The German Natural Stone Industry Association (DNV) has recently elaborated the statistics of the sector during the last decade. We publish below a summary.

“The colours of Green: sustainable stone”. This has been the theme of the sixth edition of the show MARMOMACC MEETS DESIGN, organised by the Verona fair (September 2012).

India is well known all over the world for its wide variety of granites, but the general impression is they are located in the south of the country. The north, especially the state of Rajasthan, is usually associated with marble, sandstone and slates. Few associate the state of Rajasthan with a granite industry. Yet, in an almost furtive manner, unknown to most of the stone industry people, a significant granite industry has been developing in the state in recent years. This relatively recent industry is not just processing materials extracted elsewhere.

Paulo Florio Giafarov - paulo@dggstones.com

With an area of approximately 8.5 million square kilometers, much of it unexplored, Brazil has an enormous potential for research and the discovery of new ornamental stones.

Apart from the well known deposits of granite in India, the country also has the biggest deposits of Green Marble (sometimes known as Verde Guatemala in the international markets). Its technical definition would be recrystallised, compact variety of metamorphosed limestone capable of taking polish, rock composed of Serpentine. The Indian green is a very compact and mature marble and is strong. Its hardness / strength is greater in comparison to other green stones found elsewhere. For example, Indian marble does not warp.

The foreign markets are providing the saving grace for the Spanish stone industry since the local market showed no sign of recovery.

Exports: Global data

An image is worth a thousand words, they say. The photos published here are of a luxurious private residence done by the marble and granite division of our company, ASCON. We can do the most complex projects in any part of the world.
 

For more information contact www.asconmarbles.com 

Email ascmble@emirates.net.ae

In UK, contact haz@hazuk.co.uk

Shipping costs for natural Stone are a significant factor in the industry and are closely monitored by the exporting and importing companies. We publish below the latest, approximate shipping costs for closed 20´DV container for some of the most common origins and destinations.

We hope to update this section frequently.

Our thanks to Susie Su, Xoan Martínez, Varujan Ozberg, Dr. Gopal, Aya Alaa and the company TFA Cargo for the information provided.
 

The Spaniards who reached the New World around end of the XV century or towards the beginning of the XVI century, guided by Christopher Columbus, used for the buildings of their new settlements and the main social buildings, a limestone denominated Coral Stone, which, even today, can be found in abundance in the Dominican Republic and Colombia.

This stone was formed in the riverbeds in the period Pleistocene, starting from the fossils, corals and other marine animals, thus the majority of the coral limestone has originated in the reefs.

By Geert Legein, Director Febenat (Belgium National Stone Association)

De gustibus et coloribus non disputandum est. A Latin proverb, know by many, and still forming the basis for discussions. Fact is you cannot really discuss colour and taste. Why is this still a subject leading to impossible discussions?

Choosing is part of being human