14 Dec Explaining Quartzite and Marble

As natural stone lovers, we feel responsible for providing you with all the information we have about quartzite and marble. These two stones are the most sought-after in the ornamental stone market today. There are many differences and similarities between them. Read this article to the end to find out what they are.

MINERAL STRUCTURE

Marble is a metamorphic rock exposed to high temperatures and pressure, and is ultimately composed primarily of two predominant minerals: Dolomite and Calcite. In a funny and ironic way, quartzite is also a metamorphic rock, but it consists primarily of quartz, formed by the action of heat and pressure on sandstone.

In the world of geology, quartzite is classified as a siliceous stone (composed of silica) while marble is classified as a limestone (composed of calcium carbonate), although their formation process is very similar.

This initial step in the natural development of its structure is directly related to its level of moisture absorption, hardness, scratch resistance and other properties that must be considered when choosing stones for a specific design application.

Some may be great options for external facades, spaces with wet floors, etc., while others may be more suitable for internal and decorative use, for example. The fact is that, due to the diversity of materials available, nature will always have a beautiful and functional option for what you are looking for.

CORES

Both have the same usual solid colors, ranging from white to gray. The fact that these stones are found in nature, combining the most diverse minerals in their composition, makes their background color change – another aspect that differentiates them.

The most common colors of marble are white, gray, black and green, while quartzites are mainly white, brown, black, purple, yellow, blue and green.

DURABILITY

As per our article “What are hard marbles?” says, “in the field of Mineralogy, to quantify the hardness of a mineral, the Mohs Scale is used, developed by the German mineralogist Friedrich Mohs in 1812 and is made up of 10 minerals classified in order of hardness”.

Quartzite has a rating of seven on the Mohs Hardness Scale compared to marble's rating of three. Although the mineral structure of the stone has a strong impact on this topic. Hard marble (dolomitic marble) has a rating between six and nine, which can vary depending on the grade of dolomite mineral present in the stone.

Our stone trading expert, André Zucchi, emphasizes that both marble and quartzite are natural stones and it is very important to be informed about the specific characteristics of the stone itself to be used in a project.

“As natural products, stones can have different characteristics even within materials of the same species and sometimes even from the same quarry. Natural stones are unique in every sense of the word,” André points out.

Stones with a higher concentration of dolomite or quartz mineral not only tend to have a “trendy” aesthetic appearance, but are also more resistant to the daily use of kitchens or high-traffic floors.

In short: you can differentiate them by mineral composition, color and durability, but now I bet you are 100% convinced to use these two materials in your projects.

Click here to learn more about our quartzites e marbles exclusive.

THE BRAZILIAN MARBLE REVOLUTION

the secret of Zucchi lies in the production capacity and technology of its industrial line, one of the most modern in the ornamental stone sector. In 2017, we launched the first factory in the Americas exclusively for processing marble. This innovation was responsible for considerably improving the finish and quality of Brazilian marble Zucchi, which has become one of the most desired, especially in the North American market.