How is Granite , the stone we all know, actually quarried? It is one of the most versatile and widely used natural stones. It is extremely high quality, hard and resistant, which is why it is very popular in construction. It is often used for Window sills, steps, Kitchen worktops, outdoor and Indoor floors, Memorials. But how is this versatile rock actually extracted?
Methods of quarrying granite
Compared with other natural materials and rocks, the process for Granite is the most elaborate. The result is a truly high-quality material.\n\nWhen a deposit, in other words a possible quarry, is found, test drilling comes first. The samples are tested for quality. If it turns out that the natural stone, in this case Granite, is of good quality and quarrying is economically viable, work in the quarry begins. First the soil is removed, then the upper layers, whose quality is not yet right. Then holes are drilled lengthwise, and sections are loosened from the solid rock by blasting and pulled out. Gradually a granite wall forms going down. About 2 m from the first line, new holes are drilled in parallel, filled with explosives and the wall is detached from the rock. The detached walls are split into smaller blocks of about 5 to 10 m³. That completes the actual quarrying.\n\nThis method is somewhat outdated today. Thanks to new processes for producing synthetic diamonds, these are now used instead. The diamonds sit on wires or belts that cut the natural granite rock as they rotate. This is much faster, and the blocks are of higher quality because blasting causes no cracks. Quarrying is still slow, though, because granite is a hard rock.\n\nAn older method was to pour water into the drill holes before winter. As it froze, the water split the wall or rock away. In northern regions this was still done until recently.
Properties of granite
Granite is an igneous rock with a granular structure. It formed through the cooling and solidification of glowing magma. Granite makes up a large part of the continental crust and formed in several geological eras. The oldest granites are found in Sweden, Great Britain and Arizona.\n\nBecause of the way it formed, granite is extremely strong, and it is this very hardness that makes it popular in construction. It withstands many weather conditions and is far less sensitive to temperature changes than other natural stones. It is also quite resistant to mechanical and chemical damage and needs no special care. In the past, roads were often paved with granite, and many town squares are still paved with hard granite setts today. Thanks to these properties, granite is found on all kinds of surfaces.
Would you like to use granite in your home too? Write to us at office@marnit.at or call us on +43 699 16028713. We are happy to help you choose.
