Top 12 Silica Sand Companies in the World

The global silica sand market size reached US$ 24.2 Billion in 2023. As per the analysis by IMARC Group, the top silica sand companies are focusing on product enhancement and innovations to widen their offerings, catering to a rapidly growing customer base worldwide. Moreover, the leading manufacturers are utilizing low-grade silica sand to introduce novel products, such as lightweight glazing glass, nanotechnology in flat glass, and solar control glazing for building glass. In addition to this, governments of numerous countries are taking favorable initiatives, including the provision of substantial subsidies to silica sand manufacturers, which is expected to create a positive outlook for the market. Apart from this, several key players are making heavy investments in expanding their manufacturing capacities to meet the augmenting demand for silica sand from various end use industries, such as construction, glass foundry, automotive, and oil and gas. They are also engaging in mergers and acquisitions (M&As) and entering into strategic collaborations with local and international companies to retain and strengthen their existing market position. Furthermore, ongoing research and development (R&D) activities to launch innovative product variants, continual technological advancements, and new product launches are some of the other major factors fueling market growth. Looking forward, IMARC Group expects the market to reach US$ 37.6 Billion by 2032, exhibiting a growth rate (CAGR) of 4.9% during 2024-2032.

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List of Top Companies Operating in the Silica Sand Industry:

The global silica sand market has several major players, including Aggregate Industries (Holcim AG), Australian Silica Quartz Group Ltd, Badger Mining Corporation, Covia Holdings LLC, JFE Mineral & Alloy Company Ltd, Mitsubishi Corporation, Preferred Sands, PUM GROUP, Quarzwerke GmbH, Sibelco, Tochu Corporation, and U.S. Silica. More information about these companies has been provided below.

1. Aggregate Industries (Holcim AG)

Aggregate Industries, a part of Holcim AG, is a leading UK-based manufacturer and supplier of sustainable construction and building materials, including cement, concrete, and aggregate products. The company has a broad product portfolio comprising aggregates, asphalt, ready-mixed concrete and screed, cement, and precast concrete products. Besides this, it also produces, imports, and supplies construction materials, exports aggregates, provides commercial and domestic landscaping services, and carries out national road surfacing and contracting solutions. With more than 200 sites and over 3,700 dedicated employees, Aggregate Industries offers a complete line of building materials and solutions to help its partners work sustainably, safely, and profitably.

2. Australian Silica Quartz Group Ltd

Australian Silica Quartz Group Ltd, formerly known as Bauxite Resources Ltd, is engaged in the exploration, development, and production of natural resources, such as silica. It operates several hard rock quartz and high-grade silica sand projects in multiple development stages, including the hard rock quartz projects Seabrook in Western Australia, Quartz Hill and White Springs in Queensland, and the silica sand projects in Gingin, Esperance, and Albany in Western Australia. Currently, the company is focusing on adding value to these projects via an R&D program using advanced technology and internally developed processing techniques. Besides this, the Australian Silica Quartz Group is looking to merge and further develop the company’s projects for a long-term sustainable export of silica quartz products. 

3. Badger Mining Corporation

Badger Mining Corporation (BMC) is a family-owned industrial sand supplier and producer of high-quality industrial silica sand products. It offers silica sand and resin-coated sand products for use in a range of industrial and environmental applications. Its main product lines include BadgerCast ® foundry sand, Badger Coated™ Atlas PRC and Atlas PRC-P, Badger Coated™ Atlas CRC-C, Atlas CRC-E, and Atlas CRC-One, and Badger Coated™ Tundra, a new activator-free, low-temperature resin coated Northern White sand. The company has a broad product portfolio comprising premium round-grain silica sand, white frac sand, in-basin sand, coated sand, printing sands, whole-grain Northern White sand, and other silica sand products. It mainly serves oil and gas (hydraulic fracturing), foundry, construction, glass, metal casting, recreation, filter media, geothermal, friction, and agriculture markets. At present, BMC owns and operates three sand mines located in Fairwater, Wisconsin, Taylor, Wisconsin, and Kermit, Texas.

4. Covia Holdings LLC

Covia Holdings LLC is an industry leader in minerals and material solutions for the industrial and energy sectors, building upon the legacies of two prominent organizations: Unimin Corp and Fairmount Santrol. It produces a broad range of high-quality products, including specialized silica sand, feldspar, nepheline syenite, calcium carbonate, clay, and kaolin products. The company primarily serves the glass, metals & foundry, ceramics, coatings, polymers, water filtration, sports & recreation, building products & construction materials, and water & environmental markets. It specializes in numerous areas, such as micronization, resin development, coating, and blending. In addition, it has distinct technical capabilities and the industry’s most extensive and accessible distribution network.

5. JFE Mineral & Alloy Company Ltd

JFE Mineral & Alloy Company Ltd is a leading minerals and material solutions company involved in diversified business activities. In 2022, the company was formed through the merger of JFE Mineral Company, JFE Materials Company, and Mizushima Alloy Steel Company. It mainly operates through five business divisions: Mineral Products; Ferroalloy; Slag, Iron, and Steel; Advanced Materials; and Soil and Environment Engineering. Under these units, the company produces, distributes, and sells ferroalloys, steel slag products, ultrafine nickel powder, cathode materials for secondary batteries, functional material products, blast furnace slags, steelmaking slags, and soil and underground water decontamination materials. In addition, its Mineral Products division is engaged in the mining, processing, and distribution of silica sand, silica rock, limestone and its aggregates, dolomite, calcium carbonate, and other ores. Presently, JFE Mineral & Alloy Company owns and operates mines and plants in Japan and other countries, including Australia and the Philippines, for a stable supply of high-quality mineral resources.

6. Mitsubishi Corporation 

Mitsubishi Corporation (MC) is a leading global integrated enterprise and Japan’s largest general trading company that develops and operates businesses in virtually every industry via its 12 business groups, ranging from metals, energy, and chemicals to machinery, food, and general merchandise. Under its Industrial Materials Group, the Ceramic Minerals Department operates Cape Flattery Silica Mines Pty., Ltd (CFSM), a wholly owned subsidiary of MC and one of the world’s largest silica sand producers. CFSM manufactures high-grade silica sand and has been supplying silica sand for over 50 years to numerous countries in Asia, including Japan. MC has established an integrated supply chain with its logistics and sales network, covering all operations ranging from silica sand mining and processing to exports and sales. With a multinational workforce of around 80,000 employees, the company operates offices and subsidiaries worldwide, along with its extensive network of over 1,700 group companies in more than 200 operation bases across 80 countries.

7. Preferred Sands

Preferred Sands is an innovative frac sand producing and technology company that operates in high-quality silica sand and proppant technology and has a proven track record of first-mover status. It offers a wide range of industrial products, from turf sand and resin-coated sand to gravel, in different grades, including 16/30, 20/40, 30/50, 40/70, and 100M, for the filtration, turf & sport, concrete, building materials, construction sand, gravel, foundry, and glass markets. The company is committed to consistently identifying and developing innovative and sustainable solutions for the hydraulic fracturing industry. Preferred Sands also provides the most advanced downhole-coated proppant technologies designed to boost oil and gas production efficiency and upgrade performance from traditional resin-coated proppants. Currently, its main product lines include RCS Garnet® and DuraSand™, comprising industry-leading low, medium, and high-temperature resins and specialty resins. Besides this, the company’s offerings also consist of DustPRO®, an innovative silica dust control solution, and FloPRO®, a proppant transport technology for superior proppant distribution and increased production.

8. PUM GROUP

PUM GROUP is a Malaysia-based company engaged in manufacturing, mining, engineering, construction services, cullet processing, logistics, and material supply to the glass industry. The core business of the Group is being a service provider to glassmakers in the region. At present, the company operates two silica sand processing plants located in Kota Tinggi, Johor, producing approximately 400,000 tons of silica sand per year for the Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore markets.

9. Quarzwerke GmbH

Quarzwerke GmbH is an independent family-owned company specializing in the extraction, processing, and refining of industrial minerals. It is a renowned producer of high-grade mineral raw materials and has a broad product portfolio, including quartz, silica sand, kaolin, feldspar, wollastonite, mica, and high-performance fillers. The company processes these raw materials into more than 700 quality products and sells them in over 50 countries across the world. Under its HPF The Mineral Engineers division, Quarzwerke develops mineral and synthetic material-based functional, high-performance fillers and additives, such as ACRYSMART, aluminum hydroxide, anhydrite, colored silica, cristobalites, white fused alumina, feldspar, fillers for 3D printing, mica, kaolin, nepheline syenite, quartz, fused silica, SILATHERM, white silica, and Wollastonites. Presently, Quarzwerke employs approximately 3600 people worldwide and has operating bases at 39 locations in 11 countries, with its primary locations being Germany and Central Europe. 

10. Sibelco

Sibelco is a global material solutions company that mines, processes, distributes, and sells specialty industrial minerals. It is also a worldwide leader in glass recycling and is focused mainly on silica, high-purity quartz, clays, feldspathic, nepheline syenite, aluminum trihydrate, and olivine. It primarily serves the glass, ceramics, construction, coatings, polymers, and water purification industries. Since its inception, the company has grown into a multinational business with more than 5,000 employees, operations in over 31 countries globally, and a comprehensive multi-mineral portfolio.

11. Tochu Corporation

Tochu Corporation is mainly involved in the manufacturing and sales of natural silica sand, resin-coated sand, and other casting materials. Its main lines of business include silica sand, casting material, casting, and agriculture. Under the silica sand business, the company is developing silica sand resources in Japan and overseas to supply high-quality silica sand. Currently, Tochu owns and operates the Yunotsu silica sand mine in Ohta City, Japan, its primary source of domestic silica sand. In addition, it has developed two silica sand mines in Australia via its subsidiaries and imports a range of high-quality sand. The company’s main silica sand products comprise Albany silica sand, Kemerton silica sand, ACI-G silica sand, Terengganu silica sand, Yunotsu silica sand, CERABEADS-X, and recycled sand.

12. U.S. Silica

U.S. Silica is a global industrial minerals and logistics leader specializing in mining, processing, logistics, and material science. As a leading performance materials business, the company is one of the largest producers of industrial silica and derived products, including high-quality whole grain silica products, ground silicas, and fine ground silica. It also manufactures and offers over 1,500 diversified products to its customers across its end markets. Its wholly-owned subsidiary companies include EP Minerals and SandBox Logistics®. While EP Minerals is a leading manufacturer of products derived from diatomaceous earth, perlite, engineered clays, and non-activated clays, SandBox Logistics® is a state-of-the-art leader in proppant storage, handling, and well-site delivery, committed to making proppant logistics cleaner, safer and more efficient. As of 2020, U.S. Silica operates over 23 production facilities across the United States and controls approximately 489 million tons of commercial silica reserves and about 79 million tons of deposits of diatomaceous earth, perlite, and clays.

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