Marble Extraction

The stones and marbles are extracted especially from hilly and mountainous areas. As preliminary action the superficial layer, called “cappellaccio di cava”, has to be eliminated and there must be a large area for the storage of materials and the loading on the means of transport.

The quarry is penetrated by mechanical means, such as pneumatic hammers and drills, that allow the block extraction. For the extraction of whole blocks is used the diamond wire: a cable with a diameter of 3.5/6 mm, formed by three steel wires with a wrapped helix structures.

The cable is stretched between different pulleys to form a closed circuit that moves at a speed of about 5 meters per second. Because of this the appearance of a marble quarry is completely different from any other stone quarry. There are, indeed, clean and precise cuts in the rock for the extraction of large blocks and the quarry front has huge steps.

Particular compressed air machines cut the rock with a series of lined up holes to prepare the final separation obtained with very small explosive charges not to damage the integrity of the block.

Marble slabs - In the yard the big marble blocks are cut in slabs whose thickness is different depending on the use. The cut may be done by gangsaw or with a diamond disc.