How marble is quarried
Marble is limestone that was cooked and squeezed underground until its grains locked into a crystal mosaic.
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The short version
Marble is limestone or dolomite that has recrystallized under heat and pressure. It is quarried, mostly as large blocks, by drilling and blasting, water jets or wedges. The blocks are sawn into slabs for floors, counters and sculpture.
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Drill and wedge the face
Quarries make blocks, not rubble. Crews use drilling and blasting, water jets or wedges to separate a block from the rock face without cracking it.
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Saw the blocks
Blocks are hauled to a mill and sliced into slabs, keeping the veins and swirls that come from clay, silt, sand and iron oxides in the original limestone.
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Polish for the finish
Slabs are ground and polished until the crystals reflect light. White marble was prized for sculpture partly because it is soft enough to carve easily.
Worth repeating
- Pure white marble comes from very clean limestone or dolomite, and veins come from impurities in the original rock.
- In stonemasonry, the word marble is used more broadly than in geology, and includes unmetamorphosed limestone.
- In 2018 Turkey was the world leader in marble export, with a 42% share in global marble trade.
Where it comes from
Shares of world production of marble and decorative stone, as reported in the Wikipedia marble article (no year given).
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Sources
Cite this page: "How marble is quarried." Assembly Line, 2026-11-03. https://assemblyline.org/make/marble