Silica sand: Criticality

Why ordinary silica sand is not critical

What this tab covers How exposed economies are to a supply disruption: the EU, US and India listings, the concentration score, and a quantified exposure for the US, EU, India, China, Japan, Latin America, the Middle East and Australia. Where the EU scored it, a chart of supply risk against economic importance, with import reliance, recycling input and substitutes.

Exposure by region

Region	Exposure	Share of world output	Share of world imports	Share of world exports	Net trade (US$)	On own critical list	Position
US	Low	–	3.4%	37.7%	+$830.4 m	No	World's largest producer and consumer (120 Mt in 2025) and a net exporter of about 8 Mt, with 38% of world HS 2505 export value in 2024 (USGS 2026; UN Comtrade).
EU	Low	–	30.4%	32.0%	+$70.8 m	No	Self-sufficient: the Netherlands (68 Mt), France, Italy, Germany and Spain are large producers, silica sand is not on the EU critical list, and its EU recycling input rate is 1% (USGS 2026; EU CRM 2023).
India	Low	–	0.7%	0.0%	−$15.5 m	No	Produced about 12 Mt in 2025 (USGS), regulated by states as a minor mineral since 2015, and not on India's 2023 critical list.
China	High	–	12.5%	0.7%	−$271.5 m	No	Second-largest producer at about 92 Mt in 2025 and a large importer, with 12.5% of world HS 2505 import value in 2024; it is trying to develop its own high-purity quartz (USGS 2026; UN Comtrade).
Japan	High	–	3.1%	0.0%	−$72.1 m	No	Not among the leading producers or traders listed by USGS or UN Comtrade for 2024; Shin-Etsu's wafer plants melt silicon in crucibles made from Spruce Pine quartz (Conway 2023).
Latin America	High	–	2.8%	1.5%	−$28.2 m	no list	Argentina (4.5 Mt) and Mexico (2.7 Mt) are mid-sized producers (USGS 2026).
Middle East	Low	–	1.7%	2.2%	+$14.1 m	no list	Saudi Arabia produced about 2.1 Mt in 2025 (USGS); Gulf states import specialty sands despite their deserts because desert sand is poorly suited to industry (Conway 2023).
Australia	Low	–	0.6%	0.5%	−$2.72 m	No	Produced about 5.6 Mt in 2025 and is cited by USGS as a source of high-purity quartz.

Exposure rating: High when the region is a net importer whose import share is at least three times its share of world output (or, for farm goods, it produces under 70% of what it consumes); Medium for other net importers (or 70-95% self-sufficiency), raised to High when world supply is highly concentrated in another country; Low for net exporters or self-sufficient regions. Net importer status uses tonnage where reported, otherwise value. Output: n/a. Trade: UN Comtrade 2024 (EU = sum of member states, including intra-EU trade). Critical lists: US 2025, EU 2024/1252, India 2023, China 2016 strategic minerals, Japan METI, Australia 2024.

Ordinary silica sand is not critical. The EU rates its supply risk at 0.3 and economic importance at 3.1, with no import reliance. It is absent from the US 2025 and India 2023 lists. Substitutes exist: olivine, chromite, zircon and staurolite for foundry sand, and sintered bauxite, ceramics or petroleum coke as proppant. High-purity quartz is the exception. Spruce Pine supplies the purest grade, above 99.999%, and the USGS sees no economic substitute for most of its uses.

EU 2023 Not critical US 2025 list No India 2023 list No

EU 2023 assessment

Chart: EU 2023 criticality: supply risk against economic importance

Each dot is a material assessed by the EU in 2023. The shaded corner is the critical zone (supply risk ≥ 1.0, economic importance ≥ 2.8). Silica sand: supply risk 0.3, economic importance 3.1. EU import reliance, extraction 0% EU recycling input rate 1%

Substitutes

Chromite, olivine, staurolite and zircon sands for glass, foundry and moulding; garnet, olivine and slags for abrasives; sintered bauxite, kaolin-based ceramics or petroleum coke as proppants