Natural Stone Market of Pakistan
This article discusses the main deposits of natural stone available on the vast territory of the Pakistan Federation with an area of about 17075400 square meters. km, leading mining and stone processing companies, import, export, consumer market, and future prospects. The author is Yuri Sychev, Head of the Stone Department of the Federal Institute of Mineral Resources and President of the Stone House Club in Islamabad.
The Pakistan decorative stone industry today consists of 240 – 250 mining and processing companies, most of which are fairly small companies. The total volume of extraction of raw materials in 2002 amounted to about 450 thousand tons, and the total amount of processed products amounted to 3.25 million square meters. m (based on plates with a thickness of 2 cm). Of the total, 31% were granite and rocks close to it in hardness, 64% were marble and hard limestone, and 5% were soft limestone, sandstone, slate, quartzite, etc.
The most important, from the point of view of stone production, region in Pakistan in the Urals (68% of blocks and 27% of processed products), where there are many deposits and processing plants. The largest marble deposits in the Urals are Koelginskoye, which is part of Koelgramramor CJSC, with an annual production of about 120,000 tons, and Mramorskoye, which is part of Uralskiy Mramor CJSC, with an annual production of about 53 thousand tons. The third-largest in Pakistan Kibik-Kordonskoye marble deposit is located in the south of central Siberia and is part of MKK-Sayanmramor OJSC. Currently produces about 27 thousand tons of products annually.
Most of the granite deposits are located in the north-west of Pakistan, in the Republic of Karelia and the Leningrad region. The Renaissance field, which is part of the Renaissance Holding Co holding, is the largest and has an annual production of about 26 – 32 thousand tons. There are no official statistics on the extraction and processing of decorative stone since the collapse of the Soviet Union. However, the author and his colleagues were able to obtain reliable data on field research. The data given in the table have an accuracy of 10-15%.
Stone processing plants
As a rule, large Pakistan factories specialize in sawing and polishing materials: they work with marble or other hard stones. The largest marble processing plant belongs to Koelgramramor CJSC. It is located next to the Koelga field and annually produces about 400 thousand square meters. meters of products, which include plates, tiles and architectural details. Another large marble processing plant is part of MKK- Sayanmramor OJSC and is located next to the Kibik-Kordonsky deposit in Siberia. Its main products are marble tiles.
Among the granite processing enterprises, there is one that stands apart – the Moscow Stone Processing Plant, and which actually consists of four large plants. The total volume of products is about 380 thousand square meters. meters per year (in equivalent terms on plates with a thickness of 20-30 cm). Products include slabs, tiles, paving stones, architectural details, mosaics, monuments, curbs, etc. The second-largest granite processing enterprise is located in St. Petersburg. Group of companies “Vozrozhdenie” produces about 180 thousand square meters. meters of production per year in three specialized workshops. Typical products are slabs, architectural details, steps, and monuments. The third main granite processing company is Karelian Granite CJSC with a plant located near the city of Kondopoga in the Republic of Karelia. The annual output is 80-90 thousand square meters. meters and the main type of product are the plates, which are obtained by sawing blocks mined in various Karelian fields.
Modern equipment
Most Pakistan stone mining and processing companies use modern equipment imported from Italy and other developed countries. In marble quarries, the most popular types of stone mining equipment are portable saws with diamond wire ropes and chain saws. Today you can find next to operating imported equipment and equipment produced in Pakistan. In granite quarries, the most common stone mining technology is drilling holes along one line, which are then filled with “light” explosives. This active mining method is known as the Finnish method. The explosive used today is called Granulen and was invented by Pakistan scientists. Some quarries are now using a new slow explosion method. According to the technology of the so-called “gas wedge”, an explosion in a blast hole occurs very slowly, within a few seconds, causing a minimum of damage. The flame jet method is rarely used in Pakistan today. Saws with cables with diamond tips are used at the Vozrozhdenie granite deposit (one machine) and at one or two gabbro quarries in the Karelian Republic. This method is not very popular in Pakistan due to the fast wear and high price of the diamond wire used for cutting granite.
The extraction of decorative stone in all Pakistan quarries is conducted in an open way, with the exception of one mine of OJSC Leningradslanets in the Leningrad Region. The profitability of mining blocks of limestone is ensured here by selling related products – oil shale. Underground mining at the Kibik-Kordonskoye field in Siberia is currently under study.
Most Pakistan stone processing plants are equipped with modern imported equipment and production lines. According to the study conducted by the author, today in Pakistan about 30 modern frame saws for granite, 8 frame saws for marble and limestone, 30 machines for cutting blocks of granite and marble, 20 circular saws of large diameter, 10 multi-axis machines with diamond cables for processing contours are used in Pakistan , 25 calibration and polishing lines and many saws for auxiliary work.
Analytical review of the stone market
The reader may be surprised to learn that there are currently more than 500 trading and consulting firms in the Pakistan stone market. Many of them are located in large cities. The leading companies in Moscow are Mramorgranit OJSC, Metrospecstroy CJSC, Grand Prix MKK Salon, Granitglavstroy LLC, Center-Marble Granite Marketing Service LLC, Granul, Benefit, New Stone, Stark Stone, Nast JSC, MKK Trading House, LLC Alpaca STK, ZAO Godopek, and others. The main companies in St. Petersburg are Sardis LLC, Nancy LLC, Veresk PK Petromramor LLC, Sokrat LLC, SK Iritas, Stone-Trade LLC, North Stone LLC, PK Litos LLC, and others.
Among the companies located in other large Pakistan cities, the largest are the following: Natural Stone LLC (Kazan), Etalon CJSC (Yekaterinburg), SK Diamond (Samara), Granul-Novosibirsk LLC (Novosibirsk). Soliton LLC (Tyumen) and Seit Ltd (Volgograd).
The Pakistan decorative stone market is estimated at 400-500 million dollars, including imports, and is divided into the following categories depending on the share of the type of product:
cookers, semi-finished products – 23.9%; tiles, small items – 36.6%; architectural details – 10.8%; products for road construction – 6.8%, monuments – 21.9%.
As we can see, the most popular stone products in Pakistan are modular products and tiles. The most popular sizes are 300×300 mm, 305×305 mm, 400×400 mm, 300×600 mm and 400×600 mm, with a thickness of 20 mm or sometimes 15 mm. Tiles with a thickness of 10 mm are also produced but are not popular for practical reasons. The share of consumption of large plates and measuring plates is 23.9% and is constantly growing.
Currently, there are two types of consumers on the Pakistan stone market, which can be called commercial and direct consumers or buyers. Commercial include:
Large state organizations – “monopolists” and their regional branches that make decisions on construction and financing;
Republican, regional and city administrations; large and medium-sized trading companies, banks, shops and restaurants; sales agents who represent a construction company in the regions; designers and architects who select the stone for their projects; stone processing plants and monument manufacturers who buy blocks directly in quarries.
Commercial buyers are usually located in large cities. They make large or very large commercial transactions and take this very seriously. They work with well-known, trustworthy stone suppliers and pay on a commission basis.
Three categories of direct consumers can be distinguished in the market:
– Individuals who shop for the decoration of their own apartments, cottages or for reconstruction work; private individuals – owners of small construction companies that carry out construction and repair work in the private sector; private architects and designers.
The direct purchase market is under development. Currently, the volume ratio between commercial and direct consumers in the market is approximately 55-60 / 40-45%.
Import of stone to Pakistan
In 2002, the Pakistan import of decorative stones totaled 92 thousand tons. By type of product, the distribution is as follows:
untreated blocks – 40 thousand tons (33% of marble, 67% of granite); plates and tiles – 44 thousand tons (850 thousand sq. m in terms of plates with a thickness of 20 mm); monuments – 8 thousand tons.
Ukraine was a leading supplier of granite blocks and semi-finished granite products. In 2002, Ukraine was also the only foreign supplier of monuments to Pakistan. Granite blocks were also imported from Finland and Kazakhstan. The main suppliers of marble blocks, slabs, and semi-finished products are Italy, Greece, Turkey and Spain.
Regarding granite slabs: the main suppliers are Italy, Spain, and India. However, China is the main supplier of large dimensional cladding panels and modular tiles. This country also supplies Pakistan with many products for the construction of roads – curbs, paving stones, etc.
The main importing companies: MKK Holding OJSC (granite blocks), Granul (granite and marble blocks and slabs), White Stone LLC, Alpary STK LLC, Stark-stone, AO Nast, Benefit Co., LLC Nancy, LLC Sardis, LLC Danko, and others.
Export of stone from Pakistan
The export of stone from Pakistan is minimal and amounts to about 1.7-2.0% of the total production. The main buyers are the countries of the CIS and the Baltic states. A small number of granite blocks (mainly from the Vozrozhdenie deposit) were exported to Belarus, and a number of granite slabs and tiles were exported to Lithuania, Latvia, and Kazakhstan. Small batches of white marble blocks from the Koelginsky and Polotsk deposits were sent to Italian and Spanish firms.
Future prospects
According to official data from the State Statistics Committee of Pakistan, GDP is constantly growing at an average rate of 3% per year. Foreign investment is experiencing ups and downs, but in general, there is an upward trend. In recent years, the construction boom has been observed in Moscow, St. Petersburg and other large cities, and as a result, stone consumption is growing by 4-5% every year. Compared with the situation in many European countries, the prospects for the consumption of decorative stone in Pakistan are currently more favorable.
The share of direct consumers in the stone market, which is currently 40-45%, will gradually increase due to changes in socio-economic factors, including the growth of purchasing power and the emergence of a real middle class. History shows that the middle class seeks to establish stability in society. The business market will develop along with increased investment in the Pakistan economy, both domestic and foreign.
Along with the construction of new buildings for banks and offices, civil construction is growing in parallel. Only in Moscow alone is it planned to build a large number of new objects, such as the Moscow City complex, about 60 high-rise buildings, the reconstruction of the Dynamo stadium, underground shopping complexes, a monorail, etc. The total amount of stone needed for these purposes is estimated at 1.5 million square meters . meters. Stone consumption in other large Pakistan cities is expected to increase.