Prospección de material rocoso ornamental y determinación de su potencial extractivo en la parroquia Copal del cantón Santiago de Méndez.

Abstract

The purpose of the current research was to study the rock material with ornamental properties in the specific area of parroquia Copal, Santiago de Méndez County-Morona Santiago province. It conducted a bibliographic review of previous research, besides a prospecting and selective sampling in areas of potential interest of phyllite, schist and slates according to the corresponding site coordinates with their respective macroscopic description and mineralogical identification. At the same time, it discarded poorly competent materials which contain minerals that are harmful for the ornamental properties of some rocks such as: the presence of salts, sulphides, oxides and other harmful aesthetic characteristics. On the other hand, selected samples were taken according to their competence in order to make the cutting and sample preparation for preparing test specimen that is taken into the point load tests toward the Franklin machine. As a result, the slates have the potential to be used due to their petrological and ornamental characteristics, but carbonate rocks and others do not represent an economic benefit because of their low occurrence. There are rocks that have conditions for their architectural use in facades and floors such as: brown phyllites, green schists and black slates. Therefore, it recommends carrying out more advanced studies to establish the use of these materials in construction and the feasibility for the creation of a more technical artisanal mining.