Canada´s dimensional stone

Canada’s production and consumption of dimensional stone are growing at a healthy rate. Paul Daniel has conducted a search across the world’s second largest country.

Its extremely big, cold in the winter, has six time zones, the maple leaf is its national symbol and it is a member of the G8. The population is a little over 32 million, of which about 24% are French speaking. It also has great dimensional stone. Canada is a growing producer and consumer of all types of natural stone. Production has increased from around 559.000 tons in 1999 to 769.000 tons in 2003, the last year for which official statistics are available. The majority of quarries are located in southern Quebec, eastern Ontario and British Columbia. Most dimension stone processing facilities are located in the same three provinces. Canada is both an exporter and importer of raw and processed dimensional stone. In 2003 exports were primarily to China (52%) and the USA (45%). Imports came principally from the USA, South Africa and Brazil. It was expected that demand for dimension stone would remain firm in 2004 as commercial construction levels in North America maintain moderate growth. The economies of Canada and the USA are closely interlinked and this is mirrored by the activities of the leading dimensional stone companies on both sides of the border. In this survey, we will look at production in each Canadian province or territory in alphabetical order and conclude with a profile of a truly remarkable group - Polycor - who represent Canadian enterprise at its finest.

ALBERTA

There is a lot of limestone in Alberta but it is not used as dimensional stone. There appears to be no granite. Banff Springs Hotel was built in 1888 using Rundle Rock, described as shale or sandstone by different sources. Thunderstone Quarries Ltd, founded in 1960, call it “a black or brown sedimentary shale” which is quarried near Canmore outside of Banff National Park.

BRITISH COLUMBIA

There are reported to be at least 114 known dimensional stone occurences in British Columbia, including granite, gneiss, marble and quartzite. In 27 of these occurences, dimensional stone is a primary commodity. Margranite Industry Ltd and a related group of companies operate a well-equipped processing plant in Surrey, British Columbia. The product line includes several exclusive BC granites. Related fabricating company Atlas Stone Products operates a similar plant in Burnaby. Garibaldi Granite is based in Squamish, BC where it owns three granite quarries. It is 50% owned by Pender Capital Corp. of Vancouver. Westcoast Granite Mfg. of Delta, BC operates what it claims is the only granite slabbing gang saws on the west coast of North America. Matrix Marble & Stone Co. operates quarries on Southern Vancouver Island which yield black, blue and white hard limestone while the factory is at Duncan, BC. There are a number of relatively small flagstone producers. There are also several nephrite jade deposits in the province, from which expensive tiles, table tops and fireplaces are produced. Given the favourable location of many sources at or near tidewater, there is a distinct competitive advantage in transportation costs, particularly in servicing Pacific Rim markets. California however remains the largest single market for British Columbia stone.

MANITOBA

There are believed to be three companies currently quarrying granite in Manitoba.

Cold Spring Granite (Canada) Ltd operates a quarry and processing plant 14 km southeast of Lac du Bonnet in southeastern Manitoba.

CanAmerican Granite Corp. operates three quarries 80 km east of Winnipeg and a processing plant in the provincial capital.

Polycor Inc. intermittently operates a granite quarry 90 km east of Winnipeg. Tyndall Stone, a mottled dolomitic limestone, is quarried by Gillis Quarries Ltd at Garson, northeast of Winnipeg. The Legislative Building in Winnipeg is built of Tyndall Stone. Manitoba Marble Inc. quarries a reddish dolomitic limestone called Manitoba Prairie Rose Marble in The Pas area, 35 km southeast of Snow Lake. Large blocks and slabs can be supplied.

NEW BRUNSWICK

Granite is quarried intermittently for building and monumental purposes at a number of sites in New Brunswick. A red granite is available near St Stephen, and pink, grey and blue-grey granites in the Hampstead (Spoon Island) district.

NEWFOUNDLAND & LABRADOR

In 1994 there were 6 active dimension stone quarries in Newfoundland & Labrador: a slate quarry in eastern Newfoundland, three granite quarries in central Newfoundland, a sandstone quarry on the west coast, and an anorthosite (labradorite) quarry in Labrador.

The slate quarry and processing plant were unique in Canada. Green and purple slate blocks were processed into slabs, roofing slates or floor tiles and the final products sold across North America and in Europe. Granite colours include black, pink, yellow and green. On the northern Labrador coast, near Nain, labradorite is quarried and shipped to Italy in 10 - 30 ton blocks. In a paper presented in late 2003, dimension stone specialist Mr. Dave Evans noted that there were three dimension stone producers in the province. However, there is “a tremendous, largely unknown, stone resource here awaiting exploitation”. Torngait Ujaganniavingit Corporation (TUC) is a dimension stone quarrying and processing company owned by the Labrador Inuit Development Corporation (LIDC). Quarrying commenced at Ten Mile Bay in 1992. A processing plant nearby commenced production in 2001. In 2001 a second quarry was opened at Iggiak Bay, about 40 km from Nain. The Iggiak stone is a brownish granite, whilst at Ten Mile Bay the stone is grey with dark blue crystals. A new plant to manufacture monuments and custom products was opened in Hopedale, Labrador in 2002.

NORTHWEST TERRITORIES, YUKON & NUNAVUT

A decade or so ago, a Whitehorse-based processor of architectural stone evaluated several prospective granite sources in the Yukon. Grey-white and beige coloured granites were thought to have development potential. The current position on commercial exploitation is unclear. A large, unique occurrence of limestone has been recognized in the Arctic at Bear Island, about 20 km from Coral Harbour. The fine-grained, attractively veined stone was judged to be excellent for sculptural and architectural uses. On April 1, 1999 Canada gained its newest territory, the Inuit homeland of Nunavut which is situated north of Manitoba. No decorative stone sources have been reported there.