Markfield has a long association with the quarrying industry and has a particular type of granite, microdiorite named after it. The granite stone (microdiorite) 'Markfieldite' is a very hard granite found in the local area and used in roadstone and railway construction. The former headquarters of Aggregate Industries (now under the Holcim company) was in Markfield and in the last few years a major expansion of the Bardon Hill Quarry into the parish of Markfield has begun creating a large extension which will expand the life of Bardon for another 40 years.