Beige marble is the most important category of stone, and its consumption accounts for more than 60% of the total consumption of marble. Through the combination of geological knowledge and minefield investigation, this paper summarizes the formation process and metallogenic characteristics of beige marble mines, and deeply understand the formation of stone mines, to provide a theoretical basis for prospecting, mine planning, and mining. Let’s explain this in this article.
Distribution of Mines
The distribution of beige marble is very characteristic. Beige marble is produced in more than a dozen countries all over the world, but the main varieties are mainly four countries: Turkey, Iran, Spain, and Italy.
The main varieties of Italy include Dino beige, golden beige, old beige, and Italian beige, which is more popular in recent years.
There are few varieties in Spain, mainly Spanish beige and lightning Simi, but Spanish beige is the largest stone mine in the world, with a daily output of more than 500 cubic meters.
In recent years, Iran’s output and market share have declined due to the impact of international sanctions and government tax increases. The main varieties are Shaanna beige, European Code beige, White House beige, tequila, etc. among them, Shaanna beige is known as the king of beige. Although the mining was stopped a few years ago, it has been reopened.
Turkey is now a real Beige overlord. 70% of beige materials in the market are produced since then. The main varieties include Altman, Magnolia, Lightning Beige, Sofitel Gold, Nova Beige series (Nova beige, new emperor, new century), golden leaf beige, Amami yellow, white rose, classical beige, Kaman Beige, Louis XIII, etc.
Formation process
More than 95% of beige marble panels on the market can see biological fossils or biological debris, and its formation process is directly related to paleontology. Before the 1950s, the geological understanding of carbonate deposition was quite superficial, but it was generally considered as “shallow marine” chemical deposition.
It was not until the 1960s that Shaw and Wilson deeply studied modern carbonate sedimentation that people formed a correct understanding. Carbonate sediments are mainly biogenic, mainly formed in a clean and transparent shallow sea environment under warm climate conditions. The deposition of its main component CaCO ₃ is mainly the result of the biological skeleton and algal activity.
The ongoing carbonate deposits are mainly distributed in the equatorial warm shallow sea at 30 ° north-south latitude, such as the great Bahamas beach in the Caribbean, the Persian Gulf, the Bay of Bengal, and the South China Sea Islands in China. Calcium baths proliferate in these areas, coral reefs are developed, and shells, oolitic sand, grape-like masses, spherical plaster, and reef-building biological cohesive rocks are accumulating in some areas. These sediments can find corresponding marble varieties in the stone market.
The formation process of beige marble can be divided into two types: Altman type and white magnolia type (such as Louis XIII). The main difference is the proportion of biological bones.
1. Altman type
Altman’s flowers, which are often said in the market, are actually biological fossils, and the main species are coral fossils. This type is characterized by containing more obvious particles and larger fossils as the biological framework of the rock, and then filled and cemented by fine beige powder and mud crystals. The formation process is: corals and other organisms continue to grow to form reefs, and then the reefs are broken under the action of waves, tides, and gravity. The broken particles are large, so they accumulate without transportation or only after short-distance transportation, and then undergo cementation and compaction to finally form rocks. This kind of mine is generally island-shaped and has groups of islands. Ottoman, the Turkey, is this characteristic, which is very similar to the distribution of coral reefs in the ocean. About 65% of the common Beige materials on the market are of this type.
2. Magnolia type
The main materials are powder crystals with fine particles and no obvious biological structure visible to the naked eye. The biological fossils are not obvious, with a proportion of less than 10%. They are cut into large plates, and the surface is pure, with a good decorative effect. The main representatives are Louis XIII, Shanna, Magnolia, Lightning Beige, etc. Its formation process is different from the Altman type, and there is no obvious biological framework. Calcium carbonate mainly comes from sea baths, plankton, etc. calcium carbonate in various biological remains forms calcium carbonate mud after long-distance transportation or precipitation and then undergoes cementation and compaction, and finally forms rock.
Metallogenic characteristics
1. Biology
The main body forming beige marble is biological bone and another calcium carbonate. If the biological is coral, its bone particles are large and difficult to be broken and transported, it will generally become the grid of beige ore body and be deposited in situ, and the variety of coral directly determines the color of the ore body. If it is red coral, it will form red marble like coral red rather than beige marble. If the main source of calcium carbonate is baths or plankton, its particles are very small, easy to transport for a long distance, and it is easier to form white magnolia beige marble.
2. Seawater cleanliness and depth
On the one hand, the cleanliness and depth of seawater determine which organisms are easier to develop. For example, coral can only develop in very clean shallow waters and have plenty of sunshine. In addition, the seawater will also affect the color of the stone formed. The stone formed by the unclean seawater is easy to turns black or brown. Finally, if there is mud in the seawater, it is also very easy to form sutures, which seriously reduces the variety of stones, such as old beige, Croatian wood grain, tequila, and other stones.
3. Cement abundance and landfill depth
These two factors play a decisive role in the later diagenetic stage. If the cement is insufficient, the calcium carbonate particles cannot stick together, and will eventually be dispersed by seawater to form rocks. The landfill depth must also be deep enough, otherwise, the formed marble will have more pores,
Beige marble is a very popular color system and is widely used. Only after understanding its various properties can we give better play to its advantages. Well, this article is written here. You are welcome to email me at sales@sntstone.com.
