Sodium Feldspar, Potash Feldspar, Silica Quartz, Ramming Mass

WHAT IS QUARTZ? Quartz is a chemical compound consisting of one-part silicon and two parts oxygen. It is the most abundant mineral found at Earth’s surface and its unique properties make it one of the most useful natural substances. Quartz is the second most common mineral in the Earth’s continental crust. It is made up of a lattice of silica (SiO2) tetrahedral.It goes by an array of different names. The most important distinction between types of quartz is that of macro crystalline (individual crystals visible to the unaided eye) and the microcrystalline or cryptocrystalline varieties (aggregates of crystals visible only under high magnification). Quartz is also known as a ubiquitous mineral with an enormous number of uses.Quartz Processing (Silicon dioxide, SiO2) At a share of approx. 12 %, quartz ranks second behind feldspar as the most common mineral of the lithosphere, either in the form of solid rock or eroded sand. After being processed to quartz sand < 600 μm, the quartz is used in the manufacture of glass; for special paints (road building); in foundries as molding sand; in adhesives for the ceramics industry; in sand blasting equipment; for sanding sports stadiums; etc. Even finer in the < 80 μm range with a steep particle size distribution is found in ceramic base compounds, and at a fineness of < 20 μm in glazes.It has a hardness of 7 on the Mohs’ Scale which makes it very durable.Quartz is silicon dioxide [chemical formula is (SiO2)]. WHAT IS NATURAL SILICA / SILICON DIOXIDE ? Silicon dioxide, also known as silica (from the Latin silex), is a chemical compound that is a dioxide of silicon with the chemical formula SiO2. It has been known since ancient times. Silica is most commonly found in nature as quartz, as well as in various living organisms, Silica is one of the most complex and most abundant families of materials, existing both as several minerals and being produced synthetically. Notable examples include fused quartz, crystal, fumed silica, silica gel, and aero gels. Applications range from structural materials to microelectronics to components used in the food industry. In spite of its simple chemical formula, SiO2 , silica exists in many different forms. Silica is found commonly in the crystalline state but occurs also in an amorphous state resulting from weathering or plankton fossilisation. Silica exists in ten different crystalline forms or polymorphs, quartz being by far the most common. Quartz is the second most common mineral on the earth’s surface and it is found in almost every type of rock, i.e. igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary. Silicon dioxide is obtained by mining and purification of the resulting mineral. Quartz comprises more than 10% by mass of the earth’s crust. Commercial silicon dioxide is also produced, almost always via the processing of quartz, synthetically on a very large scale. Since it is so abundant, quartz is present in nearly all mining operations. It occurs in the host rock, in the ore being mined, as well as in the soil and surface materials above the bedrock, which are called the overburden. Industry mainly uses the crystalline forms of silica, i.e. quartz and cristobalite. A silica-based aero gel was used in the Stardust spacecraft to collect extraterrestrial particles. Silica is also used in the extraction of DNA and RNA due to its ability to bind to the nucleic acids under the presence of chaotropes. As hydrophobic silica it is used as a defoamer component. In hydrated form, it is used in toothpaste as a hard abrasive to remove tooth plaque. In its capacity as a refractory, it is useful in fiber form as a high-temperature thermal protection fabric. In cosmetics, it is useful for its light-diffusing properties and natural absorbency. It is also used as a thermal enhancement compound in ground source heat pump industry. High grade silica is normally found in unconsolidated deposits below thin layers of overburden. It is also found as ‘veins’ of quartz within other rocks and these veins can be many meters thick. Silica sand deposits are normally exploited by quarrying and the material extracted may undergo considerable processing before sale. The objectives of processing are to reduce impurities and increase the grade of silica present and to produce the optimum size distribution of the product depending upon end use. After processing the sand may be sold in the moist state or it may be dried. Dry grinding in rotary mills, using beach pebbles or alumina balls as grinding media is the most common way to produce silica and cristobalite flour. Since the natural resources of cristobalite are not sufficient for industrial use, it has to be synthesized by the conversion of quartz in a rotary kiln at high temperature (>1500°C) with the assistance of a catalyst. It is Natural Silica [chemical formula is SiO2]. Also known as Silicon dioxide. Synonyms of Silica includes fused quartz, crystal, fumed silica, silica gel, and Silicon dioxide. WHAT IS FELDSPAR? Feldspar is by far the most abundant group of minerals in the earth’s crust, forming about 60% of terrestrial rocks. Most deposits offer sodium feldspar as well as potassium feldspar and mixed feldspars. Chemically, the feldspars are silicates of aluminium, containing sodium, potassium, iron, calcium, or barium or combinations of these elements. Most of the products we use on a daily basis are made with feldspar: glass for drinking, glass for protection, fiberglass for insulation, the floor tiles and shower basins in our bathrooms, and the tableware from which we eat. Feldspar is part of our daily life. Feldspar minerals are essential components in igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks, to such an extent that the classification of a number of rocks is based on feldspar content. The mineralogical composition of most feldspars can be expressed in terms of the ternary system Orthoclase, Albite and Anorthite. Chemically, the feldspars are silicates of aluminium, containing sodium, potassium, iron, calcium, or barium or combinations of these elements. The minerals of which the composition is comprised between Albite and Anorthite are known as the plagioclase feldspars, while those comprised between Albite and Orthoclase are called the alkali feldspars. The latter category is of particular interest in terms of industrial use of feldspars. Amongst the numerous rocks in which they are present, feldspars are particularly abundant in igneous rocks like granite, which contains up to 50 or 70% of alkaline feldspar. Granite is however rarely used for its feldspatic content. Rather a whole range of rocks geologically connected to granite is used. Most often, commercial feldspar is mined from pegmatite or feldspatic sand deposits. Aplite, which is a fine-grained igneous rock with the same mineralogical composition as granite is also frequently mined for its feldspar content. Basically, the two properties which make feldspars useful for downstream industries are their alkali and alumina content. On those elements we can distinguish three families: Feldspatic sand, Pegmatite and Feldspar.