EDUCATION CENTRE

Life without Sand

An Essential Ingredient

Throughout history silica has played a major positive role in the development of civilisation, from flint axes to silicon chips. Most processed minerals, from construction raw materials and industrial minerals to metallic ores and coal, contain a proportion of silica in the form that they are consumed.

The construction industry is founded on silica with every major product from construction aggregates, cement and concrete to building bricks and dimension stone based on materials containing a high proportion of crystalline silica. Manufacturing industries relying on silica include glass, ceramics, metallurgy and chemicals, silica being both a key ingredient and process aid.

Although developments have been made into alternatives or replacement materials there are some applications where replacement is simply not possible on technical grounds and others where replacement is not feasible on cost and logistic grounds. These factors have led WBB MINERALS to be a leading force in the development of silica and silica products for industry.