How is granite mined?
Granite is usually quarried in open pits. Usually long vertical holes are drill at short intervals and load with explosives. The drill pattern and blast pattern break out the rock in slabs. THe size and shapes of the slabs can be pretty well controlled b the drill pattern but each pit has it oddities and it takes a lot of local experience to best break the granite . From there it is picked up and shaped by cutting to fit orders, market demands. In some areas the drill holes are filled with water and capped. The water in the hole expands as it freezes and breaks out the slabs. In some special cases it special diamond tipped circular saws are used to cut out special slabs, usually chosen fo some specific purpose, some specific sculpture.
