INTRODUCTION
At the beginning of this century, British
Columbia produced a wide variety of quality dimension stone products for both domestic and
foreign markets. The industry flourished until the 1930's when most of the producing
quarries closed as a result of the depression. During the 1990's, British Columbia
experienced the resurgent North American dimensional stone production trend. The industry
benefited from increased prospecting activity and from substantive new investment in
processing equipment, particularly in the granite sector. These activities resulted in new
quarry developments, the reopening of abandoned quarries such as on Granite and Fox (www.quadrastone.com) islands, and a
renaissance in downstream value-added activities. British Columbia has re-established
itself as an important, reliable and innovative source of high quality stone products.
MARKET
A 1989 market study concluded that British
Columbia's traditional stone markets were in the states of Washington, Oregon and
California as well as in Alberta and British Columbia itself. California was, and still
is, the largest single market, estimated at more than $80 million per year. The
Washington-Oregon market was valued at about $10 million annually, while the combined
British Columbia - Alberta market was also about $10 million. Since 1989, these markets
have grown substantially and interest in B.C. stone has surfaced from Southeast Asia and
other foreign countries with a need for quality dimension stone products.
KNOWN DEPOSITS AND GEOLOGICAL
POTENTIAL
British Columbia is richly endowed with
dimension stone deposits, many of which are located near tide water or established
transportation routes.
Currently there are 114 known dimension stone
occurrences, including granite, marble, quartzite, volcanic rocks and gneiss deposits. In
27 of these occurrences, dimension stone is a primary commodity. There are at least 5
prospects and past producers of slate, four flagstone producers and a number of flagstone
prospects. Besides these traditional materials, a variety of ornamental stones, including
jade and rhodonite, occur in the province. There are over 40 known rhodonite occurrences,
and some of these have been exploited on a commercial scale. Several of the 50 jade
(nephrite) occurrences are past producers and at least two were producing in 1999. British
Columbia prospectors and junior exploration companies are reporting several new
discoveries every year and the B.C. Geological Survey does its best to track the activity
to put any potential investors or buyers in contact with the B.C. granite industry.
Selected occurrences are shown on Figure
1. Many of the sites are listed
by rock type and displayed on location maps.
Figure 1
All of the localities shown in Figure
1 and some of the recently discovered dimension or
ornamental occurrences are documented in "B.C. MINFILE", a computerised database
of the British Columbia Geological Survey. This database is posted on the Internet and
available free to the industry and public www.em.gov.bc.ca/Mining/Geolsurv/Minfile.
There are also a number of geological reports
published by the British Columbia Geological Survey and other organisations (see bibliography).
OPERATING PROCESSING FACILITIES
Margranite Industry Ltd.
Margranite Industry Ltd. and a related group
of companies (www.ceramstone.com),
continues to expand the production and sales of granite tiles from its state-of-the-art
plant in Surrey, B.C. (Figure 2), the only facility of its kind in Western North America.
The company has installed a third
block-cutter, a Simec model NT2505, more than doubling its primary cutting capability, and
increasing its current overall finished tile output to more than a million square feet per
year. Further capacity is available through added operating shifts, as and when required.
To keep pace on the polishing line, the Simec
310NT11M multiblade table saw has been enlarged to cut 10 tiles simultaneously (from
seven) and the Terzago polishing heads have been upgraded to achieve higher quality
standards.
The new Park Hydrasplit machine continues to
provide attractive exterior split-face granite blocks, and the Pellegrini F2000 wire saw
facilitates the preparation of speciality thick slabs and shapes to customer order.
Margranite's tiles (12" x 12",
12"x 24", 16" x 16", and 16" x 24") are marketed throughout
North America in polished and flamed finishes (honed on request), in 3/8", 1/2"
and 3/4" thickness. Custom metric sizes such as 30 cm square are also available.
The Margranite stone product line has grown to
36 different colours sourced from all over the world, including several exclusive British
Columbia granites quarried by a sister company at several locations in south-western B.C..
A notable major project supported by
Margranite and its related fabricating company Atlas Stone Products of Burnaby, is the
magnificent new St. Helen's Catholic Church in Vancouver. It features both internal and
external split face granite facing in Cascade Coral, which it quarries near Kelowna, B.C.,
and polished interior floor tiles and mosaics utilising Aqua Mist, another south-western
B.C. granite quarried and processed by Margranite (Figure 3). Phase II of the Margranite's
operations, is underway. This expansion involves the latest granite slabbing technology.
Garibaldi Granite
Garibaldi Granite Group, Inc., based in
Squamish, B.C., is 50 percent owned by Pender Capital Corporation of Vancouver (www.novoroc.com). It has
realized significant
growth and development of its production capabilities and sales activity since it
commenced operations in August of 1996. It has recently added a 6' diameter Park
Industries automated trim saw to its production line, which also includes an 11'6"
diameter block saw, a 4' diameter trim saw and a Hydrasplit hydraulic splitter.
Management estimates that its production
facility is now capable of processing up to 11,000 tons of finished and semi-finished
stone products annually. The company is proudly concentrating on processing high quality
Canadian stones and is continuing to expand its product line, utilising the three strong
and attractive granites quarried in and around Squamish, namely Glacier White, Garibaldi
Grey and Garibaldi Golden.
In addition to its core product line of
various split face sawn granite blocks, the company manufactures tumbled blocks and tiles,
landscaping rock, and custom fabricated products such as benches, columns, beams, mantels,
fireplaces, countertops, tables, and monuments. Basalt and rhyolite raw materials are also
used for other applications by the company.
Sales have grown consistently. One highlight
has been the completion of one of the largest granite installations for the Mont Blanc
Hotel in Whistler, B.C., which required over 25,000 square feet of split face Glacier
White. Examples of other finished products from Garibaldi are shown in Figures 4 and 5.
Westcoast Granite Mfg.
| Westcoast Granite Mfg. Inc. of Delta, B.C.
operates the only granite slabbing gangsaws on the West Coast of North America. Two years
ago, Westcoast installed a second gangsaw, a Master Breton HG375350 which doubled its
capacity and provided much needed increased flexibility to service the challenging demands
of the local stone fabricating sector (Figure 5). Westcoast
recently replaced its existing polishing line with a LeviBreton 2000, 17 head machine to
give the company more finishing capacity. Westcoast does custom slab cutting for local
block producers and makes polished slabs from over 60 different imported and local
granites for the domestic fabrication market. Westcoast has succeeded in maintaining a
strong niche market based on prompt, reliable service and high quality. |
|
Figure 5: Granite table and benches (photo courtesy of Garibaldi Granite Group. Inc.)
|
Matrix Marble Co
Matrix Marble Co. (www.matrixmarble.com) is based on Southern
Vancouver Island. It produces a line of "Antique Pavers", marble and granite
slabs, shippable marble fireplaces and custom made marble pieces. The company quarries
black, blue and white marble, as required, from its own deposits on Vancouver Island.
Flagstone Producers
There are a number of relatively small
flagstone producers with aesthetically outstanding products for domestic and export
markets. The best known is the Kootenay Stone Center in Salmo, B.C. (www.naturalstonesite.com). Others include Gerex
Development Ltd. of Nelson, Revelstoke Flagstone Quarry of Revelstoke, L&D Petch
Contracting Ltd. of Kelowna (www.kettlevalleystone.com) and K2
Stone Quarries of Nanaimo.
Jade West Resources Ltd.
| Jade West (www.jademine.com)
controls a large number of in situ nephrite deposits and boulder fields in the province.
The company operates from its warehouse and plant in South Surrey. Currently, most of the
nephrite produced is for carving purposes and the best materials are of gem-quality
(Figure 6). Jade West also produces table tops, fireplaces and a variety of custom
products. The industrial grade nephrite has been stockpiled for many years, and the
company is now looking for joint venture partners to enter the speciality tile market. An
early example of tile pattern incorporating B.C. jade is shown on (Figure 7). Jade tile
would not compete with the main-stream granite or marble tiles in terms of cost per unit,
but will be an upscale, exclusive niche product. Market surveys have indicated a strong
interest for such products by North American designers. In the past, some nephrite was
recovered from the Cassiar Mine, and marketed by Jedway Resources Ltd. |
|
Figure 7: An early experiment with British Columbia jade and marble tiles (photo courtesy
of Jade West Resources Ltd.)
|
SUMMARY
Recent market research and the successes of
current producers indicate that British Columbia dimension stone is competitive in price
and quality with other North American and offshore sources. Besides the active producers,
British Columbia has a number of dormant quarries and prospects, as well as an outstanding
geological potential to provide new resources. Given the favourable geographic location of
many of the deposits at or near tidewater, there is a distinct competitive advantage in
transportation costs, particularly in servicing Pacific Rim markets.
British Columbia is establishing a prominent
position in the North American natural stone industry. Based on recent commercial
developments, a high level of exploration activity for dimension stone, excellent
geological potential, and the overall demand for natural stone products throughout the
region, this trend should continue.
British Columbia's renowned jade deposits and
related value-added processing is well established to serve the needs of carvers,
designers and jewellers and may extend into jade tile making. Some of the rhodonite
deposits of British Columbia also have development potential.
FIGURES
Figure 2: Margranite Industries Ltd. block
inventory at the tile plant, Surrey, B.C.
Figure 3: St. Helen's Catholic Church in
Vancouver; Split-face "Cascade Coral" granite; a project supported by Margranite
Industries Ltd. and Atlas Stone Products of Burnaby.
Figure 4: Mont Blanc Hotel in Whistler, B.C.;
"Glacier White" granite from British Columbia; by Garibaldi Granite Group. Inc.
Figure 6: A translucent slab of B.C. jade with
its characteristic deep green colours. (photo courtesy of Jade West Resources Ltd.)
