The General Establishment for Geology and Mineral Resources seeks to develop the marble and ornamental stone industry in Syria by expanding investment in quarries, upgrading factories, and modernizing their equipment, thereby contributing to increased production and enhancing the economic value of local resources. The Establishment's media office stated on Sunday that production in the first nine months of the current year reached approximately 357,000 tons of cut and cladding stones, 864 square meters of marble slabs, and 269 square meters of marble pieces used for cladding and decoration.
Diversity of Extracted Materials and Their Uses
The media office clarified that materials extracted from quarries include marble blocks and secondary materials resulting from their exploitation, which are used in manufacturing slabs and detailed pieces for interior and exterior cladding, decoration, and mosaic tiles. These also include sedimentary ornamental stones, such as limestone, marl, and sandstone, used for exterior cladding and decoration, as well as igneous ornamental stones, such as gabbro and trachyte.
The office noted that the Establishment produces processed and polished marble slabs and detailed pieces. Some products are reinforced with mesh and epoxy materials to increase their durability, depending on the required treatment. Regarding marble blocks prepared for sale and export, the office explained that they are dressed with perpendicular faces and free of cracks, veins, and color variations. Marble slabs, on the other hand, are sawn and undetailed, with thicknesses ranging between 2 and 3 centimeters.
Plans to Develop the Marble Industry and Increase Production
The media office clarified that the Establishment has formulated plans to develop the Syrian marble industry, which is characterized by the diversity of its colors, types, and fields of use. These plans involve expanding quarry investment to increase production, rehabilitating factories, and updating their machinery, thereby contributing to raising production capacity and achieving added value for raw marble materials. In this context, the Establishment completed rehabilitation and maintenance works on machinery, equipment, and vehicles at the Latakia marble factory last July. The factory covers an area of 65,500 square meters, with the aim of improving its operational readiness and enhancing its capacity to produce marble slabs and pieces.
Marble, semi-marble, and ornamental stones gain economic importance within Syria's mineral resources, given their entry into the construction sector and the decoration of facilities, as well as their diverse uses amid the development of urbanization and reconstruction needs.
Source: Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA)
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