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May 2026 | Gazette Life | 55expensive and usually employed for ornamental black lava features. The quarries that exist today, in sites such as G%u00faime, Tao and T%u00edas are generally used for excavating rofe, the volcanic ash and gravel that is mixed with concrete to form the concrete blocks that are the main building material used today. Cement is also imported, and the amounts brought in are a reliable guide to the state of the construction industry on the island. Last year%u2019s figure of 61,000 tonnes was the highest since 2021, when many companies took advantage of the Covid restrictions to make improvements and renovations. The concrete blocks made on the island are not as effective at insulation as solid stone, and they certainly aren%u2019t as strong %u2013 they don%u2019t need to be, as hardly any buildings on the island are more than two storeys high. But they are lighter, easier to work with and cheap compared to importing materials by sea. A typical stone house on Lanzarote. A hidden corner of Arrecife.
