This paper presents the bench scale results of process development and innovations applied to the productive chain of stonemasonry art. These developments have been tested at the Mine Engineering Department (DEMIN) of the School of Mines at the Ouro Preto Federal University (UFOP). DEMIN has created, in 2000, a Workshop of Stonemasonry, aiming to develop new craftsmen, improve stone working techniques and create new ones. The main reason for this effort is the number of baroque architectural pieces in Ouro Preto and Mariana (in Minas Gerais State, Brazil) which typically display abundance of structural and ornamental stonework. The use of expansive paste for sculptural block cutting and development of a process of piece "thermoconsolidation" by sintering in presence of fluxes were tested. The results have been promising and are described in this study.
dimension stones; stonemasonry; rock cutting; sintering
