New mining techniques ‘lucrative’

Modern technology for marble, granite extraction introduced, $2 billion worth may now be extracted without wastage.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Stone Development Company (PASDEC) has replicated and introduced in Pakistan a modern technology for marble and granite extraction called ‘rope cutting’. Using this technique, square blocks of the material are extracted during mining instead of blasted residue.

Chairman, PASDEC, Ihsanullah Khan was briefing the members of Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry on “Marble and Granite Sector Development and Investment Opportunities” at the chamber office. Khan said that the marble and granite sector is fast growing and has huge investment potential.

President Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) Mahfooz Elahi recommended investing in the new technique. “This new method of mining reduces wastage to less than half while increasing value by more than a factor of five, it is simply brilliant,” said Elahi. He told The Express Tribune that the shape of these extracted blocks was much more versatile for use. “We (in Pakistan) have natural resources in this sector amounting to more than $200 billion, this method brings wastage down from 80 per cent (blasting) to less than 40 per cent,” he explained.

The price per tonne of marble is currently between Rs1,500-2,000. Elahi said that using the new mining technique, this went up to Rs10,000 per tonne.

Chairman PASDEC said that approximately 1300 natural stone mines and over 2000 processing unites were in operational to produce value added products in the country.

He said that Pakistan’s huge reserves of marble and granite offered tremendous opportunities for investment and development.

PASDEC is using machinery like diamond wire-saw and chain-saw for precision cutting and bench quarrying. The objective is to discourage blasting so that wastage of natural stones is minimised.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 16^th, 2010.