Slate industry in Spain Slate industry in Spain 90% of Europes's natural slate used for roofing originates from the slate industry in Spain, with the region of Galicia being the primary source of production. Slate is a fine-grained metamorphic rock that splits into thin, smooth-surfaced layers. Metamorphic rock is rock which was once igneous or sedimentary and has been subsequently subjected to heat and pressure in varying degrees thereby altering its composition, structure and appearance. It is used extensively in the building industry, particularly for roofing tiles. The production of slate is estimated at 4 million tons per year. Galicia is situated on the
Slate Parts of France (Anjou, Loire Valley, Ardennes, Brittany, Savoie) and Belgium (Ardennes), Liguria in northern Italy, especially between the town of Lavagna (which means "chalkboard" in Italian) and Fontanabuona valley; Portugal especially around Valongo in the north of the country. Germany's Moselle River region, Hunsrück, Eifel, Westerwald, Thuringia and north Bavaria (with a former mine open as a museum at Fell); and Alta, Norway (actually schist, not a true slate). Some of the slate from Wales and Cumbria is colored slate (non-blue): purple and formerly green in Wales and green in Cumbria. Slate is abundant in Brazil, the world's second-biggest