FMF - Friends of Minerals Forum, discussion and message board

[Jordi Fabre]

A great magazine specialized in minerals has to close. We are referring to Le Règne Minéral, after almost thirty years in the hands of mineralogy enthusiasts. These are tough times for printed publications.

After much effort, Louis-Dominique Bayle bids a bitter farewell in his final editorial. Many years of economic sacrifice, with disproportionate cost increases and insufficient support in the number of subscribers, have led to the closure of the publishing company (Les Éditions du Piat), which not only published Le Règne Minéral since 1995 but also the magazine Fossiles, created in 2010, as well as several exquisite books with spectacular photographs of minerals.

Especially, the book titled Fluorite, Trésors de France by Christophe Lucas is a true work of art for lovers of this mineral species.

Before its complete disappearance, they will showcase their entire editorial collection at the Munich Show – Mineralientage München – where there will be an opportunity to personally acquire any magazine or book before the closure. The stand will be located in Hall A6, No. 547 (A6.547)
For those who cannot attend the "Munich Show" and are interested, all publications will be available on the website web Minéraux&Fossiles until December 27, 2024

Below, we reproduce the email sent by the magazine's management to all its subscribers, translated into English.


Madam, Sir,

In September 2024, we were sadly forced to permanently stop publishing our two magazines:
“Le Règne Minéral” (created in 1995)
and “Fossiles” (created in 2010).

You can read all the details and reasons for this cessation of activity in the editorial attached in PDF format.

“Les Éditions du Piat” will definitively cease all activities at the end of December 2024.

However, our bookstore service will remain operational until December 27, 2024, inclusive.

There you will find a large number of our current issues and special editions that are not yet sold out, as well as many books that are still available.

All of these are listed in the various sections of our secure website:
Minéraux & Fossiles

Payment can be made by credit card, bank transfer, or check, at your convenience. Your purchases will be a valuable help in these very difficult times.

Some works are in very limited quantity, so we recommend acquiring them as soon as possible before they are permanently sold out.[/b]

In recent years, we have published—exclusively, not available in bookstores—some reference books in their respective fields:

“Minerals, The Enthusiast's Guide”
The most important guide ever published for collectors, with its 640 pages and 2400 photos, whose second edition was released during the second quarter of 2024.



“Emerald, A Whole World”
The most comprehensive book ever published to date, by the world-renowned specialist in this precious stone: Gaston Giuliani.
By the same author: “The Gems of Gondwana”



“Fluorite, Treasures of France”
By the much-loved Christophe Lucas; an ode to the beauty of fluorites from our country.



"Mines and Minerals of the Dôme de Barrot"
And most recently, our latest publication about the oldest mines in France, in the Dôme de Barrot, written by Gilbert Mari. These mines have produced some of the finest native copper in Europe and an incredible amount of new species.



We thank you in advance for your orders, which will greatly help to alleviate the financial deficit that has arisen (see the attached editorial). But it will also be an opportunity to acquire books that will soon become unavailable.

For more information, you can contact me by phone at 04 71 66 54 67 until December 23, 2024.

Best regards,
Louis-Dominique Bayle,
Publishing Director and Manager.


The original mail sent to all subscribers by Louis-Dominique Bayle:

[Jordi Fabre]