00:00At this quarry in Turkey, machines break out giant blocks of tragedy, one of the
00:08most sought-after stones in construction. Mountains in this region are also rich
00:14in high-quality marble that's been extracted for centuries and used in
00:19iconic buildings like Hagia Sophia and the Vatican. Turkey is the world's top
00:26exporter of these natural stones, but about 70% of what's mined here goes to
00:32waste. That's leading to environmental pollution around the quarries and a loss
00:38of productivity for operators. We explored Turkey's natural stone quarries to see
00:44how the nation built a two billion dollar industry and if it can solve the
00:50massive waste problem holding it back. So these quarries are so huge that we're
00:58driving from one to the other. They're massive and we have a whole crew of
01:02people with us, our drone operator, videographer and lots of workers as well
01:07who are showing us around today. Nearly 3,000 stone quarries sprawl across Turkey.
01:14They hold hundreds of different kinds of natural stones. The type of stone that is
01:20found here is called travertine. It usually forms around hot springs. Here the Alimolu
01:27family operates quarries that yield up to 35,000 tons of travertine per month. All the
01:35work is done under the watchful eyes of Cengiz Kandir, a local geological
01:39engineer with decades of experience. To find the best slabs, workers first
01:53examine the deposits. They try to avoid anything with cracks or natural breaks.
02:21Workers start by using a drilling rig to create a passageway in this rock. They pass a cable
02:28coated with industrial diamonds through the holes, which slowly cuts through.
02:35Once the saw loosens this section, it's ready for the next step, called tipping. But this
02:42needs to be done with extreme caution. Cengiz himself clears the area and
02:47oversees the process. An excavator pushes the slab away from the quarry wall until it
02:58finally falls.
03:04This section weighs as much as 600 tons. That's more than the weight of about 300 cars.
03:28And that's why there are safety signs all over the place. Even before you enter the quarry,
03:35there is this sign that specifies that you have to wear protective shoes. You shouldn't go next to wires.
03:41There's heavy machinery. Drive at 10 kilometers an hour. So there are a lot of signs that are telling you
03:47what you should and should not do.
03:55The sections are then trimmed into blocks using the same kind of diamond wire saw.
04:01Those pieces can weigh anywhere from 8 to 25 tons and can now be easily moved around by excavators and
04:09front loaders.
04:10But the cost for running all these vehicles quickly adds up.
04:15So the owners told me that one of their biggest overhead costs is actually fuel. Fuel to run all this
04:21heavy machinery, the trucks.
04:23And so they buy tankers full of gasoline and they have their own little gas station here.
04:29There are several points at which you can like sort of like just come and refill instead of having to
04:34go out and find a gas station
04:36because this place is pretty much in the middle of nowhere.
04:39The blocks are then loaded onto trucks that take them to a different part of the quarry.
04:46While Alimolu runs this place, the land here is owned by the Turkish government,
04:51which issues mining permits to companies for five to ten years.
04:55In return, the state gets a royalty fee of about 5% of the annual mining revenue.
05:03Most of these raw blocks have already been bought by wholesale clients for anywhere from $40 to $600 a ton,
05:11depending on the quality.
05:13It's about 15 tons and each ton is $100 that makes it $1,500 and it still has to be
05:19processed.
05:20The new owners' initials are added on.
05:23I got to mark one too, even if I couldn't take it with me.
05:27My initials, Havovi Cooper.
05:32Trucks transport these stones to a 490,000 square foot facility nearby.
05:38It's very hard job and not easy to extract the material.
05:43Then you bring to here, then you process, then you send to export.
05:48It's not really easy.
05:50But we, or I, really like this job.
05:55Mehmet Alimolu is in charge here.
05:57And he showed us how a system of overhead cranes moves the blocks safely around the factory floor.
06:04The stones are also wrapped in red silicone packaging to secure them.
06:08These are our own quarries and some of them from our friends or our customers quarries.
06:14They don't have our own facility or they like our production.
06:18Then a gang saw cuts the blocks into thin slabs.
06:22While steady streams of water help keep the blades cool and the cuts clean.
06:29If the piece has any natural flaws, workers fix it.
06:34They have some very small cracks inside and some holes sometimes.
06:38So it needs epoxy.
06:43Machines cut the slabs into smaller tiles before they are buffed and polished for shine.
06:49And that's when the patterns and colors really start to emerge.
07:00This factory processes about 80 different kinds of stone.
07:04Some materials are more suitable for the floors.
07:07Some of them for countertops.
07:08Some of them for facades or walls.
07:11What about this one?
07:12This one is more decorative.
07:14So it's better to use on the facade or walls, not on the countertops.
07:20Workers have also found a use for some of the scraps.
07:24They're turned into mosaics.
07:28Alimolu's production could be a lot higher.
07:31But Turkey's stone industry has a huge waste problem.
07:35That's because a lot of the stones break into unusable debris as they are being extracted.
07:41With each rainfall, that slurry seeps into the soil and pollutes the groundwater.
07:48Turkish law makes quarry operators responsible for safely managing their own waste.
07:54Here at Alimolu, they try to cut down on debris by using the latest equipment.
08:01But over the years, waste has still piled up.
08:05In fact, government records show that Turkey generated about 26.3 million tons of mining waste in 2022.
08:29And roughly 76% was disposed off in landfills or waste heaps.
08:35While 21% was used to fill in old quarries.
08:40Cengiz says they try to recycle whatever they can.
08:58He believes the government could do more to help them manage the problem.
09:01If the government authorities are able to help us to make the waste in place,
09:08if the government is able to make the waste in place,
09:10if the waste in place will be better and effective,
09:14if the waste in place will be better and better.
09:15I can tell them that we will be able to make the waste in place.
09:16But now, our work continues.
09:21Still, despite years of digging, experts estimate that Turkey has about 2.8 billion cubic meters
09:29of travertine reserves left.
09:31And they sometimes provide a glimpse into the ancient past.
09:35So when you look at these rocks really closely, sometimes you can find preserved plant and
09:40animal life in here.
09:41Like these pieces of fossilized coral.
09:44This is obviously just going to get discarded.
09:47So, I'm going to take these pieces with me.
09:51Millions of years old.
09:53It's pretty amazing.
09:55The Alimolus even have a whole room full of fossils they found at their quarries that
10:00they plan on turning into a local museum.
10:04So why is this area so rich in natural stones?
10:08About 100 million years ago, much of what is now Turkey was covered by ocean.
10:14The seabed was full of shells, coral, the bones of marine organisms, and minerals.
10:20Over time, layer upon layer of these calcium-rich remains turned into solid limestone.
10:27Then, as tectonic plates and continental fragments converged and collided, this bedrock was pushed
10:34upward, helping form Turkey's hills and mountains.
10:37Deep underground heat and pressure recrystallized some of that limestone into marble.
10:43Travertine formed here much later through a different process.
10:47Water from hot springs moved up through cracks and fault lines in limestone deposits.
10:52When it reached the surface, the water lost carbon dioxide, kind of like a shaken soda bottle.
10:58The calcium carbonate left behind crystallized into hard rock, forming travertine.
11:04This process is ongoing even today and can be witnessed at the nearby Pamukkale hot springs, which
11:11are a global tourist destination.
11:14Here, mineral-rich thermal waters are continuously depositing fresh layers of calcium carbonate.
11:22While Denise Lee has endless travertine, just 140 miles east in the province of Afyon, marble
11:30quarries start popping up, like this one run by Mehmet's cousin Halil Alimolu.
11:36The white marble found here is exceptionally pure.
11:47It's 99% calcite, with very few trace minerals.
11:52It's a very beautiful tree, because of the cause of the popularity, it's a very beautiful
12:02tree.
12:04It's a very beautiful tree.
12:05It's a very beautiful tree.
12:07Workers here started extracting marble at the ground level, and have been moving down
12:12since.
12:13Nowadays, this pit is 130 meters deep, the size of a 40-story building.
12:20It's so deep that they've hit the ground table and are constantly sucking out water from the
12:25site.
12:27Some estimates show Turkey holds one-third of the world's marble reserves.
12:31But it's not as highly valued as Italy's Calacatta and Carrara marble, which is more rare.
12:39Experts say it has fewer flaws than Turkish marble, which is often fractured by geological
12:44movements.
12:45That's why quarries in Italy can extract larger blocks.
13:06Italy's marble has also been used in iconic structures, like the Pantheon in Rome, the
13:11U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C., and Sheikh Zayed Mosque in the UAE.
13:17A roughly 5 by 10 feet slab retails for $5,400 in the U.S., while Afyon White fetches just
13:25$3,000.
13:26And travertine sells for even less, around $1,000.
13:31And that's why there's a huge market for this stone, which is prized for its versatility.
13:50Turkey is now the world's biggest exporter of both marble and travertine, raking in over
13:57$600 million annually.
13:59But global demand for these stones is leading to widespread deforestation around Turkey.
14:05In recent months, a new law has also made it easier to classify farmland, forests, olive
14:13groves, and pastures as mining zones.
14:16And the Turkish government has started fast-tracking mining permits, bringing the wait time from four
14:22years to just 18 months.
14:24Critics say what's being sacrificed are forestry approvals and environmental checks.
14:30It's really important thing for us.
14:33We must save the environment, save the nature.
14:36After a long day, workers take a quick break to connect at the factory cafeteria.
14:41The sector employs about 250,000 people in total from quarry workers to crane operators
14:48to geologists like Cengiz.
15:11But for many of them, this isn't just a job, but a point of pride.
15:16They're taking a short order for us.
15:20That is the result of our business.
15:22That is the purpose of our business to give us this year's sake.
15:31Debt.
15:34This is the purpose of our business, our field of trust.
15:36We are here to our unit.
15:40So, we love them.
15:41Otherwise, I can't explain to them.
Comments