 The first systematic account of the minerals of the Mont Blanc area was published in 1873 by Venance Payot.His list, entitled "Statistique minéralogique des environs du Mt-Blanc", catalogued 90 mineral types although it also included those present only as very small components of rocks.If these are excluded, it is known today that at least 68 separate mineral species occur across the whole range of the Mont Blanc massif.