IMERYS Industrial Minerals Greece Single-Member Société Anonyme

Imerys is aware of the importance of protection and management of biodiversity, not only in the areas under its management but also of the protection and preservation of the natural environment in general.

The aim of our initiative is the production of soaps from:

a) essential oils of sage, juniper, wormwood from plants used in rehabilitation projects of Imerys mines,

b) virgin olive oil from the few olive trees that grow in the rehabilitated areas and

c) bentonite powder extracted ftom the company's mines in Milos.

The production of soaps combined all the above materials, products of the land of Milos to produce a new product that will include with scent and color, the whole soul of Milos.

The distribution of the soaps in a gift set with 3 soaps (sage, juniper, and wormwood) is carried out by the Mining Museum of Milos.

Initiatives like this help reduce our environmental footprint and create a positive climate and acceptance by the local community and our shareholders, adding to the good practices we have developed on the island in recent decades.

We want both the local community of Milos and the tourists who visit it to know that Imerys uses products from the land of Milos responsibly and that it respects the environment. This aims to make Milos land known to a wider public that will use the soap not only in Milos but also in the rest of Greece and all over the world. Indirectly, the community enjoys the benefits of restoration and its contribution to the conservation and management of biodiversity, as well as to the promotion of tourism.

October 2020 – June 2021

Milos is a small island at the western edge of the Aegean archipelago and was created as a result of volcanic activity in the Aegean. It is rich in a variety of aromatic herbs. Among them are sage, juniper and wormwood used in all  rehabilitation projects of Imerys mines. Their essential oils have important medicinal and cosmetic properties.

For the purposes of the program a small experimental distiller was acquired and the amazing world of essential oils began to unfold. Olive oil from the olive trees growing in the Imerys rehabilitated areas, mixed with essential oils from the specific plants from Imerys rehabilitated mines and bentonite - the company's main export product - created a natural product. Sage soap, juniper soap and wormwood soap. Placed in a gift set with three soaps, they are available to the visitors of the Mining Museum of Milos. Thus, we made one of the best representative products of Milos, which can be easily transported around the world.

The gift sets with the soaps are available from the Mining Museum of Milos.

The Imerys Mine Restoration Department in Milos is a specialized Department with specialized equipment, stable funding and continuous Research and Development. Through extensive studies and research collaborations we design and develop innovative ideas and create the know-how for the construction of a new product based on the raw materials coming from Milos and the activities of the Company.

The action starts at the premises of Imerys Greece in Milos and more specifically in the rehabilitated mines of the company, and ends from the store of Mining Museum of Milos in the homes of their buyers all over the world!

This initiative could also be adopted and developed as a commercial activity by any resident of Milos, because it concerns a product that can be widely used by locals and visitors to the island. It can be sold in the hotels and gift shops of the island as well as in the Mining Museum of Milos, as a souvenir or as a corporate gift, along with many other uses.

• Publicity and recognition of the efforts of the Imerys Mine Rehabilitation Department for environmentally optimal rehabilitation of mines that are no longer operating, with native plants.
• An indirect benefit for Imerys is the improvement of relations with the local community by highlighting both the excellent products that Milos can produce and a new productive and commercial activity.