Also known as white sand, quartz sand or industrial sand, silica sand is a combination of two elements – silica and oxygen. It comes in a wide range of shades, mostly white or colourless. The colour of the sand depends on the rock detritus and the minerals that make up the resource. The quartz material in the sand, in particular, is obtained from sources like beach dunes before it is processed into different types and grades to be supplied to different industries for various applications.
Importantly, for the resource to be considered silica sand, its makeup must contain at least 95 per cent silicon dioxide and equal to 0.6 per cent iron oxide. Otherwise, it is considered to be regular sand.
Various industries utilise silica sand as their main feedstock to manufacture different products. The purity of the sand dictates the kind of final products that can be produced. The vast majority of its use is in glass products such as bottles, jars, flat glass for windows and automotive use; fibre glass, reinforcing glass fibre, light bulbs, fluorescent tubes, televisions and computer screens.
