enthusiastic all throughout the tour and had plenty of questions for Joël Bruletourte, production and maintenance manager for the kaolin activity in Beauvoir. After the tour, the children thanked the Imerys teams for hosting them for the day.