Top 20 Quartz Exporting Countries

Before we delve into the twenty countries that play a huge part in the exportation of quartz, we will have to, first of all, understand what this mineral actually is. According to reports made by PCI; Product Complexity Index, the mineral known as Quartz is actually the 1018th most traded product and also the 1097th most difficult product. Moreover, Countries like China, Turkey, and India contribute to the highest amount of quartz to the universal export market for minerals. There are other names in which quartz is known. They are:

• Feldspar
• Cryolite
• Mica
• Fluorspar, and lastly;
• Chiolite

Bear in mind that this mineral is a four-digit HS92 product.

Quartz – Explained

For a much more clear cut definition of this mineral, quartz is taken as an abundant and most widely distributed mineral that is found at the surface of the Earth. Basically, it is present and even much in every area of the globe. Also, it can develop at every temperature; not to forget, quartz is much in metamorphic, sedimentary and igneous rocks.

The quartz mineral has a very high resistance to chemical and mechanical weathering and such durability makes it the most dominant mineral found on mountaintops. Moreover, it is the major constituent of rivers, desert sand, and the beach. It is not only durable, but it is also ubiquitous as well. Its minable deposits can be traced and found all over the world. Note that, though it has a brittle tenacity, it is an oxide mineral.

From calculations, quartz has been estimated to rank second in being an abundant mineral found in the crust of our planet. Interestingly, it comes in diverse colors, varieties as well as transparencies.

One can find diverse varieties of the quartz mineral such as:

• Rose quartz
• Tiger’s eye
• Onyx, and;
• Amethyst, etc

While it relies on the exact type of quartz you may be searching for, it can be found anywhere from opaque to transparent and from colorless to black.

Extraction And Processing Of Quartz For Export

While we take a look at the extraction and processing of quartz for exportation, we will also be going through the shipment process.

1) Extraction From Quartz Mines

When quartz is being extracted, it is carried out by what is known as open-pit mining and this is followed by extracting minerals straight from a burrow. Most times, these mining operations consist of making use of backhoes and bulldozers to take out the clay and soil expected to be around the quartz in order to expose the mineral to the surface. In some actually rare occasions, the miners will have to make use of explosives at times when the quartz they practically need is very deep underground.

For this type of extraction, it is rarely done as stated because this mineral can be easily damaged if it is exposed to a temperature change all at once, and this can be caused by the blast of an explosive. Nonetheless, once the quartz gets exposed to our surface, there will be a team of people wielding small hand tools such as chisels or even picks to readily extract the quartz away from the quarry.

At UCM, we extract most of the quartz from our mines located in Rajasthan, India.

2) Processing And Manufacturing

Immediately, after the quartz is successfully mined, it must pass through a very extensive industrial cleaning stage in order to remove its physical flaws or its chemical impurities.

Once it is cleaned, it is then screened and placed to be crushed into diverse sizes. The size is dependent on the future use of the quartz. Note that, the quartz passes through a stage where it is crushed by a crusher and separated through a vibrating screen.

Furthermore, it is then ground using a ball mill and finally classified into various sizes with the help of the classifier. The quartz powder is then manufactured through crushing the pure lumps of quartz into a fine powder with a grinder mill.

3) Shipping For Export

When quartz gets to its shipping stage, it is shipped in very big shipping containers when it is being transported through huge ocean freights.

However, if it is being transported via land, it is done with the help of trains via the railroad or even by very big trucks.Moreover, when quartz types known as semi-precious gemstones are being shipped extra care is taken to make sure nothing damages them before they get to the destination.

At Unique Crystal Minerals, one of the largest quartz exporters in India, most of the quartz is exported in shipping containers.

Application Of Quartz

As one of the most useful minerals we have naturally on our planet, its usefulness can be connected to both its chemical and physical properties.

When placed on the Mohs scale, it was shown to have a hardness of seven and this makes it highly durable. Also, it has both heat resistance and electrical properties which makes it all the more valuable when it comes to electronic products.

Moreover, they are used as gemstones as a result of their color, transparency and of course, luster.

Generally, quartz mineral has diverse and very many use cases. Because some quartz types are taken to be semi-precious gemstones, they are most times used in stone and jewelry carvings.

Meanwhile, when quartz ends up being ground into quartz sand, it is used for glass production, fiberglass and also as abrasive for cutting stone as well as sandblasting.

For the pure, fine quartz sands, they can also be used in the purification of water systems. There are also little chips of quartz that are found in items like:

• Televisions
• Computers
• Watches
• Clocks, and;
• Stereos

Quartz is found in the above mentioned items because when quartz is placed under pressure, they generate an electric voltage that can control all of the frequencies of electric impulses.

In the petroleum industry, sand slurries are actually forced down the oil and gas wells when under very high pressure and this is a process that is known as hydraulic fracturing.

With this high pressure, it fractures the reservoir rocks and also, the sand slurry gets injected into these fractures. And then, the durable sand grains get to hold the fractures open once the fracture has been released.

As for these open fractures, they help in facilitating the flow of natural gas straight into the wellbore.

Top 10 Importers Of Quartz In 2017

Based on the reports generated by OEC; Observatory of Economic Complexity, the top importer of quartz placed on 9.7 percent is Norway.Meanwhile, the other countries that import the most quartz are:

• Norway at 9.7 percent, and;
• China at 8 percent
• Japan at 7.4 percent
• The United States at 6.3 percent
• South Korea at 5.3 percent
• Malaysia at 4.3%
• France at 4.4 %
• Germany at 2.8%
• Russia at 2.3%
• Belgium at 1.6%

Top 20 Quartz Exporting Countries In 2017

Top 5 Quartz Exporting Continents In 2017