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September 08
The historic Alberene Soapstone Company enjoys a rebirth in the Virginia foothills," according to a recent issue of the Slippery Rock Gazette. Soapstone’s growing popularity has led to a rebirth of the Alberene Soapstone Company, which has been operating since 1888. Although soapstone is often associated with New England, and is mined in Brazil, Canada, and Finland, central Virginia boasts the world’s largest workable supply of architectural grade soapstone.
According to the company president, “Alberene Soapstone takes great pride in its efforts to be a ‘green’ company with a small carbon foot print. State of the art diamond wire saws are used to selectively cut stone within the existing quarries, so that blasting has been completely eliminated from the operation. Transportation from the quarries to the processing plant is a short 3-5 miles. At the processing plant, no chemicals are employed, which allows for 100% recycle of plant process water. Additionally, all of our facilities are located within 500 miles of major metropolitan areas ranging from Atlanta, Georgia, to New York City, which is a major benefit for LEED certification projects.”
Click here to read the article.
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Alberene in Virginia History |
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The following excerpt from The Story of Alberene Stone was printed in 1930. While the methods for quarrying and processing have changed in the intervening years, the stone and its wonderful qualities have not. It continues today to be "a stone of peculiar and remarkable qualities".
The Story Of Alberene Stone
There was located and opened in Albemarle County, Virginia, in the late 70’s and early 80’s of the last century, a deposit of stone of peculiar and remarkable qualities. It was weather-proof, heat-proof, time-proof and easily worked – as was proved by Indian bowls and other utensils carved from this material with crude tools of the early aborigines and to be seen today in public museums and private collections. While soft enough to be easily shaped and fabricated, it yet was so dense and close-grained as to have a crushing strength equal to that of granite. It was non-absorbent and non-staining; and, in chemical characteristics, it was acid-proof and alkali-proof.
A Company is Formed
The pioneer in opening and developing this deposit was Mr. John G. Porter Who early saw the commercial possibilities of a material possessing all these unique qualities. Thoroughly convinced of the large potential markets in the industrial, architectural and scientific worlds, he associated himself with a number men in an organization which later became knownas the Alberene Stone Company, with Mr. D. J. Carroll as president; and this material has since been quarried and marketed continuously, for more than 40 years, by this organization under the name “Alberene Stone.”
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Read more... [Alberene in Virginia History]
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