The region

The area where the Azul Valverde limestone is extracted is also known for its famous ancestors. We are talking about dinosaurs that populated this area more than 175 millions year ago. Today, evidence of dinosaurs steps can be found in several places throughout this area, where quarrying explorations have been closed in order to give place to cultural and historical heritage sites with footprints of dinosaurs. Located in the Serra D´Aires e Candeeiros Natural Park, the Azul Valverde limestone extraction area lies in the district of Alcanede.

Alcanede is a historical town known for its medieval castle and Romanic influence in structures such as bridges, roads and stone houses. Alcanede is also known for its traditional industry of the locally called “Red Mud” or clay that is used in the production of ceramics for the construction sector.

But Alcanede´s recognition comes from its main natural resource, the limestone.

The Azul Valverde limestone is explored around the area of Valverde – Alcanede. It is considered one of the most important dark coloured limestones in Portugal, having achieved international recognition as a grey / blue limestone.

There are several relevant variations of Azul Valverde, which are also extracted in other parts of Portugal. Nonetheless, the original Azul Valverde is extracted at Valverde. In addition, there is also a yellow variation of the Azul Valverde, called Amarelo Valverde.

Azul Valverde is also known as Blue Valley, Blue Lagos, Azul Monica or Gris Valverde.

The Azul Valverde limestone is extracted from three different layers: Layer 1, Layer 2 and Layer 3. The colour and grain of the limestone extracted in each layer differs according to the depth of the layer.

The extraction of Azul Valverde limestone is done by several quarries with small dimension, where the production is divided in small quantities by several quarries. This situation creates a constraint in terms of selection. For these reasons, this type of natural stone is recommended for small scale projects.