Colorado Yule Marble Quarry Reopens

MARBLE, Colo. – The Yule Marble Quarry is back in business here, and with new ownership.

The Aspen Daily News reports that the marble quarry – which provided the stone for the Lincoln Memorial and the Tomb of the Unknowns – reopened in November, ending a 10-month closure.

The rights to quarry at the site changed hands last October, with previous owner Polycor selling to Carrara, Italy-based Locati Luciani Enrico Sas. Terms of the deal remain confidential, according to the Daily Times.

Under the agreement, Polycor will remain as exclusive distributors of the Colorado Yule marble in North America.

The quarry’s adminstrator told the Daily Times that the quarry will employ eight workers, although staffing may increase to 15 during summer months; sn adequate annual yield is 7,000 cubic meters.

The quarry and a close-by mill, developed in the early 1900s, produced marble until a disastrous 1941 flood. In the 1990s, Sierra Mineral Corp. restarted production under a lease from Swiss minerals giant Omya until the purchase by Polycor in 2004.

Polycor continued to operate the quarry after being acquired by French stone conglomerate Rocamat S.A. in 2007. Last January, however, Polycor shut down operations at the Yule quarry, citing the recession and high transportation costs, according to the Daily Times.

Original publication ©2011 Western Business Media Inc. Use licensed to the author, Emerson Schwartzkopf.

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