Excellent question. Does anyone know where exactly Brazilian soapstone is quarried? If I go with a brazilian soapstone, will I be tearing up the rainforest?

All the M. tex stone is from Brazil, however, in their description of their Rainforest Green soapstone, they come right out and say that they don't get it from any rainforest, so they must get many questions about that.

I have heard in other posts that the Alberene Soapstone is harder than other varieties. That stone is quarried in Virginia, however, I don't know if it is availabe out west. their link is below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Albarne Soapstone

Basically all soapstone used for counters in the US is quarried in Brazil. Alberene soapstone on the east coast sells stone that was quarried on site in the middle of the last century but they don't have an active quarry now (though I did hear they were trying to open one). Just to be clear, there is soapstone being quarried in the US but its the very soft variety and is used for sculptures and the like rather than for counters. I don't think its found in very large deposits either (like some are not large enough for a counter).

Soapstone naturally occurs in fairly small deposits (this is why certain stones are no longer available after a certain point and new ones show up). It was described to me that most soapstone deposits are rarely larger than a smallish warehouse (which is pretty small for a stone quarry). Per M. Teixiera, they go in and remove the stone and then restore the area to farmland or whatever is appropriate to blend with the surrounding environment.

There is a Canadian company extracting soapstone locally (but I can't recall where they are in Canada) so you may want to explore that.

All that said, IMO PaperStone is clearly the most environmentally friendly choice for you since you live in the PNW where it is made. Did you find the posts from klb_2000 showing her black PaperStone? I think she's had it for a while now (she even used a piece as a door threshold) and its been holding up pretty well. She did have an issue that may have been a manufacturing imperfection but I believe it was resolved to her satisfaction.

We had planned to use PaperStone (with DIY fabrication) but had some technical/logistical difficulties obtaining it (for a reasonable price and without a lot of excess material) and ended up with soapstone from M.Tex (also DIY fabrication).

I have a 'soft' variety (Light Vein Venata) and I really just don't find it to be that big of a deal. Yes, I have a few dings and scratches but we're not very careful and they're quite easy to 'repair' with oil +/- sandpaper.

vizslalover -- Thank you for the information that I was afraid I was going to hear about the lack of US quarries.

My web research seemed to show that in addition to Brazil, Finland and Italy were the other sources of soapstone but that the US wasn't anymore. The Canadian company link is pasted below. They have an active quarry in Quebec. Their website says: "we charge $57.00 a square foot Canadian for the pre-cut stone shipped to your address. Yes shipping is included @ $57.00 with a minimum order of 40 square feet." From the pictures on their website it appears to be more grey than black. They do have a lot of information about how they cut and ship to people, as far away as Texas.

Perhaps it's the problem with the search engine but I have not been able to find any posts from klb_2000 regarding Paperstone. In the recent past I've found more inquiries than I have found people speaking from experience. Now the search engine seems to work worse than it did a couple of days ago.

The new rival to Paperstone -- made out of bamboo and wood waste and water-based resin and called Ecotop -- has a website but little information other than the claim that it's better than his original Paperstone product. That's at http://www.kliptech.com.

Here is a link that might be useful: Canadian Soapstone

You can still get domestic soapstone from alberene virginia.
All the other US quarries are closed as far as i know

Here is a link that might be useful: Alberene soapstone

Canadian Soapstone will send you a sample (at least they sent one to me). Here it is under harsh light (flash). It doesn't appear to be veined as uch as mottled black and white/silver. It's definitely not grey though.

vislalover wrote:

Alberene soapstone on the east coast sells stone that was quarried on site in the middle of the last century but they don't have an active quarry now...

I remembered hearing the same thing, but a friend said they are actively quarrying, and their website states that two of their varieties are currently unavailable but they plan to get more from their quarry in June. So it sounds as though they aren't very active, but they are active.

Hi Fern--I do have Paperstone ("Certified") countertops--they have been installed for over a year now, and have held up nicely. I just took a look--I do have a few scratches, but they really aren't very noticable and don't bother me at all (I probably wouldn't have noticed them if I hadn't specifically been searching for them!). That said--I am pretty gentle (and I live alone, so no kids or less gentle users to worry about!)--I don't cut directly on the surface and I'm generally pretty careful not to drag things across the counter--so I wouldn't expect too many scratches. Some friends have Richlite countertops and were disappointed with some scratches that appeared after using a salad spinner (I haven't seen those scratches, so can't say how severe they really are or how they compare to the minor scratches I have found on my countertops). I'm not sure if Paperstone is more scratch resistant than Paperstone--could be.

Like Vizslalover mentioned above, I did have a little problem with them maybe 6 months or so into ownership, where a white 'pit' appeared. It was as if the top layer of paper had worn away a bit, like a little crater. My fabricator came back and was able to fix the pit very nicely. I haven't had any problems since, so I tend to think it was a manufacturing issue and not caused by wear (especially since the pit appeared in a low use area of my countertop). My fabricator told me he sees that problem occasionally, and generally repairs it before installing the countertops. I never could find an online complaint about the same issue, so must be a limited problem. (Plus, Kliptech seems to be constantly working on improvements to their product line, so maybe they've resolved the issue)
Here is a picture of the pit (the halo around the pit was caused when I tried to rub out the white spot with a scruffy sponge) {{gwi:1592064}}
And here is the same spot, post fix and buff by the fabricator. You can see the fix a bit in the picture, but it hasn't bothered me at all. {{gwi:1592065}}

I'm assuming you have been able to see some Paperstone/Richlite installations (I live in Seattle and bought my paperstone from Environmental Home Center, where you can see a few installations). Like you, I was originally considering soapstone. It was just too hard to find local sources where I could really inspect potential soapstone slabs. For my kitchen, I really didn't want much veining and wanted no green. Some sage FKB member in the past posted a comment about soapstone--something to the effect that if you are going to buy soapstone unseen, you better be sure you love ALL soapstone, because you just can't be 100% sure what you are going to get. I finally decided I just didn't love all soapstone (not for my kitchen, anyway!) so the Paperstone was an easier option for me. (the 'green' consideration was secondary, frankly). I am very happy with my choice, but if I had it to do over again, AND I had lots of slabs of soapstone available locally for inspection, I might go with the soapstone. Or maybe not. Who can say??? :)

Anyway, hope this helps!
Kelly

klb_2000/Kelly -- thank you very much for your comments. I think that I will go (again) and look at a Paperstone installation in a store to see what it looks like worn. Mostly I am concerned about dragging things across the countertop.

I have soapstone but it did not come from Brazil

It is from Finland

I did not pick out the exact pieces used but let the fabricator choose from a batch of stone all cut at the same time that i did look at

Finnish soapstoneslabs tend to be smaller than others so I have seams in all my tops though i do have to look for them

If you want matte black but not neessarily soapstone, I would loook at Cambrian Black granite. It comes out of Canada and should be cheaper in the NW than it was down here in Texas. I got it because I couldn't find a soapstone that would work for me when I was looking, but I really like it for its own character. Instead of veins, you get a heathered or mottled background with a scattering of crystaline "ice flowers." Mine is in a brushed and acid washed finish and it is super tough. The guy at the stone yard wasn't able to break off a corner with his hammer and gave up after several tries. It isn't the same soft feel that soapstone has, but it's a great countertop material.

I'm looking for posts on recycled paper countertops and found this and other links thanks to a kind person in the comment thread at https://www.houzz.com/discussions/2490314/trying-again-for-any-paper-countertop-owners-out-there#n=8 so I'm paying it forward. Here's a post from @smilingjudy with an absolutely beautiful DIY: https://www.houzz.com/discussions/2421332/the-perfect-matte-black-countertop-soapstone-paperstone?hz_ref=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuaG91enouY29tL3xhZTFlZjVjNy1hNDZkLTQ2N2MtYjAwYi02Mzc3OTUyZGVkOTd8MTY1NTE3NTI5OTI1OA