Covelano Marble, the hardest white marble in the world
by Dr Horst Unterfrauner

The company Covelano Marmi Srl has always aimed for top quality in the extracted material.
The use of modern, efficient mining techniques, with low environmental impact is one of the most important aspects of the company's programme.

Covelano marble is renowned as the hardest white marble in the world. It is always bright white as a basic colour, which is characteristically run through with gold, silver or emerald veins. Moreover, Covelano White marble absorbs very little water (% of water in weight = 0.10) and it is thus suitable for use in external cladding applications.
The Covelano quarry is one of the highest quarries in Europe, in terms of its altitude. It is situated 2,200 metres asl, in Italy, in the Province of Bolzano, in the Venosta Valley, near the town of Silandro. The Covelano quarry is surrounded by the breathtaking panorama of the central Alps, in the centre of the Stelvio National Park. Given its altitude, the quarry can be used only in summer, when it is not covered with snow. Quarrying takes place in underground and over ground mining. Covelano marble has a long history of success. Systematic quarrying of the marble began in the now distant 1856. At the time, the most important customers were the monarchs of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire, who used this white marble to create various masterpieces, which are still admired today. After 1921, quarrying was curtailed until 1959/60. This was the period when "Lasa Marmo" began quarrying material from the Covelano quarry. Quarrying continued busily until the concession rights expired in 1999. In August of 2007, these rights were transferred to Covelano Marmi Srl, which is the exclusive property of the Pohl family of Castelbello.

Translucent and weather resistant
Covelano marble is a crystalline limestone that is almost chemically pure (>95% calcite). The individual crystals are perfectly interleaved crystals and the grain is homogeneous, almost devoid of cracks, hard and resistant to pressure, but translucent and perfectly polishable.
Cut into slabs and set on edge, Covelano white marble can be bent only if the sheet has a thickness of less than 10 mm. Thanks to its particular hardness, the edges are extremely tough. The specific weight is 2,750 kg per cubic metre on the average, with a maximum variation of 0.1%. Thanks to the excellent chemical properties conferred by its high resistance to atmospheric agents, it is one of the few white marbles in the world that can also be used for exterior applications.

Modern, efficient mining techniques, with a low environmental impact
The company Covelano Marmi Srl has always aimed for top quality in the extracted material. The use of modern, efficient mining techniques, with low environmental impact is one of the most important aspects of the company's programme.
That's one of the reasons Covelano Marmi replaced all of its excavation machinery in 2008. Quarrying of this prized marble takes place with the assistance of water and diamond tools. In addition to the wheel loaders and excavators, the machines that work the quarry are diamond wire machines and the chain saw for underground mining and the cultivation of open quarries (arm length 3 metres).
The water used is purified and re-used. But even more importantly, the company has successfully engaged a highly expert and experienced new "Chief Excavator". The quarry produces approximately 2.000 cubic metres per year of different categories: White Covelano, Gold Vein, White Covelano Gold & Silver Vein, White Covelano Silver and Venosta White.
The blocks processed in the quarry (on the average, the blocks measure approximately 5-7 cubic metres) are transported to the valley, where Covelano Marmi Srl began processing its material in 2011. When the blocks reach the storehouse they are washed, measured, scaled and cut to size. Part of the blocks are deposited for future sales. The other part of the blocks enter the new production line, consisting of a "BM 80 blade" frame, a Breton polishing machine, "Levibreton KFT 3000/014" with 14 heads and a numerically controlled Breton cutting centre with interpolated axes.

Like in the quarry, all of the machinery in the factory works with the assistance of diamond tools and water; again here the idea of the owners of respect and protection of the environment was realised. All the water used in production is in a closed circuit and the water used is recycled to a purification plant.
The slabs are then deposited in the modernized storehouses. Sale of the Covelano white marble (blocks, slabs and tiles) takes place throughout the year at the Silandro storage facility.

More detailed information on Covelano White Marble can be obtained at www.covelanomarmi.it.

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