This is a presentation about Marble mining and processing

1. A TALK BY
MUJIB U. SIDDIQUI
Assistant Mineral Economist (Int.)
On
MARBLE MINING & PROCESSING

2. STONE TOOLS

3. DIMENSION STONES
➲ Dimension stone can be defined as natural rock material
quarried for the purpose of obtaining blocks or slabs that meet
specifications as to size (width, length, and thickness) and shape
(Barton, 1968, p. 4). Color, grain texture and pattern, and
surface finish of the stone are also normal requirements.
Durability (essentially based on mineral composition and
hardness and past performance), strength, and the ability of the
stone to take a polish are other important selection criteria.
method of finishing a stone, and the type of finish applied
(Stone World, 2001, p. 106-139).

4. India has a long history of utilisation of stones. Towering temples,
acquisitive carvings, huge imposing palaces, monuments,
musoleums, minarets, gates and artefacts speaks volumes about
the use of stones, let it be the Khajuraho, Delwara temples, caves
of Ajanta & Ellora, stupas of Sanchi, Konarktemple, Buland
Darwaza of Fatehpur Sikri, Victory Tower ofChittorgarh, Forts of
Rajasthan, U.P and Delhi all have been built using one stone or
other.
The Taj Mahal, beauty par excellence built in 17th century by
Emperor Shahjahan in memory of his beloved wife Mumtaz
Mahal has been built using white marble from Makrana area,
Nagaur Distt. of Rajasthan.
Although Delwara temple at Mount Abu, built earlier than
Taj Mahal could not give impetus to marble industry as the Taj
had given. It has remained the trademark of India for the last
three hundred years.

9. MARBLE
➲ The term marble is derived from the Latin word MURMUR which itself
came from Greek root ‘Marmorous’ meaning ‘Shining Stone’.
➲ Murmur in Persian means ‘White’ and ‘Sang’ means stone hence
‘Sange-murmur’
➲ Geological definition: A metamorphosed limestone produced by
recrystallisation under condition of thermal and also regional
metamorphism.
➲  In commercial parlance almost any rock which can take polish easily –
more especially unmetamorphosed lime stones are termed as marble.
➲ Marble definition (USGS):Commercial marble includes metamorphosed
lime stones and serpentine rocks, all of which are capable of taking a
polish. An important member of this classification is serpentine marble,
which is also known as Verde antique, and comprises green-to-black
serpentine, which is a hydrous magnesium silicate mineral that is
crisscrossed by veins of lighter minerals, such as calcite or dolomite.

10. Why is marble so beautiful?
It is largely consisting of calcite, whose boundaries are fused.
This has the ability to transmit lights to a depth of 12.7 to 38
millimeters from where it is reflected by the surfaces of deeper
lying crystals which gives a pleasing and cool look. Your eyes
will never tire off looking at marble.

11. TYPES OF MARBLE
. True marbles (recrystallised metamorphic limestone,
calciferous and cipolin (siliceous marbles)
➲ · Limestone dolomite and polishable calcareous breccia
➲ · Travertine deposited from water solutions
➲ · Onyx
➲ · Calcareous alabaster
➲ · Serpentines
➲ · Ophicalcite (serpentine limestones)
➲ · Verde-antique (massive serpentine with crossed vein lets of
other minerals like calcite/dolomite)

12. Indian Classification of Marble
➲ BIS : 1130-1969 (reaffirmed in October 1998) for marble blocks, slabs and tiles to be utilised as
dimension stone has classified marbles into 25 different categories comprising 7 categories
under a broad group of white marbles and 18 categories under a group of coloured marbles , 8
new varieties are also in the trade
The important new types not included in BIS classification are:
➲ 1) Yellow marble of Jaisalmer
➲ 2) Pista marble (amphibolite variety) of Andhi-Jhiri belt, Jaipur, Alwar and Dausa
districts, Rajasthan
➲ 3) Brown green and golden ultramafics of Dunkar, Churu district, Rajasthan
➲ 4) Chocolate-brown and English teak wood marble of Jodhpur district, Rajasthan
➲ 5) Parrot green marble of Jhilo in Sikar district, Rajasthan
➲ 6) Chocolate-brown or wood finish marble of Mandaldeh, Chittaurgarh district, Rajasthan
➲
➲ 7) Purple marble of Tripura Sundari in Banswara district, Rajasthan
➲ 8) Blue marble of Desuri in Pali district, Rajasthan

13. International Classification of marble
Group A
Sound marbles with uniform and favourable working qualities containing no geological flaws
or voids.
Group B
Marbles similar in character to the preceding group, but less favourable working qualities
may have natural faults such as hairline cracks, voids and inclusions, a limited amount
of wasting, sticking and filling may be required.
Group C
Marbles with some variation in working qualities, geological flaws, voids, veins and lines of
separation are common. It is standard practice to repair these variations by one or more
of several methods - wasting, sticking, filling or cementing. Liners and other forms of
reinforcement are used when necessary.
Group D
Marbles similar to Group C but containing a larger proportion of natural faults such as cracks,
voids, discolouration, maximum variations in working qualities and requiring more of the
same methods of finishing. This group comprises many of the highly coloured marbles
significant for their decorative values.
The soundness classifications merely indicate what method and amount of repair and
fabrication is necessary prior or during installation, as based on standard trade
practices.

14. Resources of Marble
Geological distribution:
Dharwar System:
The marble belonging to Dharwar System is mostly distributed in Aravali and Raialo Series of
Rajasthan, Champaner Series of Gujarat, Sakoli Series of Madhya Pradesh and Chilpi Series
of Maharashtra.
Cuddapah and Delhi Systems
Marble deposits of Cuddapah System are located in the Papaghani Series of Andhra Pradesh,
Bijawar series of Madhya Pradesh and Kaladgi Series of Karnataka. Delhi System marbles
are located in Alwar Series and Ajabgarh Series of Rajasthan. Marbles of Ajabgarh Series are
exposed around Jaipur Bharatpur, Kishangarh, Ajmer, Mewar, Udaipur and Sirohi areas of
Rajasthan; Danta and Palanpur area of Gujarat; and Narnaul area of Haryana.
Vindhyan System
It is mostly found in Morena district of Madhya Pradesh, and Guntur & Kurnool districts of Andhra
Pradesh. Bhima Series are developed in Bijapur and Gulburga districts of Karnataka. Marble
belonging to Vindhyan System is of creamy, grey, bluish and buff in colours and is capable of
taking a good polish.
Jurassic System
Fossiliferous limestones of Jurassic System occurring in Jaisalmer and Bikaner districts of
Rajasthan take very good polish.
Cretaceous System
Coraline limestone belonging to Bagh Beds of Upper Cretaceous age furnish a very handsome
marble capable of taking a good polish and are located at Kherwan, Chirakhan and Bowarle in
Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh.

15. Geographical Distribution
Andhra Pradesh: Khamam,Cuddapah,Nellore districts
Gujarat : Ambuja Marble deposit, Banakantha dist, Ambaji, Jarivav, Kumbheri,
Kateshwar,Bharaj, Khikla etc. Chhuchupura Marble deposit in Vadodra districts
Haryana : Antri – Beharipur, Zainpur, Chappra-Bibipur, Nangal durg, Islampur and Dhanota-
Dhancoli in Mahendergarh districts.
Jammu & Kashmir : Doda and Kupwada districts.
Maharashtra: Near villages Katta-Hiwara, Kadbikhera, Sakaritola, Pauni, Chorbaoli,Deolapar,
Mansar, Kandri, Chargaon, Junewani, etc. in Nagpur district.
Madhya Pradesh : Katni, Jabalpur, Narsinghpur, Harda, Sidhi and Jhabua districts.
Rajasthan:20Districts : Ajmer,Alwar,Banswara,Bhilwara,Bundi,Chittorgarh,Churu,
Dausa,Dungarpur,Jaipur,Jaisalmer,Jalore,Jodhpur,Nagaur,Pali,Rajsamand,
Sikar,Udaipur

16. Resources of Marble 1.4.2005 (UNFC) (Grade-wise)
(000 t)
(Cat 121 & 122) Cat 333)
(Max.)
Grade Reserve Resources Total
Total 4700 178938 1792638
White colour 373 8193 8566
Off colour 108 677435 677543
Unclassified 0 1080531 1080531
Not known 4219 21779 25998

17. State wise Resources of Marble, 1.4.2005 (UNFC)
(000 tonnes)
State Reserves Resources Total
Andhra Pradesh 0 3 3
Chhattisgarh 0 3000 83000
Gujarat 0 93740 93740
Haryana 0 22328 22328
J & K 0 404703 404703
Maharashtra 324 57723 58047
Rajasthan 2184 1118058 1122435
Sikkim 0 2382 2382
Uttarakhand 0 6000 6000

18. STATE WISE RESOURCES OF MARBLE AS ON
1.4.2005
Rajasthan
62.61%
Sikkim
0.13%
Haryana
1.25%
J & K
22.58%
Maharashtra
3.24%
Gujarat
5.23%
Chhattisgarh
4.63%
Andhra Pradesh
0.00%
Uttarakhand
0.33%

19. Total resources v/s Production
State Total resources NMI 1.4.2005
(million tonnes)
Production (2005-06)
(Rs. million)
Chhattisgarh 83 Nil
Gujarat 94 490
Haryana 22 Nil
Jammu & Kashmir 405 Nil
Madhya Pradesh Not covered 245
Maharashtra 58 Nil
Orissa Not covered 0.4
Rajasthan 1122 11916
Sikkim 2 Nil
Uttarakhand 6 Nil

20. Production
➲ Blocks
➲ Khandas
➲ Luffers
➲ Slabs
➲ Tiles
➲ Karezy
➲ Artefacts
➲ Statues
➲ Garden
Furniture
➲ Lattices

21. All India Value of production ,2001-02 to 2005-06
(Value: Rs. Million)
2001-02 4425
2002-03 5535
2003-04 5443
2004-05 5780
2005-06 12652
14000
12000
10000
8000
6000
4000
2000
0
2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06
YEAR
Value Rs.Million

22. Production
State-wise Value of production
(Value: Rs.’000)
State 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06
Andhra
Pradesh
1435 448 373 659 695
Gujarat 315612 294576 287242 312587 490042
Jharkhand - - - - 106
Madhya
Pradesh
15634 97278 177106 244845 244845
Orissa 210 362 415 415 415
Rajasthan 4092393 5141838 4978112 5221400 11916345

23. STATE WISE PRODUCTION OF MARBLE,2005-06
(VALUE WISE)
Rajasthan
94.182%
Gujarat
3.873%
Jharkhand
0.001%
Madhya Pradesh
1.935%
Orissa
0.003%
Andhra Pradesh
0.005%

24. MARBLE MINING AND PROCESSING

25. Mining of marble
➲ marble mines are semi-mechanised and few are fully
mechanised
➲ preferred mining method is 'Bench-Quarrying'
➲ mining machineries like line drillers, chain saws, belt
saws, diamond wire saw cutters, derrick cranes,
loaders and tippers are used
➲ ultimate product in marble mining is parallelepiped
regular blocks, luffers and khandas
➲ Fully mechanised mines recover about 35% regular
blocks, 30% luffers and 30% khandas

26. CONVENTIONAL MINING

27. SEMI MECHANISED MINING

29. Extraction of key block ,Gully or Toda making

30. Toppling of Thaddi or Phada

31. Use of Hydro bags for toppling Thaddi

32. Block cutting from Thaddi using Wire Saw

33. Block cutting or Khasra karna from Thaddi using
Wire Saw

34. Block shifting by fork lift

35. Derrick Crane for Block Lifting

36. MODERN MINING TECHNIQUES

44. Processing of marble
➲ Dressing of block by single blade cutter or wire saw cutter
➲ Fixing on trolley for gang saw cutting
➲ Cutting blocks by gang saw or Circular saw
➲ Processing of marble is done mainly to get sawn slabs and
tiles of varying thickness
➲ Recovery of slabs from regular blocks after processing
ranges from 60 to 70 per cent

45. INDUSTRY FLOW DIAGRAM
EXPORTS
QUARRY/
PRODUCERS
AGENTS DIRECT SALES
SLAB DISTRBUTION
WHOLE SELLERS
STONE FINISHERS
CONTRACTORS
RETAILERS
LOCAL SALES
STONE PROCESSORS
SLABS/TILES
FLOORING TABLE TOPS VANITIES MOSAIC
CLADDING KITCHEN TOPS FACADE SKIRTING
EXPORTS
LOCAL SALES
MUSEUMS
HOTELS
PERSONAL
ARTEFACTS
ORNAMENTAL
MONUMENTS
RAW BLOCKS

46. Dressing Block for Gang Saw

47. Multi Disc Circular Saw

48. Cutting By Gang Saw

49. PLACEMENT OF BLADES AND CUTTING WASTE IN
GANG SAW

50. Various Sizes of Slabs/Tiles

51. MODERN WIRE SAW MACHINE

52. VARIABLE THICKNESS OF SLABS BY WIRE SAW

53. DECORATIVE PIECES CUT BY WIRE SAW

54. PILLAR SECTIONS CUT BY WIRE SAW

55. STRENTHENING MARBLE SLAB
BY NETTING AND ALUMINIUM
PANEL

56. T H E A R T M A K E R S

57. Designer Tile sequence

58. Inlay Work

59. Inlay Work

60. Inlay Work

61. Inlay Work

62. Decorative sofa

63. Statue made from Makrana Marble

64. Statue made from Makrana Marble

65. Statue made from Black Marble

66. CARVING USING LASER SENSOR AND CNC MACHINE

67. JALI CUT BY WATER JET
STAIR CASES CUT BY WIRE SAW

68. Jali (Lattice ) Work

69. Decorative Balls of Stone

70. TRADE

71. Major Trading countries from India
Major Exports Major Imports
U.S.A Italy
China Sri Lanka
Hong Kong Turkey
Italy Egypt
Spain Oman
U.A.E Vietnam
Iran

72. Exports of Marble (Total ) (Quantity & Value )
Year Quantity
000t
Value
Rs. Million
Per Unit
Value
2001-02 170 1841 10.82
2002-03 253 1894 7.49
2003-04 261 2383 9.13
2004-05 242 2230 9.21
2005-06 259 2494 9.62

73. Exports of Marble by type
(Dressed & Others)
(Quantity : in 000 t) ; (Value: in Rs. Million)
Dressed Others
Year Quan
tity
Value PerUnit
Value
Quan
tity
Value PerUnit
Value
2001-02 157 1716 10.92 13 125 9.62
2002-03 239 1748 7.31 14 146 10.43
2003-04 175 1875 10.71 59 392 6.64
2004-05 202 1728 8.55 40 502 12.55
2005-06 198 1611 8.14 61 883 14.48

74. Value of Exports of Marble vis-à-vis Granite (Total)
Value: Rs. Million
Year Marble Granite
2001-02 1841 18739
2002-03 1894 23746
2003-04 2383 25063
2004-05 2230 27258
2005-06 2494 34906

75. Imports of Marble (Total)
(Quantity : in 000 t) ; (Value: in Rs. Million)
Year Quantity Value Per Unit
Value
2001-02 52 922 17.73
2002-03 87 1476 16.96
2003-04 97 1713 17.65
2004-05 134 2564 19.13
2005-06 182 3410 18.73

76. Total Demand (Value-wise)
(Rs. million)
Year Produ
ction
Export Balance
A
Imports
B
Total
consumption
A+B
2001-02 4425 1841 2584 922 3506
2002-03 5535 1894 3641 1476 5117
2003-04 5443 2383 3060 1713 4773
2004-05 5780 2230 3550 2564 6114
2005-06 12652 2494 10158 3410 13568

77. DEMAND OF MARBLE (Value in Rs. Million)
y = 2112.1x + 279.3
16000
14000
12000
10000
8000
6000
4000
2000
0
2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2011-
2012
Series1 DEMAND OF MARBLE

78. POLICY
➲ Marble, and other stones are minor minerals, as per the definition contained
under Section 3 (e) of Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act,
1957.
➲ Group on Marble Development
➲ Subgroup- 'Building up a Database on Marble'
➲ Subgroup- 'Examining Mechanisation in Marble Quarries'
➲ both the Subgroups had submitted the reports.
➲ Marble Development and Conservation Rules (MDCR), 2002 framed for
conservation and systematic development and scientific mining of marble
throughout the country
➲ As per the export-import policy announced for the years 2004-09; the imports
of Marble (excluding alabaster) under heading 2515 and Marble & other items
under code no. 25174100 and 25174900 are restricted.

79. SWOT MATRIX

80. STRENGTH
Huge deposits
High quality stones
 A developed quarrying base
 A leading exporter of stones which is ranked 3rd in the world
Cheap availability of labour
Easy availability of indigenously developed machinery
Large domestic market
A well established distribution network within India
A large processing capacity
A tradition of stone architecture & usage

81. WEAKNESS
 Low quality awareness in customers
 Poor quality consciousness in manufacturers
 Absence of a training mechanism for the stone industry and a resultant shortage of
skilled and trained workforce
 Lack of scientific exploitation techniques in quarries
 Poor polishing and finishing techniques
 Poor segregation, sorting and gradation
 Improper packaging practices
 Inability to stick to a strict delivery schedule
 Improper installation techniques. Lack of promotion of new deposit areas
 Dumping of stones abroad at low prices
 Lack of Value addition for the export market
 Absence of long-term and a rational policies
 Absence of sales tax initiatives to the stone craft industry
 Lack of understanding about the need for testing of stones
 Lack of testing facilities in Northern India
 Unorganised
 Lack of education and training facilities
 Lack of global outlook
 Presence of unscrupulous exporters

82. OPPORTUNITIES
 A large domestic market
 Increase in construction activity in India
 Increasing awareness amongst Architects
 Unexplored potential for exports growth
 An expanding work market
 An increased trend towards exports of finished goods
 Globalisation and liberalization
 Strategic location with sea links to all the major continents
 Export Demand for stone handicrafts
 Export potential of sandstone and slates

83. THREATS
 Opening up of import regulations
 Competition from ceramic products
 Import restriction in Europe without proper test certifications
 Widespread environmental degradation
 Closure due to unscientific exploitation
 Rescession due to over production
 Competition from China, South Africa, South Korea, Brazil, Turkey,
South Korea etc.
 Group promotion strategies of competitor countries
 Dropping prices of Indian stones in the International market