The most ancient mines opened to visits in Europe. Silver extraction was done there in the early Middle Ages.

The souterroscope is fitted out in 4 ancient rooms of an old slate mine which operated during second half of 19-th century.
Visit is mainly a son et lumiere spectacle which follows the guest throughout his progress. Documentaries projected in every room bring to the set a light cultural varnish by approaching very generic subterranean subjects. But, on the slate strictly speaking, except for some brief explanations on the size of this one, there is nothing (or so little) about the so particular techniques of its exploitation, what was nevertheless the purpose of the visit.
In surface there is nothing left about mine buildings except a monumental bridge made of slates of which usage remains obscure. Compared with fire the Blue Mine, this slate mine is as matter of fact a little bit disappointing.

Closed in 2000 for financial reasons, the Blue Mine recently reopened. This Mine was an ancient slate mine which has kept all its infrastructures, reorganized and opened to the public in 1992.
Visit began by a drive in mine train at 130 metres deep towards extraction rooms (for the descent, a modern elevator replaced the funicular always in state of work), where retired minors reconverted to guides explained the evolution of slate extraction techniques. In surface a museum completed the visit which ended on the "mound of fendeurs" where "ardoisiers" cut slates with old tools.

Au coeur d'un ancien site ardoisier, le Musée de l'Ardoise propose :
- Un démonstration de taille des ardoises selon les méthodes et des outils anciens.
- Une exposition sur l'évolution des techniques d'extraction et des méthodes de taille.

Témoin d'un siècle d'activité minière à Neuves-Maisons, l'Atelier-Musée installé sur le careau de Val de Fer retrace l'histoire de l'extraction et du traitement du minerai de fer de 1874 à 1968 date de la fermeture de la mine.

Used by craftsmen for the oxides, the manganese becomes after the invention of electrometallurgy, a very popular metal, being of used for example to the manufacture of special alloies. In Pyrenees, it was exploited for a long time. Its presence in the valleys of Aure and Louron is bound to the geologic history of the massif.
At Vieille-Aure, exploitation definitely stopped in 1923, but several mine galleries were rehabilitated between 1992 and 1995 and opened to the public to keep the memory of these generations of men, women and children who worked hard there. A museum completes the subterranean visit of about one hour long.