Granite (rock): characteristics and properties. Deposits of granite

From Latin "granite" is translated as "grain". It is a granular volcanic massive rock that formed during the gradual cooling and solidification of magma at a sufficiently deep depth. In addition, it is possible to derive its origin under metamorphism, in other words, in the granitization of various rocks. Very often arrays of granite are attributed to magmatic, metamorphic and mixed origin. Granite is a rock, the most common in the earth's crust.

Given its characteristics, we can say that this is a very strong material, due to which it is very common in construction. One of the most important characteristics of the rock is its high strength.

Qualities

1. Strength. Granite is a rock that is resistant to abrasion, compression and friction. This is a very dense stone (when compressed, its strength is 90-250 MPa).
2. Durability. Fine-grained granite begins to show the first signs of destruction after 500 years, as a result of which it is also called the "eternal" stone.
3. Resistance to acids and atmospheric effects. Granite is the best stone for exterior decoration of houses.
4. Ecological compatibility. The natural radiation level of the main amount of granites corresponds to the first class. In other words, they are radiation-safe, which means they are suitable for any type of construction.
5. Water resistant. This is also an excellent characteristic of granite. He almost does not absorb moisture. That's why the stone is suitable for facing buildings, embankments, etc.
6. Wealth of textures. Unpolished rough stone, absorbing light, as well as polished to an amazing brilliance, demonstrating to the world a light play of mica inclusions - the decorative possibilities of such a mineral are able to embody the intricate designs of designers.
7. A huge color palette. The most common is the gray mineral, although there is also red granite, orange, pink, bluish-green, bluish-gray.
8. Compatibility with other materials. It perfectly combines with metal, wood, ceramics and other materials that are used in today's construction. He can "fit" in every interior - from ultra-modern to classic.

Granites by grain size are divided into:

• Fine-grained;
• Medium-grained;
• Coarse-grained.

If we consider a fine-grained stone, then the characteristic of this type of granite will be very different from the others. This group is much better against mechanical influences. During operation, it rubs more evenly, with heating less cracking, resistant to weathering.

This group is the most expensive and quality. It is characterized by its resistance to destruction, water resistance and high strength. Coarse-grained samples are characterized by insufficient fire resistance. When heated above 600 ° C, they begin to crack and increase in volume. Because of this, sometimes in homes after fires you can often see cracked granite ladders and steps.

Despite its excellent density and strength, the stone is easily processed: polished, sanded and cut. It has excellent heat conductivity, which is why it is often used for heaters.

Of course, the above characteristics are considered advantages of this material. But the granite stone has its drawbacks. The main disadvantage is its heavy weight, due to which it is one of the hardest finishing materials. This characteristic should be taken into account when creating construction projects.

Structural and chemical composition

Granite is a rock that has a grainy-crystalline structure. Enriched with alkalis, rich in silicic acid, and iron, magnesium and calcium contains less.

The composition of the mineral in its mean values:

• Feldspars - 60-65%;
• Quartz - 25-30%;
• Dark-colored minerals - 5-10%.

The color of the rock primarily depends on the nature of the feldspars present in the composition. Most often its color is gray with different shades: red, pink, gray-blue, orange, sometimes bluish-green.

In addition, the formation of a shade is influenced by dark-colored components. These elements of the breed often give a dark color, usually greenish. The example is the Yantsev granite.

But quartz is most often colorless, therefore, the character of coloration is not affected. In this case, you can sometimes find a mineral with black quartz, less often - lilac-pink. Very rare are minerals with blue quartz. The most decorative characteristics - in fine-grained light gray samples with a blue tint. In addition, the green-blue and red granite are very in demand.

Appearance

As already mentioned above, the mineral is actively used in construction. And this is easily explained. Granite is a sedimentary rock, which is perfectly polished. The resulting mirror surface is retained for a long time and in case of using the material in the outer lining.

Also, the stone can be easily processed, easily acquires various shapes. The relief texture of the granite surface underscores the monumentality of the buildings, gives a decorative interesting effect to the play of light and shade.

In this case, some types of stone decorative textures are obtained only after heat treatment. This applies mainly to light gray shades, which become after processing almost sugar-white.

Place of Birth

Batholiths are considered to be the main form of occurrence. They represent a large area of several hectares. Most often the rock lies in the form of stocks, dikes and other intrusive bodies. Sometimes a mineral forms several plastoid bodies alternating with sedimentary and metamorphic rocks.

If we talk about the deposit of granite, the latter is found on each of the continents. Basically, it comes to the surface in those areas that were composed of ancient rocks, where due to the erosion-denudation process, the overlapping deposits were destroyed.

So, in the USA this breed is found in the north of the country, along the Atlantic coast, in the Black Hills mountains and the center of the Ozark plateau. The stone is mined in Georgia, Wisconsin, South Dakota and Vermont.

It is also common in our country. About 200 deposits are exploited in the post-Soviet space. The largest of them: Mokryanskoe, Malokokhnovskoe, Mikashevichi.

On the territory of the Russian Federation, granite is most widely distributed in the Karelian-Kola region, in Eastern Siberia, the Urals, the Far East and the Caucasus. Today, about fifty deposits are known in which a piece mineral is mined. Granite rubble and boot are mined in the Ladoga, Prionezhye, Arkhangelsk and Voronezh regions, the Karelian Isthmus, the Chelyabinsk and Sverdlovsk Regions, the Khabarovsk Territory and the Maritime Territory, and the Eastern Transbaikalia. The rapakivi produced in the north-west of the country are distinguished by excellent decorative characteristics, besides, the Amazanite species of Transbaikalia and the Ilmensky Mountains are also valued. A lot of deposits do not work consistently, mostly on rubble and bout. In them, as required, granite blocks are extracted, of which facing plates are made.

There are several types of granite, we consider them in the article below.

Gabbro-diabase

It is a solid, homogeneous mountain granite of black hue, with small interspersings of gray. Excellent accumulates, and then gives heat, throughout the mass evenly heated, the longer the rocks do not lose the quality of polishing and artistic properties.

This stone is considered to be building materials of the 1st class. It does not emit any harmful impurities, is completely non-radioactive. At the same time Karelian gabbro-diabase is a unique rock that has no analogues in other regions of our country.

The mineral is used for the production of block road stone (mosaic checker, bridge pavement, curbs), for making interior items and various ritual products, in precision engineering, for landscape design, as a socle stone in construction. Suitable for interior decoration and facing of facades of buildings, goes partly to rubble and boots, it is used for heaters in saunas and baths.

In the world of all there are 3 main areas of extraction of block stone:

• Ukrainian gabbro-diabase , which is inferior to Karelian, although it is cheaper almost twice. It contains a huge number of iron impurities in it, and this worsens the quality of finished products, while the pattern applied to the stone quickly dims.
• Australian gabbro-diabase , similar to Karelian in quality, although standing much more expensive.
• Karelian gabbro-diabase , which has a black color, low degree of abrasion, high decorative properties, durability, frost resistance, long retains the pattern applied to it.

Based on the ratio of quality and price, the Karelian gabbro-diabase usually has a higher demand. At the same time, it is steadily increasing every year. The popularity of the application of the Karelian mineral is due to its strength and strength. This stone is almost not affected by the negative influence of the environment. It retains properties much longer than marble, and the very first signs of destruction appear only after a hundred years.

"Chancy Black" (Chinese granite)

Chinese granite is a rock of black color, considered one of the best in the world. It is extracted in the north of China, in the province of Shanxi. Its main advantage is a rich and deep black color with a small amount of impregnation. It is used for facade cladding, interiors finishing, manufacturing of products for different purposes, monuments and monuments.

Shoksha

This raspberry granite, the price of which is very affordable - about 10,000 rubles / ton, is produced in the Republic of Karelia. It is distinguished by its durability and high strength. Experts say that the products from it for more than 600 years will not lose their form. He decorated the mausoleums, palaces, monuments. The inscriptions and engraved portrait on the shoksha look contrasting.

Kapustinsky granite

It is uneven and coarse-grained, pink-red, bright, massive, highly decorative granite, the reviews of which speak of its incredible beauty. The area of use is suitable for the production of pedestals, as well as for other architectural structures, for finishing elements of structures and buildings, in those places where high architectural expressiveness is required. It was used to decorate the Temple of Memory, located on Poklonnaya Gora, Manezhnaya Square. The deposit is in the Kirov region, in Ukraine.

Labradorite

It is a natural stone, which is a mountain grained-crystalline rock. Labradorites appear in magmatic depths. Basically they consist of plagioclase, which is feldspar. The structure of minerals is crystalline. It is subdivided into medium-grained and coarse-grained rocks.

Labradorites are a kind of anorthosites. The name they received from their original deposit - the so-called peninsula in Canada. Today, the extraction of this natural stone occurs in other countries, including Ukraine and Finland. In Russia there are also large deposits. The first mineral structures were found in Kievan Rus - then this granite was used as an exclusively facing stone, then they began to decorate the monumental buildings.

Basically this granite is gray or black. Dark-colored minerals just give the stone a beautiful dark shade. The main properties of labradorites are their frost resistance and high strength. Consequently, these stones are most often used for exterior decoration of buildings.

In addition, granite is distinguished by its structural and texture properties.

Porphyritic

This Ural granite contains elongated or isometric impregnations, which differ from the main mass in size (can reach 10 centimeters). They are usually represented by orthoclase, quartz and microcline.

Pegmatoid

This is a granite rock with a uniform characteristic granularity. The size of the inclusions of feldspar and quartz is about 3 centimeters.

Finland granite

This granite is a magmatic rock with characteristic round, numerous impregnations of an orthoclase of red shade up to five centimeters, surrounded by a border of gray-green or gray oligoclase. In the role of the main mass, an aggregate of grains of orthoclase, plagioclase, hornblende, quartz and biotite appears in it.

Gneiss-like

This Ural granite is a uniformly fine-grained ordinary stone with a characteristic coarse-parallel orientation of hornblende grains or mica flakes.

Pegmatite granite

One of the most common varieties is pegmatite granite, consisting of muscovite, quartz and orthoclase. A characteristic representative of this variety is the so-called written granite, in which feldspar germinates in small quartz formations of wedge-shaped thin form.

The Leznikovsky granite

The red and pink-red leznikovskiy granite, which got its name from the name of its deposit, is particularly strong and popular. It should be noted that in this way many kinds of granite are named. For example, a red stone - mezhdurechensky, Simonovsky, Tokovsky, Emelianovsky, kapustinsky. But granite gray is Cornic, Pokosta, Zhezhelevsky, Sofievsky.

Rapakivi

Another one interesting variety of mineral is rapakivi. It is a porphyritic formation with a huge content of ovoid.

White granite

There is also white granite. What kind of rock it is, not everyone can answer right away. This concept is more collective, since white refers to both white stones and other minerals of light shades. Color can vary from pearl gray to light green.

Application

In today's construction, granite is so actively used that it can be called a truly universal material.

Interior details

Cornices, window sills, rails, skirting boards, table tops, bar counters, coffee tables, columns, balusters - high strength of the stone will allow you to order these products from granite, and they will remain unharmed for many years.

Stairs, floors

Granite is a material with a low degree of abrasion. If in your apartment a million people walk through the stairs for a year, they can erase its steps by a maximum of 0.12 millimeters.

Interior and facade decoration

Granite is a very ergonomic material that can provide you with a very comfortable stay in the building.

Landscaping

Rockary, alpine slide, decorative ponds, Japanese gardens made of granite, your site will give uniqueness and naturalness.

Curbs, cobblestones for pavements, steps

Granite is used with success in those places in which huge "endurance" is required. The mineral is resistant to chemical contamination, mechanical stress, and temperature changes, as its properties do not change during many cycles of thawing and freezing.

Facing the embankments

Granite almost does not absorb moisture, which means that in the pores of the stone, when the temperature is lowered from the frozen water, there is no internal additional pressure, which can lead to the destruction of the rock and the formation of cracks.

Granite paving stones

The application of stone blocks from this stone is thousands of years old. On the ancient Roman famous cobbled roads and today you can stroll; The streets from the paving stones you can find in the old part of every European capital; In the modern world, when the processing of granite by masters does not cause any complexity, stone roads also gradually replace concrete and asphalt.

Magical properties

It may seem at first glance that the granite, the photo of which is presented in this article, does not possess any magical properties, as it is actively used for finishing the premises in modern apartments and houses, which means that it carries only an aesthetic component. But there is evidence that this mineral is capable of making a person's life better.

Baths were built from granite in the old days. It was always the cleanest place in which a person could relax. Here we are talking not only about the attractiveness and the external shine of the stone, but also that the mineral can protect the room and the person from negative energy.

There is a well-known phrase: "Gnaw the granite of science". In everyday life it was not accidental. Granite (which rock in this case is meant, is not important) has the properties to stimulate communication and mental activity.

Red granite helps a person to find mutual understanding with the world, enhances his intuition, while his owner makes it more responsive and flexible.

Healing properties

Granite, whose photo can be viewed in our review, has a wide range of healing properties that can alleviate the course of various serious diseases. Among them - pneumonia, asthma, cardiovascular diseases, bronchitis.

The stone for colds helps to lower the temperature, has a positive effect on the spine and joints, when they have problems.

Mascot

Granite is the best talisman for people who devoted their lives to pedagogy or science. The mineral aggravates intuition, strengthens memory, develops rational thinking, etc.

Products made of granite can be excellent amulets for teachers and teachers, they can help to find an approach to stubborn and difficult students, and also gain their credibility.

Granite - a mineral with an unconditional positive energy, which harms no one, therefore, and it is not worth worrying about.

Granite: reviews

Since granite is very popular in construction, where, by the way, it has been used for more than one hundred years, it is not difficult to find reviews about it. Virtually everyone who has had to deal with this remarkable material admires its high strength and excellent characteristics. Others are somewhat frightened by its cost. But in this case it is necessary to take into account that different types of mineral can have different prices. Therefore, you can always choose the right option for yourself.