Marble is one of the most promising new export items of free China. Blessed with abundant resources and assisted by the low level of prevailing wages, Taiwan marble processors are confident that their products can compete favorably in the international market.
For example: An Italian-made marble ash tray of 200 mm. (diameter) x 50 mm. (height) is priced at US$30 in the United States. A Taiwan product of the same specifications is sold at US$4. Local price is NT$80 (US$2).
Marble is the commercial name of crystalline limestone. Some experts estimate that Taiwan has 30 billion metric tons (33 billion short tons) of marble deposits, one of the world's largest. Marble belts are found in the eastern part of the Central Mountain Range, extending from Suao in the north to Taitung in the south. Total length is about 200 kilometers (124 miles), with a maximum width of 10 kilometers (6.2miles). Many strata are more than 1 kilometer (0.62 mile) thick.
The exact age of Taiwan crystalline limestone is not clear. Geologists agree it was formed in metamorphic complex in the late Paleozoic age.
The largest and finest marble deposits are in Hualien county. One hundred and twenty quarries, covering 22,326 hectares (55,145 acres), have been authorized by the government. A quarry ranges from 30 to 700 hectares (74 to 1,729 acres). Most are operated by private enterprises. If each hectare produces an average of 300,000 metric tons (330,000 short tons), the 120 quarries will turn out 6,697,800,000 metric tons (7,367,580,000 short tons).
Major colors are white, light gray, dark gray, and dark green (serpentine). The last category costs twice as much as the others because it is extraordinarily hard and requires additional labor in scabbling (rough dressing of the stone) and processing.
Until recently, Taiwan marble was used mainly in construction and the manufacture or processing of cement, fertilizer, carbide, paper, and sugar. Handicraft processing of marble began only a few years ago. It was initiated by the Vocational Assistance Commission for Retired Servicemen and is just beginning to earn foreign exchange.
The Hualien Marble Quarry was established in March, 1961, by VACRS as a veterans' placement project. Its original purpose was to supply limestone for chemical use. But because Chinese handicrafts enjoy great popularity among foreign visitors, HMQ decided to experiment in production of vases, plates, and drum stools. Results were highly satisfactory. Since 1963, finished products have been marketed, mostly at home. Sales overseas have been withheld because of the large domestic demand.
Retail stores are maintained at the Retired Servicemen's Engineering Agency and the Sungshan airport, both in Taipei. The quarry is under direct supervision of RSEA. It has a processing plant at Hualien. Under a plant manager, there are 100 quarry workers, 50 craftsmen, and several clerks. All are retired servicemen.
HMQ has rich but as yet untapped deposits in the Central Mountain Range—15 kilometers (9.2 miles) of land on both sides of the 287-kilometer (178-mile) long highway that connects the east and west coasts of the island. Because of high transportation costs, these deposits have not been exploited.
Life in Wilderness
"Stone eyes" are holed in marble before wedging (File photo)
At present, raw stones are drilled and wedged from nearby private quarries on dry rivers. HMQ pays rent to quarry owners according to the number of stones scabbled. Explosives are not used because strong concussions cause cracks. A quarrier works with a chisel and a hammer. Sometimes a play bar is used on big stones. Working eight hours a day, he can scabble 2 tsai (approximately 2 cubic feet) of raw stone. Wages are calculated on the number of pieces scabbled. Average monthly income is between NT$1,700 (US$42.50) and NT$1,800 (US$45).
Quarriers live in huts in the vicinity of their work. They believe teamwork is more efficient than individual labor. Organization resembles that of an army. A team is made up of a leader and five to ten members. The leaders either an experienced quarrier or a man who attained higher rank in the service. They have rest periods by rotation. However, a man who is off duty must take care of the hut while his partners are at the work site. Living in semi-seclusion, the men spend only for food, cigarettes, and wine. Money usually is saved for marriage.
Plant processes include shaping, finishing, purification, waxing, and polishing. Bits and cutters are imported. Other equipment is supplied by the Combined Service Forces (logistic command of the Army, Navy, and Air Force). Monthly production is 3,000 pieces of 70 varieties. Most popular are vases, flower pots, ash trays", cigarette holders, plates, pen holders, ink stones (for rubbing Chinese ink), and drum stools. As an example of prices, vases cost from NT$50 (US$1.25) to NT$250 (US$6.25).
New Plant
Chip stones are not wasted. They go to the Hualien Nitrogen Fertilizer Plant at an average of 3,000 metric tons (3,300 short tons) a month.
Fifty craftsmen work eight hours a day in two shifts. Most of them had some experience at lathes during military service. Before beginning processing work, they receive two months of training. Wages are calculated at a piece rate. A craftsman of medium skill receives NT$1,600 (US$40) a month. To encourage improvement in technique, bonuses are awarded.
Rough shaping of marble requires the largest amount of time and labor (File photo)
To meet the needs of increasing demand, HMQ recently bought 10,000 ping (8.2 acres) of land near the Hualien airport for a new plant. Total investment is NT$24,000,000 (US$600,000). Modern equipment will be imported, mostly from Italy. When tris plant is completed, raw marble will be quarried with electric drills. Quarrying may be shifted to mountains because buried limestone contains fewer fissures.
Production goal is 9,000 pieces a month. Two-thirds will be reserved for retail sale in Taipei and other domestic areas, and the rest will be exported. New finished products will include slabs, tiles, chess sets, and candle holders. Prospective importers are the United States, Japan, Hongkong, and countries of Southeast Asia. The working force will be increased to 300.
Besides HMQ, there are small processing plants at Hualien, Taipei, Shihlin, and Panchiao. Most of them specialize in slabs for buildings, furniture, and ornamentation. Except for a saw, machinery is rarely used. Processing of a round table slab of 2-foot diameter requires five working days. Most of the craftsman's time is consumed in shaving the rim. These plants produce 6,000 square feet of slabs a month.
Inaccessibility of deposits and lack of transportation facilities have constituted the biggest barriers to development of the marble industry. The first exploitation was in 1905 at Suao by a Japanese named Chobei Tanaka. At that time, marble was excavated for use as a solvent in copper refining at Chinkuashih, a metal mining center near Keelung.
War Hits Industry
Opening of the Keelung-Suao railway in 1923 paved the way for larger-scale exploitation. The Taiwan Stone Powder Company crushed limestone rock for use in stone powder, construction materials and the processing of carbide, paper, and sugar. The mining right was transferred to the Taiwan Electro-Chemical Company in 1937 and to the Taiwan Fertilizer Company after World War II.
Seventy items are on display at Taipei shop operated by retired servicemen (File photo)
After the opening of the Suao-Hualien highway in 1931, limestone of superior quality was supplied to Taipei processing plants. Unfortunately, plants were compelled to suspend operations during the war. Only a few resumed processing because of high costs and poor demand.
Mushrooming construction of tourist hotels throughout the island in recent years and opening of Hualien harbor to international traffic have helped revive the industry. Annual production of raw marble jumped from 17,500 metric tons (19,200 short tons) in 1949 to 884,000 metric tons (972,400 short tons) in 1963.
The Hualien Stone Miners' Association, including marble, dolomite, talc, asbestos, and gypsum, was established in June, 1963, with 45 members. Ma Yu-yueh, chairman, visited Japan in 1961 and 1962 to discuss export of Taiwan marble and dolomite to that country. Japan imports US$2,000,000 worth of raw marble from Italy annually. Because of geographical proximity and lower ocean freight, Japanese firms are willing to buy from Taiwan, Ma said. A limited quantity of dolomite already has been exported to Japan.
In the Far East, Thailand is the only potential competitor for Taiwan marble. A plant was set up in 1957 and another in 1960. The two produce about 20,000 cubic feet of slabs a month, but domestic demand is higher than that. Consumers are mostly builders of Buddhist temples.
Hongkong imports 600,000 square feet of marble annually from Italy, Belgium, and France. Traders say they will import from Taiwan if prices can be adjusted to the European level. Late in last March, a Chinese merchant in the British colony visited Hualien and decided to establish a Taiwan plant to process for domestic consumption and export.
Conventionally, coal, gold, and sulfur have been considered as the leading minerals of Taiwan. With government encouragement and increasing popularity in the international market, marble should become the fourth and an important earner of foreign exchange.