PRODUCTS
High Grade Silica Sand
High Grade Silica Sand is used in the production of:
- Float Glass
- Container Glass
- TFT – LCD Glass
- Fibre Glass including Optical Fibres
- Speciality Glass
Washed, correctly sized and dry sorted high grade silica sand from the Gingin project area would be targeted for high-grade applications in the glass, chemical, foundry, and filtration industries.
The main export destinations countries for these types of products are China, Japan and Korea.
It is envisaged that ASQ will work with the customer to provide the required tonnages of suitably specified high grade sand delivered in container loads, or bulka bags and that the sand would be delivered from the site to the Port facility in Fremantle by road train.
In the case of the Albany project the company is targeting a bulk silica sand style operation, similar to the existing AustSand operation.
Hardrock High Purity Quartz
High Purity Quartz is considered a highly specialised commodity with a low tonnage, high value market. The commodity is used in the production of :
- semi conductors
- solar panels
- specialist technology applications
ASQ have secured a number of hard rock quartz deposits in Western Australia and Queensland and the company is currently evaluating the potential to produce a high grade lump silica or hard rock quartz product.
The company has held discussions with a number of groups seeking to secure hard rock quartz offtake from ASQ. ASQ is working on making a hard rock lump quartz product available to the market in the future.
Ultrahigh Grade High Purity Quartz
ASQ is currently engaged in a Research and Development program to develop a proprietary process that can generate high purity and ultra high purity quartz products. As of now, the company has accomplished a SiO2 purity of 99.99%.
Efforts are currently underway to enhance the process with the aim of achieving higher purity outcomes and verifying its feasibility and commercial viability.
Typical Industry Pricing for High Purity Silica sand and Hardrock Quartz Products
|
Type or Application |
SiO2 minimum % |
Other Elements maximum % |
Other Elements maximum ppm |
Market Size Mtpa |
Typical price US$/tonne |
|
Clear glass-grade sand |
99.5 |
0.5 |
5,000 |
>70 |
US$30 |
|
EMC, LCD and optical glass |
99.8 |
0.2 |
2,000 |
2 |
US$160 - 400 |
|
Intermediate HPQ |
99.95 |
0.05 |
500 |
0.75 |
US$300 - 600 |
|
High grade HPQ |
99.99 |
0.01 |
100 |
0.25 |
US$500 - 800 |
|
Ultrahigh HPQ |
99.997 |
0.003 |
30 |
<0.1 |
US$5,000 - 8,000 |
|
Hyper HPQ |
99.999 |
0.001 |
10 |
<0.1 |
US$12,000 |
Table 1. Typical silica sand and quartz specifications and pricing by market. Modified from a table produced by Richard Flook 2014.
RESEARCH UPDATE
February 2023
Australia Silica Quartz Group is focusing it's research project on the purification and processing of hard rock quartz.
This research has the potential to add substantial value to Australia's hard rock quartz deposits
The research broadens the knowledge of the methodologies of purification developed in the company's first stage of research which will prove useful in the development of a process for a high purity hard rock quartz product.