Porphyry has been mined from the quarry as an important source for construction since the 17th century and was traditionally used to make Belgian cobblestones for city streets.

[1] In the village of Quenast, 29 km (18 mi) from Brussels and within Rebecq, Walloon Brabant, the quarry covers 140 ha (350 acres) and reaches a depth of 125 m (410 ft).

The porphyry material, formed beneath the tertiary rocks in Brabant during the Silurian period, is of volcanic origin and known for its extreme toughness.

[7] In 1844, entrepreneur Joseph-Emmanuel Zaman began unifying the porphyry quarries under a single ownership, transforming them into one of Belgium's most significant industrial enterprises.

[11] The porphyry extracted from the quarry at Quenast was frequently used for paving in Berlin, Bordeaux, Cologne, Dunkirk, The Hague, Lille, Paris, and Rotterdam in the 1880s.