The mountain is the site of an international research project, the Mont Terri Project, founded in 1996. The facilities consist of the underground Mont Terri Rock Laboratory conducting research on geological, hydrogeological, geochemical and geotechnical characterisation of Opalinus Clay, which is a type of argillaceous claystone. The research team includes partners from Europe, Japan, Canada, and USA. The purpose of the study are to discover if this impermeable clay is suitable for geologic disposal of radioactive waste. The project is partially funded by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology.