Gesa Todt

More than two centuries ago in the history of lithography, natural stone was brought to the printing press. On August 4th and 5th 2002, however, for the first time it was the other way around, and, as a result, the world biggest lithography was produced.

During the last 15 years, while the Indian granite industry has gone through a strong growth period with a major expansion in extraction of blocks and in the production of slabs and tiles, another less known segment has also been growing steadily and increasing its market share in the world markets. We refer to the Indian gravestone manufacturing industry is still growing steadily. The important and interesting point to note is that this industry and its products have no market at all in India; it is a 100% export oriented industry.

In the international panorama of countries extracting and processing stone, Italy occupies a very relevant position. A region which has always linked its name to the beauty and variety of excavated stone is Tuscany, a place from which come some of the most appreciated marbles, such as Cipollini, extracted in the Apuan Alps and in Garfagnana, with deposits quite limited in extension and production.

Basalt is the commercial name of a family of peculiar volcanic rocks, which takes place specifically in southern region of Brazil, in the States of Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina. They are applied widely to civil construction in special respects of ornamental use, often for floor, wall, and pavement.

The Hungarian Parliament, located in the capital city of Budapest, on the banks of the river Danube, was built to commemorate the millennium celebrations, and took as its model the Westminster in London. Now, coinciding with its centenary in 2002, the building is being restored. The Hungarian company Reneszánsz RT., the biggest stone company in the country employing 300 people, has been charged with the restoration project.

San Juan is one of the three provinces most important producers of marble in Argentina, along with Cordoba and Buenos Aires. Of this production, can be highlighted travertine marble for its quality and for being exploited since the end of XIX century, which has noticed since then a clear preference for the use of ornamental rocks in public buildings and in the houses of the rich people, both in San Juan as well as in Mendoza and Cordoba.

In the north-east of Cambodia, 300 km from its capital Phnom Penh, can be found the capital of the ancient Khmer empire, Angkor. Hidden during centuries in the middle of the jungle, it was totally isolated from the rest of the world until the year 1860 when French missionaries discovered it.

The Macael Businessmen Provincial Association, last 21 November, awarded the XIX edition of the annual Marmol awards. In the following pages we publish images of the winning projects in different categories.

Award to the architect

Architect: César Portela Fernández-Jardón

Award for project realised in Macael Marble in Spain

Antonio Molina, Centro Tecnológico del Mármol, Murcia (Spain)

Since a long time we have been hearing about the marking EC, a measure that will now soon be obligatory for some products of stone from 1 October this year. Perhaps there are some professionals who do not know what exactly it consists of and in what way it will affect them. What is the marking EC? Why is it important? These are the questions addressed in the following article.

The boss's bellowing request "get me some plain black granite" may sound reasonable on the telephone. After all, there are few plain uniformly black limestones fit for an exterior facade; uniform black slate has not the strength specified; both tend not to be colourfast and need exacting fading tests because of their essentially carbonaceous or bituminous pigmentation.