A distinction is often drawn between two main kinds of natural stone, massive stone (blocks) and flagstone and schist.
Larvikite blocks. Photo: Lisbeth Alnæs.The production of massive stone in Norway concerns both hard rocks like larvikite, granite, anorthosite and gneiss, and softer rocks like marble, serpentinite and soapstone.
Flagstone and schist are rocks that can be split into thin sheets. Norway produces flagstone from quartzitic schist, phyllitic schist and mica schist, and this is more quartz-rich, harder and more durable than the slate which, in terms of volume, dominates the world market.
Information about the most important occurrences of natural stone and flagstone can be found on the Internet in the Mineral Resources Data Base.
The map show natural stone deposits in Norway.
Published: 21. January 2008