Re: [GBlist] soapstone

[Kirsten Flynn <kir@declan.com>]

Title: Re: [GBlist] soapstone

on 1/25/02 5:03 AM, GrenSheltr@aol.com at GrenSheltr@aol.com wrote:

> > There are other 
> > harder minerals in this kind of rock, too, but I would be curious if others 
> > on the list have experience with the scratch resistance of soapstone 
> > counters.
>
>
> I live in the soapstone capital of the world Schuyler, VA and am developing an ecoVillage on 750 acres of former soapstone quarry property - plant still operates around the corner --  each quarry had/has a different quality of soapstone - some VERY soft, usually ground for talc, some less soft and used for sculpture - then varying hardnesses used for a variety of counters and the main use in the 1920s etc was for laboratory countertops, remember back to those school days, they were rarely scratched --- also comes in colors from green to grey to black, some with marble like veining, some with road marks (called nailheads) - very acid resistamnce and heat retentive    Linda Lloyd - The Quarries ecoVillage 

This is great if you have soapstone quarries near to you, but if it is being shipped great distances then stone countertops have a high embodied energy.  A heavy material requires a lot of fossil fuels to travel, and this is added to the environmental effect of the mining process.  If you are looking at the soapstone sold by you stove maker, is it coming from Europe?  Of course I think you should have a material you can love, but please check how destructive the mining process was, and where it is coming from.  Other than those considerations (other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?), stone is a great material for a countertop.  

I doubt your source would have info on the mining practices, but it is important for vendors to know that such issues might be make-or -break considerations to a consumer.

Good luck with your new home.