Tenn. Black Marble

["George Graham" <georgergraham@zzzzzzzzzzz>]

Hi all,
There.is black marble that is quarried at Tazwell, Tennessee. It used to be
called Imperial Black Marble. I don't know how active the quarry is , but
the stone is still there. Tazwell is a dot on the map that you literally
could miss if  you blink as you drive through the mountains of eastern
Tenn.. That area around Knoxville Tenn.. has been producing marble for
generations.

The stone is not a true , pure jet black. When its polished is shows a nice
subtle layering of shades of gray and black that are only noticeable from
close-up observation. Its a very beautiful black stone.
If you want to try this stone out, be warned that it is a very tough stone
that you can break chisels on . The textures it gives you from splitting ,
sandblasting, and tooling are great, as well as taking a spectacular polish.

When I was there in the 1980's the stone was being gently sawed and split
 from the side of a mountain. They were doing no blasting, so the quality was
excellent. I've been told that it is comparable to Belgium Black regarding
its toughness, but I've never worked on Belgium Black.
If you are seriously considering using black marble, and are up to a real
challenge then check it out.

George Graham