# Silica sand

High-silica quartz sand for glass, foundry moulds and, above all, oil and gas fracking: cheap, bulky and priced by freight.

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/industrial_sand/

Industrial minerals · No. 63

- Not on a critical list
 Industrial minerals · Foundation · Matter

About 81% of US industrial sand is pumped into oil and gas wells, and the Netherlands is the world's third-largest producer.

Chart: Illustration: Silica sand

##### Where it comes from

Chart: Map of where it comes from

Industrial sand is quartz-rich sand or crushed sandstone, over 95% silica with little iron. It is dug from open pits, then washed, scrubbed, sized and dried.

##### Three things to know

1. Spruce Pine high-purity quartz exceeds 99.999% purity, and new Chinese deposits have tested at 99.995-99.998%.
2. Freight can rival the sand's value, so frac sand is now mined close to the wells in the Permian and other basins.
3. About 33% of US glass containers are recycled, making cullet a significant source of reused silica.

##### The journey

1. 1 **Quartz deposit**Sand or sandstone above 95% silica
2. 2 **Mining**Open pits or dredging
3. 3 **Washing**Scrubbed by attrition and sized
4. 4 **Drying**Dried, impurities removed
5. 5 **End uses**Frac proppant, glass, foundry moulds, filters

##### Go deeper pick a tab to open it in full

## Other sections

- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/industrial_sand/overview/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/industrial_sand/correlation/index.md)
- [Extraction](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/industrial_sand/extraction/index.md)
- [Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/industrial_sand/production/index.md)
- [Stocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/industrial_sand/stocks/index.md)
- [Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/industrial_sand/cycles/index.md)
- [Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/industrial_sand/trading/index.md)
- [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/industrial_sand/movement/index.md)
- [Criticality](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/industrial_sand/criticality/index.md)
- [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/industrial_sand/characteristics/index.md)
- [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/industrial_sand/emissions/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/industrial_sand/links/index.md)