Abstract

LEITE, Mariangela Garcia-Praça  and  FUJACO, Maria Augusta Gonçalves. The quartzite improvement activity in Ouro Preto-Brazil: main characteristics and environmental impacts. Econ. soc. territ [online]. 2013, vol.13, n.41, pp.227-243. ISSN 2448-6183.

Since late 17^th century, quartzites have been used for houses construction and road pavement in Ouro Preto. Until today, this stone is extracted from the surroundings of the city, where it is also processed. Despite of that, little is known about the characteristics of this activity. In this work, eight quartzite processing enterprises were identified, to which three open questionnaires were applied (enterprises' managers, employees and environmental issues). The enterprises have an average of 11 years of activity, hiring between 2 and 20 people. Most of the employees haven't finished elementary school and did not attend professional courses. As for environmental issues, the enterprises do not have waste management plans, which suggest that the activity is far from being sustainable.

Keywords : quartzite; processing; Ouro Preto.