According to the International Stone Exhibition of Iran, white stone with high strength and high polishing is the result of travertine mines in Mahallat city which has made it one of the most famous travertines in the world.

Neighborhood is one of the richest cities in Iran in terms of mines of colored building stone and especially travertine. The city was able to secure a special place by providing 60 percent of the country's travertine needs. Despite this capacity, the perpetual problems have prevented the city's mines from dying. Worn out machinery, lack of investment, lack of construction and a recession in the country are among the problems that local Travertine stone mines in the suburbs are dealing with these days.

The active travertine quarries in this city include Atashko, Takht Mehdi, Abbasabad, Hajiabad, Dahi Bukhari, Aliabad and Spa and also the spa soil mine located northeast of Mahaleh which is used for Nile Nile tile in Isfahan.

Extraction of two and a half million tonnes of travertine annually

Iran is the fourth largest producer of crude in the world after China, Italy, the Netherlands, and India, and in terms of quality, it is unique, but remarkable is that the stone producer has no place among the top ten exporting countries. And Iran's share of about two percent of global stone exports supports this claim.

Travertine rock reserves are also very limited in the world. Neighborhood city with the extraction of two and a half million tons of stone per year is considered the travertine pole of Iran and the world. Sixty percent of the country's travertine stone is produced in the city. H

 There are one hundred and fifty travertine ores in the province, and the city of Mahalat is known as the Travertine Pole. There are about two hundred and fifty stone quarrying units in the city, most of which are members of the stone community in the city. Countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Iraq have also benefited from crude and processed stones in the province.

Incredible quality stone

Although the central province has several mines in its heart, the province is known for its world-renowned travertine rocks. Mohammad Reza Hajipour, head of the Central Organization of Industry, Mine and Trade in Markazi province, said: Mahalat city is considered as the travertine pole and the stone capital of Iran. The city has very good travertines that are unique in quality, color, cut and polish in the world, so they have a worldwide reputation.

Mohammad Reza Hajipour further noted: About 100 and 50 mining units are active in the Travertine Mines area of ​​the city and about two hundred and fifty processing and excavation units are active in the city.

He pointed out the problem of crude stone sale in Mahalat city: The most important issue in Maharashtra stone is the export of this precious stone in the form of raw material.

With this in mind, we have put in place a process for this precious stone since last year so that we can add more value.

The official in the central province, referring to the problems of the mining industry in the field of mining, said: One of the problems in the mining industry is the depreciation of machinery and machinery that have not been upgraded and upgraded. And this has caused the amount of waste we have in the field of rock to increase.

Technology transfer from Italy, Turkey and Brazil

The issue of obsolescence of stone mining equipment and processing of stone quarrying units in Mahallat is not new. "We are trying to bring the latest stone processing technology from Italy, Turkey and Brazil to the country so we can focus on mineral processing," he said. Create more value added.

Wastes used

The issue of waste and stone waste in neighborhoods is another problem that has involved both mines and processing units. The head of Markazi Province Industry, Mining and Trade Organization pointed out the studies that have been carried out on local stone waste in Mahalat: Two study projects have been carried out to use travertine stone waste in Mahalat city, one is paper production from waste stone and carbonate. Calcium is present in this stone.

Hajipour pointed out this plan: Therefore, for the production of paper from the city stone, there have been collaborations between the university and the province's industry, mining and trade organization.

He added: "Studies have been carried out in this regard to use both waste and scrap waste from processing and quarrying units." H

The official pointed out other uses of stone waste: In the area of ​​municipal services stone waste can also be used. For example, these scraps can be used for flooring public passages or in blocks next to tables.

Hajipour added: "We have proposed the use of municipal services of stone waste to the local government of Mahallat city to use these waste both in their passages and in their urban areas." He said: "We are now looking forward to reviewing how the workgroups are doing on these proposals, to see how well this will work."

Problems of stone city mahallat

The head of the central province's industry, mining and trade organization responded to what are the most important problems in the stone quarries of Mahallat city. He said: One of the most important problems of travertine stone mines is the color change and quality of the stone after extraction, because Its colors change.

Hajipour explained about this discoloration of Travertine stone during harvesting: In a period of time, these stones are found in cream and chocolate colors in the customer's market, but after some time this stone is discolored during harvesting and there may be new colors in the customer's market. And it will require new marketing.

He went on to point out other problems with Travertine stone and said: "Not using mining equipment in mines is a problem."

For example, cutting wire is used in all stone mines, while newer machines are being introduced that are both more cost-effective in harvesting and lower in technology due to lower mining costs. H

He also mentioned in the field of processing: In the field of processing, the lack of machinery and equipment used in the excavations can be pointed out that they need reconstruction and renovation.