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Dimension stone is rock quarried for specific uses, such as marble, granite, limestone, sandstone, and slate. These stones are carefully extracted in prismatic blocks, then cut and polished for building construction, monuments, and decorative facing. The process is selective and can be time-consuming and expensive.1

Quarrying for dimension stone typically involves creating benches or slices in hillsides or open pits. Large blocks, sometimes weighing over 1,000 tons, are separated from the surrounding rock and later divided into smaller mill blocks. A significant amount of waste material is generated, with usable stone often being only 15 to 20 percent of what is quarried.2

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2 Britannica Sources
  1. quarry
  2. mining - Pit geometry

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