Basalt is a volcanic rock of dark grey to black coloured in nature, it’s PH lies between basic to ultrabasic. It has a fine-grained texture, is in-equigranular and contains 55% or less silica or SiO2. The structure of some Basalt stones is vesicular and is so-called vesicular Basalt. Feldspar, augite, and iron oxide comprise the mineral composition of Basalt. Basalt comprises ninety per cent of all volcanic rocks found on planet Earth. It is generally found in the ocean beds around the world and some parts of Germany, the United States of America and even smaller quantities in some parts of Turkey, Libya, and Italy. Usually, the oceanic spots and the hot current areas produce a huge amount of basalt. Oceanic and lava basalts are formed over the years, and large landscapes of pillow-shaped basalts can be found all over the world.
Uses of Basalt Stones
Although basalt stones are even known to be a therapeutic stone used for medicinal purposes their widely known use is in the building and construction industry. Following is a detailed description of the many uses of the Basalt rock,
It Is Used Largely In Construction Sites and Also In Sculpting Various Items for Ornamentation:
It is used in construction as filler in groundwork and also used in making building blocks used in the construction of houses and skyscrapers. It is one of the most widely used stones in this industry.
- Columnar Basalt is widely used in manufacturing cobblestones around the world due to its dark natural colour and its ability to withstand extreme weather conditions and long-lasting nature.
- In making statues and sculpting different shapes for ornamental purposes also, Basalt is used around the planet.
- High quality basalt is used to a large extent for major industrial manufacturing purpose.
- As a road base, crushed Basalt is used to give increased strength to the road.
- In railway tracks’ ballast, pulverized Basalt is used and also as a concrete additive.
- After it’s cut from large boulders into the required dimensions, Basalt is used in the form of thin slabs on floors and veneers.
- Its non-corrosive and basic PH nature makes it a very suitable rock to be used in building concrete structures for increased durability.
- Basalt is used for reinforcing concrete due to its non-corrosive nature. It holds the potential to be used as a replacement for steel in reinforced concrete.
- Since it is not slippery and possesses dark and grainy nature, it is used on floors of washrooms as well.
- Since it can easily be cut down into the required shape and is very resistant to breaking, Basalt is used in making kerbs.
- Processed Basalt is widely used in making kitchen tops, bathroom tops, etc.
- It is said to possess healing properties and because of the same, it is used in helping issues with the reproductive system and fertility.
- In other healing properties, it is said to be a stone that gives courage and strength, it is also therapeutically used to reduce anger in people.
- Some people also believe Basalt stones replenish our connection with mother Earth.
Conclusion
Basalt stones are widely available around the world and are essentially volcanic rocks with a deep dark shade of dark grey to black colour. They are non-corrosive, have high endurance, are non-slippery and have a grainy texture. Basalt stones due to their long-lasting nature and high endurance majorly used for construction purposes, in railway track beds, for flooring and also to make kerbs, etc. The rock is extremely hard, as there are various types of basalt- the alkali ones that contain olivine and the tholetiic basalts which are without olivine.
