Mining for granite is done manually. For drilling and channeling hand chisels and hammers are used. There are very few quarries that have mining machinery, such as compressors and drilling machines for drilling and blasting, cranes for lifting big blocks, and dampers and trucks for transport.
There are, four operations that are involved in the processing of granite. They are:
- Dressing
- Cutting/Sawing
- Surface Grinding and Polishing
- Edge-Cutting-Trimming.
Granites are now mined in most of the Indian states for use as construction material and road metal but production of dressed granite blocks and slabs from Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu are highly priced. In India there are 43 granite processing units of which 12 are in Andhra Pradesh, 13 in Karnataka, 3 in Rajasthan, 14 in Tamil Nadu and 1 in Orissa.
The recovery of marketable grade granite is reported to be 32 to 40 per cent in Karnataka, 25 to 75 per cent in four quarries around Jalore, the main granite mining centre of Rajasthan, and 20 to 40 per cent in Tamil Nadu.
There is nothing more alluring than the beauty of the natural stone. A continuous increase can be seen in the demand of these stones, leading to a tremendous increasing their business across the globe. Modern technology is being used to offer superior processes and finishing to these stones. Various natural stones trade shows, sandstone expos, heavy stone machinery trade fairs etc., are being conducted to attract various natural stone specialists, machinery and equipment developers etc. India is one of the largest processor of various kinds of stone that cater to the construction needs globally. From Rs. 12,845.1 million export in 1996- 97, we now have an export revenue of over Rs. 26,146.0. India produces / processes over 27% of the stone produced in the world and export over 11% of the world stone exports. Indian is primarily known for it's vast resources of natural stones spread across the length & breadth of the country's geography.
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