Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines extends in a particular geological zone of abundant faults and fractures. The gneiss walls of the Saint-Jean vein revealed a large number of metalliferous elements, such as copper, silver, and lead. In 1552, silver production was significant in the area's mines, which did not suffer the competition of Americas' ores yet. Mining chroniclers produced the first mineralogical descriptions at that time. In Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines, they mentioned red silver (proustite), virgin silver (native silver), or goose shit silver (cerargyrite), among other elements.