Black granite quarry benches in the green mountains of Dir
Dir, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Black Granite, Dir
Good colour, no method. We moved the site from seasonal hand working to year round output a buyer could contract against.
- Location
- Dir, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
- Material
- Black graniteDimension stone grade
- Scope
- Deposit assessmentExtraction method designEquipment supplyCrew trainingMarket placement
The situation
What we walked into
Black granite is one of the strongest sellers in the international dimension stone market when it is clean and consistent. This deposit had the colour.
What it did not have was a working method. The site was operating seasonally with hand tools and small equipment, output was unpredictable, and no international buyer will sign a supply contract against unpredictable output.
Crew working a black granite bench with a diamond wire saw
DTH drill rig drilling a free face line in black granite
What we did
End to end
Consultation
We assessed the deposit and confirmed the colour consistency and structural soundness across the working area.
We designed a bench extraction plan built for continuous year round working rather than seasonal campaigns, and we brought buyer specifications to the site so the crew understood what size and finish the market actually wanted.
Equipment
We supplied a quarry diamond wire saw machine, granite specification diamond wire, DTH drilling equipment with hammers, rods and button bits for free face and splitting work, and diamond saw blades for block dressing.
Operations
We commissioned on site and trained the crew to work the bench plan.
We put a quality grading step in place at the block yard so that blocks were sorted and specified before they were offered, not after.
The result
What changed
The operation moved from seasonal to year round working. Monthly block output became predictable enough to support supply agreements, which is what changed the commercial picture.
Blast damage losses were eliminated because there was no more blasting. Consistent graded black granite block entered the export market for the first time from this deposit.
- Year round
- Working, up from seasonal campaigns
- Zero
- Blast damage losses, because no more blasting
- Predictable
- Monthly output, enough to hold a supply agreement
- First
- Graded black granite export from this deposit
Close detail of black granite, half rough sawn and half polished
Feedback
What changed things was knowing what the buyer wanted before we cut. Halberg knew both ends of the chain, so they could tell us how to cut for the market.
Similar problem
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