Quartzite

Quartzite is a non-foliated metamorphic rock, formed in deep ground when Sandstone with high amount of silicate is subject to high heat and pressure due to natural movements of Terrestrial crust. These extreme conditions allow silicates to recrystallize in Quartz minerals, bonded together so strongly that the resulting rock only breaks across crystals but not along their bondings.

For this reason, Quartzite is a very durable, hard and tough rock which can easily stand difficult weather conditions and aging. No wonder why it’s often found on mountain peaks, where all other rocks are worn down into mere clay minerals, Quartzite resists. Some geologist define Quartzite a sedimentary rock which is almost entirely composed by quartz, but this term is not exactly accurate and a bit confusing, therefore these sedimentary rocks are defined “quartz arenite”.

Colours forming this stone are mainly neutral, but red, green or blue tones, along other several ones, can be found when other minerals like iron or azurite stain the quartz minerals during the metamorphic process. Quartzite can also be semitransparent to translucent, allowing light to shine through and micas inside it to shine. These are the main reasons why this type of stone is the preferred choice of many homeowners and designers for their residential renovations, it also rensembles Marble because of its uniformity, and its toughness is superior to Granite.

In fact, this stone scores a solid 7 on the Mohs hardness scale, being formed by a large percentage of quartz, outscoring any other Natural Stone. Therefore, Quartzite is a very sound and resistant material to use, which has high resistance to staining and low absorption levels, combined with a very high abrasion resistance. Indoor and outdoor use of this stone can be made, from kitchen worktops to stair treads, floor tiles or vanity tops, a very popular use being as railway ballast, thanks to its high hardness and angular shape.

In the trade business, any stone with visible crystals, translucent properties and higher toughness than granite is defined and traded as Quartzite, but sometimes these stones are simply Marble, Sandstone or Calcite.

Here is a list of the most common stones traded as quartzite:

(click on names to open material sheet)

• Amazonite
• Azul Macaubas
• Bianco Eclipsia
• Blanc du Blanc
• Blue Calcite
• Elegant Brown
• Emerald Quartzite
• Fusion
• Fusion Blue
• Iron Red
• Labradorite Green
• Labradorite White
• Lumix
• Nacarado
• Palomino
• Sequoia Brown
• Sea Pearl
• Sodalite Blue
• Taj Mahal
• Tartaruga
• Terra Bianca
• White Macaubas