The region

The Rosal limestone is extracted around the town of Codaçal. Codaçal belongs to the district of Porto de Mós, a main town located in the centre of Portugal between Lisbon and Porto. Porto de Mós is located in the heart of Serra D´Aires e Candeeiros Natural Park, the most important limestone extraction centre of Portugal.

Porto de Mós is famous for its medieval castle. After several moorish attacks and later earthquakes, the castle survided and is today one of the most singular in Portugal. It is also known for its roman road with 9 kms lenght, well preserved until our days and one of the finest examples of the strong Roman influence in Portugal. The original name of Porto de Mós was Portus de Molis, used more than two thousand years ago when the romans developed the millstones (Mós) carved on the local quarries.

Today, Porto de Mós is one of the most important base towns for limestone exploration. Here is where several companies are based and its platform of services and businesses are essential for the support of the limestone extraction and transformation industry.

The Rosal limestone is explored around the area of Codaçal – Porto de Mós, by less than 10 companies with small to medium size. The quarries where the Rosal limestone is explored are considered of large dimension with some fractured struture, where the majority of blocks are extracted and prepared for commercialization in medium to large sizes. The Rosal extraction area is included in the ring of limestones extraction area, together with other major limestones such as the Moca Cream, Semi-Rijo, Moleanos or Azul Valverde.

The Rosal limestone is a type of natural stone known for its incredible versatility, being used in basically any application. It is a preferential limestone used in exterior cladding, but it is also common to find uses in both interior and exterior applications, such as stonework, flooring, masonry, furniture, among many others. It is also recommended for most type of finishings as is the case with the Moca Cream. Due to its appearance and versatility, the Rosal limestone is highly appreciated by natural stone professioal throughout the world.

The exploring area for the Rosal limestone is located in a protected Natural Reserve - the Serra D´Aires e Candeeiros Natural Park. This situation constrains the extraction expansion and development of some quarries, which raises questions about the short / medium term sustainability of some of the quarries.

One of the most relevant constraints about the Rosal limestone is the fact that limited production done by less than 10 companies does not fulfill the increasing demand of this beautiful and versatile natural stone in the international market. This situation increases its price to higher levels than alternative limestones.