About the Stone

The Region

The Fatima limestone is explored not far from the city of Fatima – Portugal. Fatima is a small city located in the center of Portugal, about 150kms north of Lisbon. The name of the town and parish is a rendition of the Arabic given name Fátima, daughter of the prophet of Islam Muhammad.

Fatima is today the most important religious city in Portugal, at times receiving millions of visitors and pilgrims per year when the Catholic pope visits the city.

Fatima is also home to the quarries of the increasingly popular Fatima limestone, which is named after the city. There are several quarries around the city, with some estimated abundant reserves of this limestone.

The Limestone

The Fatima limestone is explored by few small to medium sized quarries, but also one very large quarry that is today the largest in the country. These are located just on the outskirts of the city, where many thousands of cubic meters of blocks are extracted every year. Blocks normally have large dimension and quarries output is very high. This limestone has very large known reserves.

The Fatima was not long ago a fairly unknown limestone, having gained huge market value and interest since Chinese buyers started to buy the limestone. It is today, one of the most exported Portuguese limestones and perhaps the most exported in block format.

Overall Analysis

The Fatima is today seen as a close alternative to the better known limestones like the Moleanos Fine or Cabeca Veada. These are two important limestones with light color and fine grain, but whose price has grown considerably in the market. Buyers seeking for a better priced and more available light colored limestone, found the Fatima a reliable alternative. The Fatima is today found at similar price levels as its main competitors, but presenting large availability, offering good options for selection, as well as it presents a consistent color and grain.