White Marble in Borba

Marble is a metamorphic rock formed when limestone is exposed to high temperatures and pressures. On our way to Elvas, we saw a huge marble quarry in the small town of Borja, so we decided to make a short stop there on our way back to Evora.

Portugal is the second largest exporter of marble in the world, surpassed only by Italy (Carrara marble). About 85% of this marble (over 370,000 tons) is produced around in three towns that are close to each other - Vila Vicosa, Estremoz and Borba.

There is so much white , beige or pink marble around Borba that it is used everywhere; the doorsteps, the curbs, the park benches and sculptures and even the cobble stones are made out of marble. This marble is even converted into a whitewash for painting the houses.

The blocks of marble that we saw were huge. Maybe enormous is a better word. But how could the giant blocks possibly be cut and then moved?

I read that “in the quarries marble blocks are cut from the rock with a diamond wire saw, a durable steel cable with a series of circular diamond beads. The initial conduit for the wire is made by drilling a horizontal hole and a vertical hole of which the ends meet exactly inside the rock. The wire saw may need a day to cut through the marble.”

I still can’t figure out how they move those huge blocks of stone ...Read more