Geochemical and Petrographic Properties of Imported Decorative Rocks and Comparing their Market Sales with Afghan Decorative Rocks

چکیده

Abstract

Afghan marble is very famous worldwide, with 60 reserves and an estimated 40 types of marble with 35 different colors. Despite Afghanistan having sufficient reserves of marble and granite, 80 percent of the domestic market is devoted to imported decorative and construction stones. Therefore; this research seeks to determine the material composition of imported decorative stones, identify and investigate the factors affecting the Afghan stone sector industry, to determine the quality of imported decorative stones and identify and prioritize the indicators affecting the Afghan stone industry and then provide solutions to improve this sector and industry. Given the importance of the subject, the research was applied in terms of purpose and based on an analytical-descriptive research method. First, 22 samples were collected from decorative stone markets in Kabul in 1401 AH and then analyzed and examined using a microscope (Leica DM750P) and the X-Ray Fluorescence method. The results of this study indicate that the marbles contained animal and plant fossils, porosity, iron oxide, organic impurities and joints, and in 13 types of granite, the amount of silicon oxide was less than 65 percent and a small amount of quartz mineral, whose percentage was shown in the entire slide area at less than 10 percent. The above issues explain that imported building stones are of low quality, and therefore one square meter of it is sold for 450-600 Afghani, while one square meter of domestic decorative stone was sold for 800-2500 Afghani. Other major factors, besides the low quality of foreign decorative stones in the country, are the lack of a market monitoring strategy, high royalty, low import tariffs compared to countries in the world and the region, lack of electricity, transportation barriers, lack of industrial parks, lack of hiring professionals, and lack of machinery in the extraction and processing sectors. Finally, practical solutions and suggestions have been provided to address these challenges and threats.

Keywords: Petrography, Tariff, Royalty, Granit, Marble.