Title front - Sindh Board Of Investment, Government Of Sindh

Introduction“Dimension stone” is a general terms for a wide variety of natural rocky materials found in the crust orupper layer of the Earth, which are used primarily as premium building materials or for ornamentalpurposes. Dimension stones are not only beautiful in appearance but also strong, durable, andenvironmentally clean. A wide variety of dimension stones with varied colors, textures, patterns, anddurability are found in nature. Some are igneous rocks like granite and bluestone (basalt), others aresedimentary rocks like limestone and sandstone and still others are metamorphic rocks like marble andslate. A number of minor dimension stones also exist like alabaster (massive gypsum) and soapstone(massive talc) among many others. Dimension stones have been used throughout human history forbuilding beautiful edifices or monuments such as palaces, parliament of numerous countries, templesand so on. The use of dimension stones decreased with increase in the use of modern concrete andceramics. However, lately the use of dimension stones has picked up because of their "green" nature,beauty, and durability.Tremendous advances have occurred in the quarrying and processing of dimension stones and mineralsacross the world. Quarrying, the form of open-pit mining done for dimension stones, is done with theuse of sophisticated mechanized cutters equipped with diamonds tips and hard metal blades tominimize wastages. For processing of the stones, a number of finishes are now possible, which areselected depending on the specific use of the dimension stone. Polish finish gives the stone surfaceglossy finish, which brings out the true character of the stone but it is difficult to maintain. Honed finishprovides smooth, satin-like surface with little or no gloss. Bush-hammered finish produces a rough butuniformly patterned surface with the use of impact instruments like bush hammers. Sandblasted finishgives a flat, non-reflective, and irregularly pitted surface by impacting sand or metal particles at highvelocity the stone surface. Cleft finish is a natural split surface with an uneven surface. Thermal finishproduces a textured, non-reflective surface by passing extremely hot flame over the stone surface. Inaddition, embedded computers allow mining machinery to create complicated and beautiful designs.Resource BaseDimension stones have played a dominating role in the rich architectural history of Sindh and theirinfluence can be found in majestically built historical buildings in Karachi and other parts of Sindh.Dimension stones are found in western Sindh where terrain is hilly and sedimentary rocks arepre-dominant. The best quality dimension stones of Sindh are commonly known as Indus golden marbleand coral limestone. While the large deposits of golden marble occur at Sonda (Daduri area) in Thattadistrict, significant reserves of coral limestone are present in Bado Jabal, Bhago Thoro Jabal and otherparts of Jamshoro district. In addition, huge reserves oflimestone of dimension-stone quality are presentat numerous locations in Thatta and Jamshoro districts.Sindh - The Land of Endless Opportunities