How to verify a Brazilian ornamental stone exporter
Granite and quartzite move through Brazil's export system without a meat-style federal inspection register. Verification here runs through the mining title behind the quarry, the standard company checks, and confirming the stone itself is what the slab is sold as, since misidentification, not fraud in the ICC sense, is the documented risk in this category.
We work in Brazil and we do not sell stone. Nothing here is written to move a particular supplier's product.
The short answer
Granite and quartzite carry no animal- or plant-health-style federal inspection stamp, so the verification burden sits more heavily on two things: confirming the quarry behind the offer holds a valid mining title, and confirming the stone itself is what it is described as. That second point matters more here than in most commodities this site covers, because the documented risk pattern for stone is misidentification, particularly stone sold as "quartzite" that is actually marble or dolomite, not the advance-fee fraud pattern seen in sugar.
The quarry: ANM mining title
Brazil's National Mining Agency, ANM, runs a Cadastro Mineiro and a process-lookup tool that let anyone check the holder and current status of a mining title over a specific area. A quarry operating without a valid, current title is a red flag worth checking before relying on a supplier's claim of ownership or long-term supply. These tools were not opened directly while preparing this page; use the ANM's own site to run the check against the specific quarry named in an offer.
The company: the general checks
Beyond the quarry itself, the trading or exporting company follows the same general verification as any Brazilian exporter: CNPJ status active at Receita Federal, the registered company name matching the invoice, and foreign-trade accreditation in Portal Único Siscomex. Set out in full on verifying a Brazilian exporter.
The stone itself: marble and dolomite sold as "quartzite"
The documented quality risk in this category is not a financial scam in the ICC sense. It is misidentification of the material. Industry campaign material from the Natural Stone Institute, published 20 February 2020, states the point bluntly: "There is really no such thing as soft quartzite, and in most cases that term means the stone is marble." True quartzite is a hard, metamorphosed sandstone; a stone marketed as "soft quartzite" is, according to that same material, typically marble or dolomite, both softer and far more sensitive to acid.
Two tests the same source recommends can be run on a sample before a shipment is accepted:
| Test | What it checks | What it shows |
|---|---|---|
| Glass-scratch test | Hardness | True quartzite is hard enough to scratch glass. A stone that does not scratch glass is not true quartzite, whatever it is labelled. |
| Acid-etch test | Mineral composition | A drop of a mild acid (vinegar or lemon juice) will etch or fizz on marble or dolomite, which are calcium- and magnesium-carbonate stones. True quartzite, being silica-based, shows no such reaction. |
Running both tests on a sample slab before accepting a lot, rather than relying on the supplier's own labelling, is the practical safeguard this category calls for. This is also the reason a quality/certification page for this category, ornamental stone grades and standards, leads with the standards that actually define what each stone type is, rather than with a marketing description.
No documented advance-fee fraud pattern
Unlike sugar, no documented advance-fee or phantom-supply fraud pattern specific to Brazilian stone was found while preparing this page. The general company-verification checks above, and independent inspection of a sample lot before payment, are the applicable safeguards. If you encounter contract language matching the pattern described on export scams when sourcing from Brazil, which the ICC has documented for commodities broadly rather than stone specifically, treat it with the same caution.
Where this fits
The standards that define granite and quartzite as materials, and the CE-marking requirement for EU buyers, are on ornamental stone grades and standards. Trade figures are on Brazilian ornamental stone export data. Confirming a slab lot matches the contract before it ships is the job of pre-shipment inspection, and the general company check is on verifying a Brazilian exporter.
Sources
- ANM Cadastro Mineiro and process lookup: gov.br/anm, primary, not opened directly; titles taken from the agency's own service description.
- Marble and dolomite sold as "quartzite," and the glass-scratch and acid-etch tests: Natural Stone Institute campaign material, "How to Be Your Own Stone Sleuth," 20 February 2020, usenaturalstone.org. Secondary, industry body.
- No documented advance-fee fraud pattern specific to stone was found in this pass; the general commodity fraud pattern on export scams is not stone-specific.
Facts checked 24 September 2026. Mining titles and company registrations change; confirm the current status of a specific quarry or company before relying on it.
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See the service →Frequently asked questions
Is there a government register that confirms a stone exporter is legitimate?
Not one specific to stone. There is no SIF-equivalent inspection stamp for mineral products. What exists is the ANM (National Mining Agency) Cadastro Mineiro, which lets anyone look up the holder and status of a mining title over a specific quarry, plus the general CNPJ and Siscomex checks that apply to any Brazilian exporter.
What is the main quality risk buying granite or quartzite from Brazil?
Misidentification, not the advance-fee fraud pattern documented for sugar. Industry material from the Natural Stone Institute states plainly that there is really no such thing as 'soft quartzite,' and that stone sold under that description is, in most cases, actually marble or dolomite, a much softer and more acid-sensitive stone. Two simple tests, a glass-scratch test and an acid-etch test, are recommended to tell them apart before a shipment is accepted.
Does wooden packaging on a stone shipment need special treatment?
Wooden crates and dunnage used to ship stone blocks or slabs are generally subject to ISPM 15 international phytosanitary packaging rules at the destination, though the specific application to Brazilian stone exports was not confirmed while preparing this page. Check your destination country's own packaging-material rules before the shipment is built.
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