The stone processing industry is one of the most conservative industries in the world in terms of the use of natural-stone ornamental materials in construction simultaneously with a dynamically developing artificial facing material manufacturing. Notwithstanding the long history of use of natural decorative stone, it does not go out of fashion, and the demand for has hardly changed. The annual growth in demand for stone products in times of economic crises and slumps has ranged from six to nine percent for decades. As global markets have expanded and the world’s block stone market has refocused somewhat towards Southeast Asia, the natural resources of European Russia, including the Northwestern Federal District, give a hope that this part of the planet can also be seriously developed due to the use of its resources of hard igneous rocks of varying ornamental quality, given that the stone processing industry receives adequate attention. The current situation in the world’s stone industry is that of a dynamic development, and forecasts for the future are very favourable. This article examines the main features of the stone mining sector development today, and makes an attempt to envision the prospects for the development of this industry in the Republic of Karelia in the global context.