The Jonchère-Saint-Maurice. A living testimony and models to explain the kaolin of the Ambazac mountains. Between 1812 and 1964, the exploitation of kaolin mines occupied an important place in the life of the commune of La Jonchère-Saint-Maurice. What remains of this memory today, 60 years later?
Thanks to Camille Bonnaud, member of the Pierres & Arbres association, great-grandson of the first operator of the Puy-Bernard kaolin quarries, Nicel Bonnaud, his precious testimony brings this era back to life through his models on the exploitation of kaolin where each detail is studied and has its importance.
Sunday September 15, following the request of the Miaulétou rando walkers’ association from Saint-Léonard who came hiking on the kaolin path in La Jonchère, Camille Bonnaud retraced the history of this kaolin exploitation.
Visitors were immersed in the period of the white gold rush by discovering Camille’s models: questions about the extraction of kaolin, the process, the stages, the tools, about the refining of kaolinite clays… without forgetting the human factor, whether it be the working conditions, the income of the kaolin workers and their way of life.
An interpretive trail
An ambitious project aims to keep alive the memory of the century and a half of kaolin mining: the creation of an interpretive trail on kaolin supported by the Pierres & Arbres association. The objective is to allow visitors to discover the fascinating history of the exploitation of kaolin quarries in the Ambazac mountains, through contextualized information, visual elements of this rush for white gold where La Jonchère-Saint-Maurice emerged as a kaolin city.
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