Artificial stone and method for making

A mixture is prepared from quartz sand, dolomite and/or limestone, sodium carbonate and/or cryolite and having a composition of from about 30 to about 60% SiO2, from 0 to about 5% Al2O3+L, from 0 to about 2% FeO+Fe2O3, from about 5 to about 30% MgO, from about 20 to about 40% CaO, and from about 2 to about 10% Na2O and/or K2O. Within the above limits the ratio of the components can vary within the following ranges: SiO2/CaO=1.6-2.25, SiO2/MgO=2.8-5.7, CaO/MgO=1.5-3.4, SiO2+MgO=2.8-5.7, SiO2/CaO+MgO=1-1.42. The foregoing mixture is melted between 1,250 DEG and 1,400 DEG C., then it is allowed to stand, depending on the mass and the casting form used, for a period of 1-4 hours. The melt is cooled in the casting forms between 1,250 DEG and 1,050 DEG C. for a period of 0.5 to 1.5 hours, with or without maintenance of a substantially constant temperature within that temperature range for 15-90 minutes while spontaneous crystallization takes place without reheating and without the presence of a nucleating agent. After crystallization the shaped mass is cooled at a rate of between 10 DEG and 200 DEG C./hour. The resulting product can be white, or if a coloring metal and/or metal compound is added, then colored throughout the body of the material, having a single crystalline phase with the individual crystalline aggregates being in the order of magnitude of about a millimeter to about a centimeter. The resulting product is resistant against acids and bases and has an easily polishable natural crystalline surface.