The BRGM at the International Geological Congress Centenary
The BRGM's involvement in organising the 26th International Geological Congress in Paris strengthened its international presence. The BRGM presented its new geological map of France published for the occasion, highlighting innovations such as the true geographical position of Corsica.
The BRGM's international visibility and reach grew rapidly from its very active involvement in the preparation and organisation of the 26th centenary edition of the International Geological Congress, held in Paris in 1980.
This congress was an occasion for the publication of numerous thematic and synthetic maps. A set of 14 geological map sheets to the scale of 1:250 000 brought an entirely new perspective to the regional geology of the Paris Basin, the Jura, the Alps and Corsica. A geological map of France was published to the scale of 1:1 500 000 with some notable innovations: mapping of the continental shelf, Corsica represented in its true geographical position, granite terrain shown with its petrographic nature as well as its age. Numerous thematic maps (tectonics, minerals, hydrogeology) were also published for this occasion.
The BRGM discovers a silver mine
In 1980, the BRGM rediscovered the ancient Jabali silver mine in Yemen, which had been worked until the 10th century. The large zinc deposit found there has been mined since 2009.