The most important types of natural stones used in construction

Granite rocks: Since they are very hard rocks and have good
resistance to abrasive forces, they are used in load-bearing building
elements and elements subject to shear and induction forces, such as
thresholds, road edges, and paving due to their shape and aesthetic
properties.
Basalt stones: used in construction.
Qada stones: used in continuous foundations.
Nasfa stone: It is a rock used for foundations and facade walls
Induction stone: Gravel is made from it and is used in concrete and
paving roads. It is also used in building ovens
Clay rocks: They are mainly used in the manufacture of mineral
bonds such as cement or fluid lime
Building stone specifications
Several qualities must be present in order for the stone to be suitable
for use for construction purposes, the most important of which is
that extensive studies have been conducted by the Building Research
Center at the Royal Scientific Society, and the standard specifications
for building stone have been determined by the Department of
Standards and Metrology and the Ministry of Public Works, where
the stone has been classified. There are 3 categories of geometric
properties, which are categories A, B, and C. The specifications
covered the following characteristics:
Water absorption (water absorption of the stone): The best stone is
the stone that least absorbs water, and the absorption rate increases
due to the increased porosity of the stone or the increased
percentage of clay minerals in the stone. The color of the stone will
change after it is installed and exposed to water or when the cement
concrete absorbs water upon completion of the pouring process. It
must be noted that there must be a balance between the desire of
project owners to obtain a stone with low absorbency and their
desire to obtain a stone with a uniform color, as in most cases the
stones are less Water absorption is less uniform in color
Ornamental stones are a world without borders
§ the definition :
Stone is a term given to every rocky material used for
construction or industrial purposes in its natural state
without any change in chemical or physical state. As for
earth scientists, stone is any small piece or fragment of
rock formed in a free state.
§ Characteristics and attributes:
The hardness of the rocks, the scarcity of cracks and gaps,
and the availability of natural joints in large blocks help in
quarrying operations, so that large blocks can be
separated into small blocks that are easy to extract and
transport. Di erences in the properties of stones result
from di erences in the textures of hard rocks and
di erences in their mineral and chemical composition. To
determine the properties of these stones, they are
subjected to various tests, such as durability tests, water
absorption, specific density, hardness, porosity, corrosion
resistance, thermal expansion rate, resistance to weather
conditions, and acid resistance. The most important
physical properties are the consistency of the rock texture,
the arrangement of the grains, its good luster, and the
beauty of the color.
§ Classification of ornamental stones:
Ornamental stones are classified according to their origin.
They are either igneous, sedimentary, or metamorphic.
They can also be classified according to mineral
composition, chemical or physical properties. These are all
technical and scientific classifications. As for producers of
ornamental stones, there are many classifications that
depend on the characteristics of use, the most important
of which are:
. Granite: These are clearly crystalline igneous rocks that include
granite, gneiss, syenite, monzonite, diorite, granodiorite, anorthosite,
and gabbro. They are characterized by di erent colors, including pink
when orthoclase minerals predominate, gray color when biotite
minerals predominate, or brown and green colors when orthoclase
minerals predominate. Hornblende. The darker types of granite are
called black granite.
2. Limestone: It is a sedimentary rock that usually consists of calcium
carbonate. When the percentage of magnesium carbonate exceeds
(10%), it is called dolomitic limestone. Coquina is a limestone formed
as a result of the fusion of seashells with a calcareous substance. As for
travertine, it is a limestone described as terracotta as a result of the
presence of calcium carbonate granules containing fish eggs, and it has
the ability to be polished.
3. Sandstone: It is a sedimentary rock that contains grains of quartz
(quartz), feldspar, and rock fragments. It is characterized by a clastic
texture held together by cohesive materials such as silica, clay, calcite,
and iron oxides. Its colors range from yellow to brown to red. It was
used in construction in the nineteenth century AD and is known as
sandstone. Triassic, then the name expanded from a commercial
standpoint to include conglomerite, mudstone (alluvial), and arkose.
There are other types of sandstone that are used as ornamental stones,
such as (breccia), which is crushed and shattered rocks formed along
fault lines, and bluestone, which is a fine-grained sandstone that is
hard and heavy and is characterized by the property of separating along
its surfaces, giving thin, smooth-faced slices, and it is usually dark in
color.
4. Marble: It is a transformed crystalline limestone characterized by an
interlocking texture consisting of calcite or dolomite grains, or both
together. Among its types is alabaster, which is highly crystalline and is
characterized by its semi-transparent characteristic and clear lines.
There is Mexican alabaster, which is a type of chalcedony and is
distinguished by the density of its lines and is sometimes used as a
precious stone. Likewise, the veined green marble, which contains the
dark green mineral serpentine, is composed of hydrated magnesium
silicate and is cut with veins of light minerals. The color has been used
to place it under marble stones as a result of its ability to polish and the
presence of veining similar to the veining of marble.
5. Quartzite: It is a metamorphic rock equivalent to limestone that 9.
Various stones: They include schist, scoria, and steatite.
 6. Slate: It is a black, fine-grained rock metamorphosed
from sedimentary rocks and contains the minerals quartz,
mica, sericite, and chlorite.
7. Green stones: They are crystalline, metamorphic rocks
with a green color resulting from the presence of green
minerals such as chlorite.
8. Basalt or terrace stones: These are all basal rocks with a
fine-grained composition. The term is taken from the
Greek word (trapa), meaning ladder, because the basalt
lava fields appear in a graduated form (like a staircase)
with flat surfaces between one degree and another. The
trade name includes basalt, andesite, and sometimes
gabbro, pyroxenite, amphibolite, peridotite, diabase, and
dolorite.
9. Various stones: They include schist, scoria, and steatite.

Uses:
1. Polished statues, memorials, and columns that require hard
stones with a homogeneous texture, free of delamination and
gaps, with the ability to be polished and polished, and
characterized by their resistance to erosion and corrosion
factors.
2. Paving streets and bridges, which requires small square or
rectangular stones, the best of which are granite, granodiorite,
and diorite.
3. Walls, houses, palaces, castles, and dams, which require
small-sized blocks whose surfaces are modified and graded for
use in building and construction work. In the modern era, the
uses of natural stones have expanded and are now used in
interior and exterior house facades and decorative works.
Examples of this include cladding stones, which are strips used to
cover exposed cement areas. Other uses include vases, ashtrays,
lamp holders, and ceilings that are covered with panels of
attractive colors.
Mining (extraction) methods:
The methods used in the process of cutting, sawing, shaping
and polishing ornamental stones vary from one country to
another. In European countries, modern machines and
equipment are used with great skill, while developing
countries use primitive devices and equipment, relying mainly
on manual labor.
Usually, the ore is discovered, the rock cover is determined,
and the quarry is prepared so that the ore is accessible to
cutting and separating equipment and lifting machines in the
case of surface quarries. In the case of subsurface quarries,
about 15-25% of the ore is left as roof supports, and the
process of cutting stones is carried out using a steel wedge,
drilling and perforating, or using wire sawing machines. The
most common method is the flame cutting method, which
works to break up the rock using the heat resulting from the
combustion of oxygen and fuel oil. Perforation and separation
with (prestar) or light blasting are also used in stone cutting
operations. The process of dividing the stone blocks into
smaller blocks is carried out using wedges, impact nails, and
ministerial nails, after which fixed lifting equipment is used or
by means of lubricating the blocks to transport them to the
loading places, where loading equipment can be used to place
them on cars prepared to be transported to the factories to
complete the rest of the manufacturing stages.
§ Cutting and shaping methods:
After transporting the stones to the factories, they are sawed
and cut into equal slabs according to the required thickness
using sawing machines with sawing arms in which (fida)
slices are installed. The surfaces of the panels are then treated
and finished using several methods, including flame, carving,
or the use of some chemicals. It is noted that the manufacture
of ornamental stones still relies heavily on skilled labor.
It should be noted that the extraction, cutting and processing
of building and ornamental stones varies from one quarry to
another. However, the cost price is determined based on the
color, texture, hardness and cohesion of the rock, the scarcity
of cracks, transparency, and the freedom of the pieces from
impurities, in addition to the supply and demand factor.
Producing countries and global markets:
The reserve of ornamental stones is considered indefinite, and
every day new types of rocks with di erent attractive colors are
discovered and transported to the markets at competitive
prices. Marble, granite and travertine constitute the largest part
of the international trade in used ornamental stones, and this
trade is concentrated in the North American continent and the
countries of Western Europe. Italy occupies the first place
among the countries of the world in the export of polished
stones, and in the extraction of marble and travertine. The most
famous types of marble come from the Carrara region in
northern Italy, and travertine has been produced since ancient
times from the Tivoli region. Marble in its various colors has
also been produced since the Roman era, to the point that the
Italian names for the types Marble has become popular all over
the world, while Italy comes in second place for importing
granite blocks.
Portugal ranks second internationally in the production of
marble after Italy, especially colored marble. The countries of
the Mediterranean basin are considered among the main
producers of marble, and the countries of Northern Europe are
considered important producers of granite, as both Norway and
Sweden are famous for producing gneiss, and Belgium is
considered one of the main countries in the production of
granite. Granite and black marble. Information confirming the
global production of ornamental stones is not fully available.
Global production was estimated at about (68 million tons) in
the year (2001), and about (65%) of that production is
produced in European countries, which represent a market
estimated at about (20 billion euros), and there are
approximately (60 thousand companies operating) in the stone
industry. Decorations and the number of manpower is about
(half a million workers).
Definition of rocks
Rocks are solid natural bodies composed of several minerals
combined in di erent proportions
The most important natural properties of rocks
Mineral composition
Fabric
Structure
Dominant colour
It depends on its natural properties, which enable geologists to
distinguish rocks from each other.
Definition of rock classification
Rocks are classified according to their origin, conditions of
formation, and natural properties into three main types:
1. Igneous rocks
2. Sedimentary rocks
3. Metamorphic rocks
Igneous rocks
These rocks are formed from the solidification of molten
material called magma emerging from within the crust
Magma is: mineral substances in a liquid state that are
extremely hot and freeze when they reach an environment with
a temperature much lower than their temperature.
(When magma flows into the earth's surface, it is called lava)
Igneous rocks are called primary rocks! Why Shanab?