Following the discovery of a vast silver deposit in the Tellure mining site, the region of Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines, in Alsace, experienced unprecedented prosperity. In addition to the Thirty Years' War and geological hazards, the immense quantities of silver ore carried from Mexico and Peru by Spanish ships brought the booming to an end. The closing of the mining activities meant misery or exile for numerous workers. The discovery of cobalt veins used to create the blue color caused a resurgence of extraction activities, but the quantities never achieved the prosperity of yesteryear.