Granite is a light coloured indigenous granular rock, grey, red & pink, white or green in colour & characterised by presence of quartz, feldspar & minor amount of mica. It is generally of three types. It is an important structural ornamental stone & because of its higher compressive strength & durability, is extensively used for massive structural work, fine grained variety of granite that takes & preserve good polish is employed for ornamental & monumental works & also for inscription purposes. The term granite is derived from the latin "granum' a grain.
India is one among the leading countries in mining and export of granite and is rich in granite reserves. Geologically, the southern and eastern belts of the Nation are abundant in granite deposits. Different shades of granites are available in abundance in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Assam, Bihar, Rajasthan, Odisha, Meghalaya and Madhya Pradesh. Indian Granite Stone has become the most sought-after and extensively used stone material in building construction and massive structural works throughout the world, and it is well known in the International market, not only for its elegance and aesthetic quality, but also for its durability.
India is one of the leading nations in the production and export of Granite and other stones. Granite is a very hard crystalline, igneous or metamorphic rock primarily composed of feldspar, quartz and lesser amounts of dark minerals. India has vast resources of granite with about 110 varieties of different colours and textures such as black, grey, pink, multi coloured, etc. These varieties are used to produce monuments, building slabs, titles, surface plates etc. However, popular varieties are mainly found in South India. Granites are now mined in most of the Indian states for use as construction material and road metal but production of dressed granite blocks and slabs from Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu are highly priced. In India there are 43 granite processing units of which 12 are in Andhra Pradesh, 13 in Karnataka, 3 in Rajasthan, 14 in Tamil Nadu and 1 in Odisha. During the last five years exports have grown steadily by about 10% a year but this growth rate may increase even more in the near future. Thus, due to demand it is best to invest in this project.
Few Indian major players are as under:
· A B N Granites Ltd.
· Aankit Granites Ltd.
· Acropolis Granites Ltd.
· Apple Granites Ltd.
· Appollo Stones Ltd.
· Aro Granite Inds. Ltd.
· Ashok Granites Ltd.
· Charminar Granites Exports Ltd.
· Coromandel Granite Co. Ltd.
· D S Q Granites Ltd.
· Deccan Granites Ltd.
· East India Granites Ltd.
· Eastern Granites Ltd.