How does quarrying for ornamental stone differ from quarrying for crushed stone?

Quarrying for ornamental stone and crushed stone differs significantly in purpose, methodology, and precision.

Ornamental Stone Quarrying

The extraction of ornamental or dimension stone focuses on obtaining intact, prismatic blocks of rock—such as marble, granite, or limestone—that meet specific requirements for color, size, shape, and quality. Because these materials are intended for monuments or decorative building facades, the process is highly selective and utilizes specialized, expensive, and time-consuming procedures to free the blocks without damaging them.12

Crushed Stone Quarrying

In contrast, the recovery of crushed stone, sand, and gravel employs standard surface-mining techniques similar to open-pit operations. This process relies on drilling and blasting to fragment large volumes of rock, often producing up to 20,000 tons of material in a single blast. The resulting broken stone is then crushed and screened into uniform classes for use in road building, concrete aggregate, or industrial chemical applications.12