What is Silica?

Silica is the name given to a group of minerals composed of silicon and oxygen, the two
most abundant elements in the earth's crust. Silica is found commonly in the crystalline
state and rarely in an amorphous state. It is composed of one atom of silicon and two atoms
of oxygen resulting in the chemical formula SiO2

Silica sand is an industrial term used for sand or easily disaggregated sandstone with a very
high percentage of quartz (silica) grains. Quartz is the most common silica crystal and the
second most common mineral on the earth's surface. It is found in almost every type of
rock; igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary. While quartz deposits are abundant, and
quartz is present in some form in nearly all mining operations, high purity and commercially
viable deposits occur less frequently. Silica sand deposits are most commonly surface-
mined in open pit operations, but dredging and underground mining are also employed.
Extracted ore undergoes considerable processing to increase the silica content by reducing
impurities. It is then dried and sized to produce the optimum particle size distribution for the
intended application.

After processing, the sand may be dried and some applications require it to be ground in
ball mills to produce a very fine material, called silica flour. Also, quartz may be converted to
cristobalite in a rotary kiln at high temperature, with the assistance of a catalyst. Some
specialist applications require the quartz to be melted in electric arc furnaces followed by
cooling and grinding to produce fused silica.