Mineral Industry in Egypt– Part II Non-Metallic Commodities – Silica Ores

Abstract

Silicon, nowadays, is involved in many advanced and high technology industries due to its unique property. The silica ores exist in the form of quartz, quartzite, and white sand. In Egypt, quartz is confined to igneous and metamorphic origins, while white sand exists in the form of sedimentary deposits. Quartz and quartzite are found in association with basement rocks in Eastern Desert and Western Desert. While white sand deposits are widely distributed in Sinai, Eastern Desert, and Western Desert, with the most commercial deposits in Sinai and Eastern Desert.Estimation of the geological and economic reserves indicate huge tonnages of all types of silica ores. Quartz reserves sum up to 20 million tons, and silica sands sum up to more than 3 billion tons. Evaluation of the chemical and physical characteristics of the silica in Egypt showed high quality silica with low contaminations. The major part of these reserves is available through open-pit mining with very low costs due to minimal overburden. Some of the silica sand deposits contain a high percentage of white kaolin, up to about 11 percent, which is separated as a valuable economic byproduct. The basic processing operations of the white sand are washing, screening, attrition scrubbing, desliming and dewatering. In some locations magnetic separation is used for the removal of magnetic impurities. Academic research work showed that the quality of the white sand product can be improved when froth flotation operation is used.

Upgrading and Surface Coating of Egyptian White Sand With Polymers and Silanes

“…The original silica sand sample could be used in flat and container glass. However, after upgrading processes, it could be used in more advanced industrial applications based on their specifications, maximum SiO 2 % and minimum Fe 2 O 3 , Al 2 O 3 , CaO and MgO% with the particle size distribution, as shown in The scrubbed silica sand product is suitable to be used in the manufacturing of domestic and decorative glassware while the nonmagnetic silica sand product is suitable to be used in the manufacturing of optical glassware (Othman et al, 2023;Ezz-El Din et al, 2016).…”

Influence of Preheating on the Grindability of Mono/Poli Mineral Ores

“…For the ceramics industry it is finely ground typically >95% minus 43µm [25]. Silica sand and quartz are changeable in many different industries [26][27] as glass, ceramic, metallurgical and electronic, filler, foundry sand, abrasive, filtration media, engine sand, and electrical insulation. It is also used in ferrosilicon production.…”

“…Glassmakers prefer a near uniform size to insure efficient melting. Generally, grain size range from 0.59 to 0.144 mm is preferable with angular grain shape [25][26][27][28].…”

Thermoluminescence assessment of quartz veins emplaced in Talc-Schist Metamorphic Rocks, Egypt

“…Quartz generally is formed in Egypt in the Eastern Desert in association with igneous and metamorphic rocks [5]. The precambrian basement complex rocks (igneous-metamorphic) of Egypt, covering approximately ~ 100,000 km 2 , crops out mainly along the Red Sea Mountains range in the Eastern Desert and southern Sinai Peninsula [6][7][8].…”