What is a mine in geology ?

In the minds of people, a mine is a site for the extraction of underground mineral resources (coal, minerals, useful substances). However, the definition of the term mine is legal and varies from country to country. In France, any exploitation of so-called concessionary substances is considered a mine, namely : energetic substances (fossil fuels and uranium), metallic ores and certain useful substances (salt, potash, fluorite, graphite, diamond, phosphates, etc...). The deposit belongs to the State which concedes its exploitation to mining companies and pays a royalty to the owner of the land.