David Rocher, a full quarry in the beautiful stone of the schist mountain in Saint-Julien-de-Tournel

Dans le froid ou la chaleur, le schiste n’attend pas pour être conditionné. MIDI LIBRE – M. P

L’entrepreneur exploite une carrière de schiste près de Bagnols-les-Bains, avec une méthode d’extraction artisanale.

On the foothills of the Mont Lozère mountains, a stone's throw from Bagnols-les-Bains and sheltered from the Château du Tournel, appears around a bend in the mining quarry of David Rocher shale. The rock, on the edge of the valley, is present like a geological gift from nature, burning brightly under the combined effect of the sun and the melting of the snow that fell the day before the day before. It is here that for several decades, the Rocher family has methodically extracted the precious slabs which will become slates for roofs, walls and low walls or even floor coverings. With an almost inexhaustible natural vein.

An inspiring childhood

“Shale outcrops are found in the Lot valley. In the Middle Ages, the castle was built by the lordship of Tournel. They had collected stones around the building to build it and some came from the quarry, David Rocher likes to tell, passionate about the history of his place. Several centuries passed and at the beginning of the 80s, his father took over the site, 1.5 hectares: "He wanted to change his life to prune&nbsp ;the stone", smiled the son. David Rocher spent his childhood in this generous nature, having fun around the large blocks of schist torn from the valley, watching his father cut the blocks: & quot;I decided to resume my career. It was almost unconscious, I was reproducing the education I received." The operation will take place in 2004.

The stone bridge of Chaldecoste

The history of the Chaldecoste road bridge, at Ventalon in the Cévennes, is told by David Rocher: "En 2008, a Cévennes episode swept away the old concrete bridge, downstream of the Muletier bridge. The latter had held." At the time, the association of dry stone builders (ABPS) of Lozère provided the bridge and roadway design office a project to reconstruct a stone road bridge, which will prove to be less expensive than a modern structure.’ nbsp;The work lasted six months, with the foundations and vault made of schist coming from the local quarry of Saint-Julien-de-Tournel.

On the path leading to the fault, David Rocher is full of details on the art and manner of exploiting the precious stone, the regulations regarding exploitation: "The project is submitted to State services, to assess the quantities and landscape impact. It is a given right defined over time. I have authorization to extract 5,000 tonnes per year. I'm around 3,000 tons, depending on demand." He sells his pallets to private companies, individuals, communities, associations working in heritage, materials merchants: "I am registering in the short circuit. The proximity of the Cévennes National Park is important, with its heritage policy." With the economic difficulties of the current era. The quarry employed up to 12 employees, currently only one and a few reinforcements if needed. "When I earn 100 €, I am taken back 80 % of the turnover", sighs the boss.

Didier breaks shale blocks, a job he wouldn't trade for anything in the world. FREE NOON – M. P

The stone becomes slate

On the fault, Didier, employee, tirelessly fragments the rock blocks torn from the mountain, into thin plates: "At first, we tap into the mountainous mass  ;nbsp;before carrying out selective dynamite firing. Sampling is carried out using a mechanical shovel before cutting the blocks with a hammer and chisel. They say we read the rock, explains the entrepreneur. The glance is precise to identify the lamination and cut through the mass. The stone then transforms into slate, so dear to Lozère roofs. Her children have also caught the virus:"My daughter likes to imagine returning to her career, it’s a very strong call. She likes to manipulate materials while realizing that it is a profession that must evolve. I encourage her, obviously." She is twenty-one years old and has plenty of time to think about a future made of minerality.

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