There is today huge demand worldwide for Portuguese limestones, which are now the most exported natural stone from Portugal. Because of this growing demand is the past several years, extraction areas of these limestones have also grown and expanded from its original borders. There are today several extraction areas in Portugal for these main limestone, which we present below.
Moca Creme, Moleanos, Rosal, Semi Rijo
Serra D´Aire e Candeeiros, Santarem
This area represents the main extraction center of limestones in Portugal, representing well over 50% of the total extraction of blocks.
Ataija Beige, Ataija Blue, Cadoico
Ataija, Aljubarrota
Located on the outskirts of Serra D´Aire e Candeeiros, the Ataija area has few quarries that extract the well known Ataija Beige and Ataija Blue.
Lioz
Pero Pinheiro, Sintra
Historically this was the main limestone extraction and productive center in Portugal, Pero Pinheiro has today a more modest extraction of limestones such as the Lioz.
Gris Perlato, Peniche Grey
Lourinha, Torres Vedras
With a smaller area, Lourinha has today a growing number of quarries that extract mostly grey colored limestones. Despite its smaller size, it has a certain importance.
Fatima
Fatima, Leiria
Located close to the Serra D´Aire e Candeeiros, the Fatima extraction area extracts mostly the limestone with the same name: Fatima.