Soapstone

Minas soapstone at Dorado Soapstone in Denver

Minas Soapstone oiled in upper left corner

A friend's soapstone counter 

I visited Dorado Soapstone in Denver on Wednesday.  I will be using soapstone for the kitchen counters and they had just received a new shipment of the type of stone that I was looking for--a black soapstone with small amounts of white veining, which they call "Minas".  I rushed to their Denver showroom to be the first one to look at the new bundles that had just arrived from the truck because the last time I was there in June all the bundles that I liked were already on hold.  Fortunately, they had two bundles that seemed perfect.  There are 6 slabs in each bundle, all nearly identical (like a loaf of bread that gets sliced), and I only needed 3.  As you can see from the pictures, soapstone appears very light grey and chalky in its natural state, but once wet or waxed, it darkens to almost black and reveals the distinctive white veining.  It's very beautiful and also a material that has properties that I can appreciate--heat and stain resistant and also resistant to bacteria since it's nonporous.  Soapstone has been used in chemistry labs since the 19th century and, while not as ubiquitous as granite, is now commonly found in kitchens and bathrooms.