Diorite is difficult to sculpt because of its hardness, variable composition, and coarse grain size. For those reasons, it is not a favored stone of sculptors, although it was popular among ancient sculptors of the Middle East. The most famous diorite sculpture is the Code of Hammurabi, a black diorite pillar about seven feet tall,…

In areas where diorite occurs near the surface, it is sometimes mined for use as a crushed stone. It has a durability that compares favorably to granite and trap rock. It is used as a base material in the construction of roads, buildings, and parking areas. It is also used as a drainage stone and for erosion…

Diorite and andesite are similar rocks. They have the same mineral composition and occur in the same geographic areas. The differences are in their grain sizes and their rates of cooling. Diorite crystallized slowly within the Earth. That slow cooling produced a coarse grain size. Andesite forms when a similar magma crystallizes quickly at Earth’s surface. That rapid cooling produces…

Diorite is the name used for a group of coarse-grained igneous rocks with a composition between that of granite and basalt. It usually occurs as large intrusions, dikes, and sills within continental crust. These often form above a convergent plate boundary where an oceanic plate subducts beneath a continental plate. Partial melting of the oceanic plate produces a basaltic magma that…