The Quenast quarry () or Porphyry quarries of Quenast is a historic porphyry deposit in Belgium and Europe's largest open-pit quarry. Porphyry has been mined from the quarry as an important source for construction since the 17th century and was traditionally used to make Belgian cobblestones for city streets.
History In the village of Quenast, from Brussels and within Rebecq, Walloon Brabant, the quarry covers and reaches a depth of .
The porphyry material, formed beneath the tertiary rocks in Brabant during the Silurian period, is of volcanic origin and known for its extreme toughness.The Geology of Belgium and the French Ardennes. (1885). Belgium: E. Stanford.Tramway and Railway World. (1897). United Kingdom: "Transport World" Publishing Company. Belgian porphyry was traditionally made into cobblestones or paving stone.Mangin, A. (1875). Earth and its treasures [tr.], ed., and with additions, by W.H.D. Adams. United Kingdom: (n.p.). This material was used for paving and road construction, with exports to cities across Europe and globally, including heavy use in the streets of Paris.King, C., Hague, A., Emmons, S. F., Hague, J. D., Meek, F. B., Hall, J., Whitfield, R. P., Ridgway, R., Watson, S., Eaton, D. C. (1870). Report of the Geological Exploration of the Fortieth Parallel. United States: U.S. Government Printing Office. In 1705, the States of Brabant constructed the Brussels-Mons road with stones sourced from the quarry, according to records.Commerce Reports. (1932). United States: Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, Department of Commerce.
The material extracted from the quarry was moved along a railway, linking with the main line at Tubize.The Year-book of Facts in Science and Art. (1873). United Kingdom: Simpkin, Marshall, and Company.
In 1844, entrepreneur Joseph-Emmanuel Zaman began unifying the porphyry quarries under a single ownership, transforming them into one of Belgium's most significant industrial enterprises. Zaman's company, Zaman & Co., operated six of the seven active pits by 1860.Mechanical Handling. (1954). United Kingdom: I.P.C. Industrial Press, Limited. On August 12, 1864, the Porphyry Quarries Company of Quenast () acquired the business and purchased a larger part of the tract.Mineral Resources of the United States. (1894). United States: U.S. Government Printing Office.Surveyor and Municipal and County Engineer. (1910). United Kingdom: (n.p.).
An experiment was held in 1872 at the Quenast quarry to test lithofracteur and assess its usefulness for the mining industry and military engineering. McKean and Co.'s Rock Drill was operational at the Quenast quarry in 1875.Haskoll, W. D. (1875). Atchley's Civil Engineer's and Contractor's Estimate and Price Book, for Home Or Foreign Service, Etc. United Kingdom: (n.p.).
The porphyry extracted from the quarry at Quenast was frequently used for paving in Berlin, Bordeaux, Cologne, Dunkirk, The Hague, Lille, Paris, and Rotterdam in the 1880s.Parliamentary Papers. (1886). United Kingdom: H.M. Stationery Office. As of 1887, the quarry in Belgium produced 100,000 paving setts a day.The American Architect and Building News. (1887). United States: James R. Osgood & Company. By 1899, the quarries functioned as a cooperative association, allowing workmen to share in a yearly dividend.Report Upon the Commercial Relations of the United States with Foreign Countries. (1899). United States: U.S. Government Printing Office.
Amid World War I in 1914, the Quenast porphyry quarry was abandoned. In 1919, the S.S. Quenast arrived in the River Thames with its first shipment of macadam from the quarry since the outbreak of war.The Surveyor and Municipal and County Engineer. (1919). United Kingdom: (n.p.).
By 1969, the 400-year-old quarry was supplying stone for the Delta Works, an extensive Dutch flood defence system.Rock Products. (1969). United States: Maclean-Hunter Publishing Corporation.
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