SiO2 98%
Fe2O3 0.1%
Al2O3 0.6%
CaO 0.3%
LOI1000 0.4%
Average sizing 0.3mm
Portage Silica sand has many applications. It can be used in glass manufacturing, foundries, ceramics and other specialty products.
Portage sand also performs well in high strength concrete.
The silica content is suitable for a variety of uses including:
architectural high gloss finish stone for export dimension stone for export and domestic use landscaping and retaining wall boulders road base
concrete aggregates and other general-purpose aggregates;
cement & mortar grade sands pipeline bedding, packing and ballast sands and coloured sands.
Since being purchased, the mine has seen an increased valuation from $5.2 million to $122 million.
The current mining lease and permit allows extraction of up to 1 million tonnes of material per year up until 2033.
The full PPM resource is available for processing and offtake (40.0Mt). Currently there are no requirements to manage waste, overburden or spoil in the project plan due to the full resources being utilised
The Importance of Silica
Silica, silica sand or silicon dioxide is used for a wide variety of applications, particularly in industrial processing. Silica itself is quartz that over time, through the work of environmental factors has been broken down into tiny granules.
Did you know speciality glass, like your mobile phone screens, are made from sand? Now imagine a world without these devices, weâ??ve all become accustomed to using our devices to communicate with our loved ones, do work, our banking and always be connected. Sand is the second most mined resource in the world, with demands both globally and domestically here in Australia.
One of the areas where silica is used, is in all types of speciality glass which includes test tubes and other scientific tools, incandescent and fluorescent lamps, and television and computer CRT monitors etc. In fact, itâ??s also a crucial ingredient to construction aggregate.
Ultimately, the way in which silica sand is used is dependent on a variety of factors such as the chemical, physical and mechanical properties including colour, grain size, stability and strength. Part of these characteristics are dependent on the way in which the mineral is processed after the mining process.
