The Congress of the SIM (Societé de l'Industrie Minérale), gathers each year in a different town all the persons in charge of the exploitation of a mine, quarry, cement factory, industrial mineral and recycling platform.

This year, The SIM will be held in Nantes, at the Parc des Expositions de la Beaujoire. The regions of Pays de la Loire and Bretagne are well-known for their huge production of materials. There are 301 Queries in Pays de la Loire which product together 49 million Tons of materials and 303 Queries in Bretagne which product together 36 million Tons of materials.

These 2 regions product 20% of the French production.