The facts
What industrial Silica Sand actually is
Industrial Silica Sand is classified as well-sorted, well-rounded, high-purity quartz sand, graded for glassmaking, foundry moulding and hydraulic-fracturing proppant, with the composition SiO2 typically 95-99.8%, with limits on Fe2O3, Al2O3 and chromophore oxides. It crystallises in the trigonal (supplied as sand) system.
Colour comes from white to pale tan; iron content sets both colour and glass grade, which is also what a laboratory looks at when it is asked whether a colour is natural.
Refractive index 1.544-1.553. Specific gravity around 2.65. Cleavage: none. Those three numbers separate it from most of what imitates it.
Where industrial Silica Sand comes from
Industrial Silica Sand is produced at St Peter Sandstone, Ottawa, Illinois and Wisconsin, USA - the 'Northern White' proppant standard, Permian Basin in-basin sand, west Texas, USA, Jordan Sandstone, Minnesota and Wisconsin, USA, Fontainebleau, France; Leighton Buzzard, England and Hainan and Fujian, China.
The locality is part of the description, not a footnote — two stones of the same weight from two of these places are not the same stone.
How industrial Silica Sand is treated
Washed, dried, screened and sometimes attrition-scrubbed, magnetically separated or acid-leached for glass grades; resin-coated for premium proppant. Graded on crush strength, roundness, sphericity and turbidity under API standards for proppant. The frac-sand market moved sharply to cheaper in-basin Permian sand after 2018, collapsing Northern White premiums. HEALTH: respirable crystalline silica is a Group 1 carcinogen and causes silicosis; OSHA and EU exposure limits are strict, and silica sand abrasive blasting is banned or heavily restricted in the EU, Australia and Brazil - which is precisely why garnet abrasive exists.
Treatment changes value, sometimes by a multiple, so it belongs in the description before the price and not after the sale.
What industrial Silica Sand is confused with
In the trade industrial Silica Sand is most often mistaken for, or substituted by, Garnet and slag abrasives (safer blasting alternatives), Ceramic proppant (stronger, dearer), Olivine and chromite foundry sands or Feldspathic sand (too impure for glass).
The separation is rarely a matter of opinion: refractive index 1.544-1.553 and specific gravity 2.65 settle most of it in a minute, and magnification settles the rest.
What industrial Silica Sand is used for
Demand for industrial Silica Sand comes from drilling fluids, heavy industry and abrasives, which is why one price per carat never covers it.
We quote each application in the unit that trade actually buys in, by the tonne.
Durability and care
Industrial Silica Sand is 7 on the Mohs scale, with none cleavage.
With no cleavage plane to worry about, the practical limit is abrasion rather than breakage, and it takes daily wear well.
Warm water, mild soap and a soft brush. Avoid ultrasonic cleaners on anything fracture-filled, stabilised, dyed or visibly included.
What industrial Silica Sand costs
As a guide, industrial Silica Sand trades around $15-60 per tonne at the mine for frac and foundry sand; high-purity glass sand $40-120 per tonne.
That is a range, not a quote. Colour, size, clarity, cut and origin move the figure a long way inside it, and the only honest price is one given against a specific stone. Send us what you need and we will price it.
Questions
Is industrial Silica Sand treated, and how?
Washed, dried, screened and sometimes attrition-scrubbed, magnetically separated or acid-leached for glass grades; resin-coated for premium proppant. Graded on crush strength, roundness, sphericity and turbidity under API standards for proppant. The frac-sand market moved sharply to cheaper in-basin Permian sand after 2018, collapsing Northern White premiums. HEALTH: respirable crystalline silica is a Group 1 carcinogen and causes silicosis; OSHA and EU exposure limits are strict, and silica sand abrasive blasting is banned or heavily restricted in the EU, Australia and Brazil - which is precisely why garnet abrasive exists.
Where does industrial Silica Sand come from?
St Peter Sandstone, Ottawa, Illinois and Wisconsin, USA - the 'Northern White' proppant standard, Permian Basin in-basin sand, west Texas, USA, Jordan Sandstone, Minnesota and Wisconsin, USA, Fontainebleau, France; Leighton Buzzard, England and Hainan and Fujian, China. Origin affects price, so we name the locality rather than the country on every quote.
Is industrial Silica Sand hard enough to wear every day?
Yes. At 7 on the Mohs scale with no cleavage plane, it handles daily wear well. The practical limit is gradual abrasion rather than chipping.
How much does industrial Silica Sand cost?
Indicatively $15-60 per tonne at the mine for frac and foundry sand; high-purity glass sand $40-120 per tonne. Colour, size, clarity and origin move the price a long way within that, so treat it as a range and ask for a quote against a specific stone.
What is industrial Silica Sand confused with?
Most often Garnet and slag abrasives (safer blasting alternatives), Ceramic proppant (stronger, dearer), Olivine and chromite foundry sands and Feldspathic sand (too impure for glass). A refractive index of 1.544-1.553 and a specific gravity near 2.65 separate it quickly.
What is industrial Silica Sand used for besides jewellery?
drilling fluids, heavy industry and abrasives. Each of those trades buys it in a different form and a different unit.
Related stones
Looking for industrial silica sand?
Tell us the size, the quality and what it is for. We source it, photograph it and quote it — with the locality named.
Ask about industrial silica sand