Silica sand: Trading
Why freight can cost as much as the sand
What this tab covers How and where it is bought and sold: who buys and sells, exchanges and benchmarks, contract types, the big trading houses and how prices are discovered.Silica sand has no futures market. It is sold under supply contracts, often on a delivered basis, because freight can rival the value of the sand. Frac sand is now largely mined close to the wells, in the Permian and other basins, which cuts trucking and rail costs. Glass and foundry grades are sold on specification: iron content, grain size and grain shape matter more than tonnage. Consultants and trade publications report regional prices. US high-purity quartz sold for $500 to $12,000 per tonne in 2025, depending on impurities.
Where it is bought (buyers)
- Pressure pumpers and E&P companies in the Permian, Haynesville and other US basins buy frac sand at the mine or well site
- Glass makers (float, container, fibreglass) and foundries buy on annual supply contracts from nearby quarries
- Crucible makers in Japan, China and elsewhere buy HPQ from Spruce Pine producers
- Singapore and other land-reclaiming states import large tonnages of natural sand (HS 2505, which mixes construction and silica sand)
Where it is sold (sellers)
- US producers in Texas, Wisconsin, Oklahoma and Louisiana (77% of US output in 2025)
- European silica from the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and France
- The US exported about 8 Mt in 2025 and was 38% of world HS 2505 export value in 2024 (USGS; UN Comtrade)
Exchanges and benchmarks
| Venue | Contract | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| None | No exchange-traded contract | All sales are bilateral; prices are private |
Contract types
- Take-or-pay frac sand supply agreements with E&P operators, often bundled with last-mile delivery
- Annual or multi-year glass sand contracts with quality specifications (SiO2, Fe2O3, grain size)
- Long-term HPQ supply agreements with crucible makers
Top trading houses
- Few: frac and glass sand are sold direct by producers; logistics firms and transload operators handle rail sand
How prices are discovered
- Company results (realised price per ton) and USGS average unit values
- Consultants such as Rystad Energy publish frac sand price estimates
- Fastmarkets Industrial Minerals reports silica sand and HPQ market prices (paid)