Tajik marble makes international debut in Italy
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A white stone from the Poymazar deposit in Tajikistan’s Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region is being showcased for the first time at the Marmomac exhibition in Italy.
Eight years ago, the marble was largely unknown outside of specialists in China, but now it’s presented alongside stones from established global producers. The journey from discovery to international market involved overcoming challenges presented by the deposit’s high-altitude location and harsh climate, limiting extraction to six months of the year.
Chen Yanli, owner of the Chinese company PFM Co., Ltd, began working in Tajikistan on construction projects and later saw the potential in developing local marble deposits. Starting in 2017, PFM collaborated with the Tajik company MARMAR STONE to extract, process, and market the stone, first supplying it to China in 2023. The stone gained traction among Chinese designers for use in hotels, apartments, and villas.
Building on that success, the companies chose to present the material at Marmomac, hoping to reach a European audience in a country with a strong marble culture. They’ve recently begun using tunnel extraction technology to produce larger blocks of stone suitable for prestigious architectural projects, and are focused on developing the material into a fully-fledged international product.
