Natural stone production has many related environmental problems, including very low energy efficiency and productivity, generation of huge amounts of waste and non-optimised use of natural resources.

The impact and significance of these problems become apparent when considering that, in order to produce 190 m2 (7 tonnes) of stone tiles, corresponding to the average floor area of a modern house, it is necessary to quarry 100 tonnes of natural stone. Overall production efficiency, therefore, is only 7%.

The main reasons for this are:

• The high proportion of blocks and slabs that are unsuitable or destroyed during saving and cutting, because of internal defects, fractures and cracks.
• The low speed of drilling and cutting equipment, meaning that final stone product production is a long process with high energy consumption.
• Loss of useful stone during cutting, because of the increased thickness of the cutting tools.