Overview
High-purity quartz sand refers to a high-purity non-metallic mineral raw material with a certain particle size specification and SiO2 purity higher than 99.9% produced by a series of physical and chemical purification technologies from natural quartz minerals. It is a hard, wear-resistant, and chemically stable silicate mineral. High-purity quartz sand has high purity and good quality. The quartz products produced have excellent physical and chemical properties such as high temperature resistance, corrosion resistance, low thermal expansion, high insulation and light transmittance. It is widely used in photovoltaics, electronics, high-end electric light sources, thin film materials, national defense science and technology and other fields. It is an irreplaceable raw and auxiliary material for the high-end manufacturing industry. At present, the highest purity that can be mass-produced on a large scale can reach 99.999% (5N) and above, but there are only a limited number of countries in the world that can mass-produce 5N on a large scale, mainly concentrated in developed countries such as the United States, Norway, and Japan. China mainly relies on imports.
There are two methods for preparing high-purity quartz sand: physical method (also known as mechanical crushing method) and chemical synthesis method. The mechanical crushing method uses natural crystal as raw material, crushes it, and then undergoes magnetic separation, flotation, acid leaching, drying, and roasting to obtain finished quartz. This process is mainly restricted by the maturity of the purification process technology, the purity of natural crystal, and the depletion of reserves. The chemical synthesis method is to use silicon-containing compounds (such as SiCl4, CH3SiCl3, and Na2SiO3, etc.) for chemical synthesis, which can be divided into gas phase synthesis method and liquid phase synthesis method (chemical precipitation method, sol-gel method, silicon tetrachloride liquid phase hydrolysis method, etc.) process. Compared with the products purified from natural high-purity quartz, synthetic quartz sand can achieve higher purity, and is expected to reach 6N-7N level, but the process is relatively complex and the equipment requirements are high, which affects the development of large-scale industrial applications.
Industry Policy
High-purity quartz sand is one of the important raw materials in the fields of semiconductors, photovoltaics, optical communications and electric light sources. Its development has attracted much attention from relevant national departments. In recent years, the state has announced a number of industrial policies and laws and regulations to encourage the development of the industry. The development of high-purity quartz sand will have a relaxed policy space.
Industrial Chain
The upstream of the high-purity quartz sand industry's industrial chain is the raw material link, which mainly includes quartz ore, natural crystal, silicon tetrachloride, etc.; the midstream is the high-purity quartz sand production and supply link; the downstream is mainly used in electric light sources, high-end optical devices, laser devices, fiber optic communications, semiconductors, photovoltaics, microelectronics and other fields.
High-purity quartz was originally obtained by deep purification from primary and secondary natural crystals. The process of preparing high-purity quartz sand from natural crystals is relatively simple. The finished quartz sand is obtained after the crystal ore is crushed, magnetically separated, floated, acid-leached, dried, and roasted. However, the crystal resources are gradually scarce, the cost is high, and the impurity content is high, the energy consumption is high, and the product quality stability is poor during the production process. Since the 1970s, the United States and other countries have begun to explore the use of ordinary quartz to replace crystal to prepare high-purity quartz sand. Extracting high-purity quartz sand raw materials from natural rock minerals is the most advanced technology in the world for producing natural high-purity quartz sand. The quality requirements of the ore are high and the purification technology is complex. At present, only a few companies in the world, such as Unimin in the United States, TQC in Norway , and Quartz Co., Ltd., have the ability to mass-produce high-purity quartz sand on a large scale. At present, quartz minerals are gradually replacing crystals as the main raw material for high-purity quartz sand.
Development Status
With the rapid development of global photovoltaic, semiconductor and other industries in recent years, the global demand for high-purity quartz sand has also grown rapidly, promoting the development of the global high-purity quartz sand industry. According to data, the global high-purity quartz sand industry market size in 2022 is US$2.548 billion, a year-on-year increase of 25.52%; the output is 2.847 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 11.17%; the demand is 2.843 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 11.14%.
After decades of development, my country's high-purity quartz sand industry has developed very rapidly, and has achieved self-sufficiency in the field of mid- and low-end products. However, due to the late start of my country's high-purity quartz sand industry and the strict technical blockade and export restrictions imposed by leading countries in the field of high-purity quartz sand, my country has a certain gap with foreign countries in high-end product technology, so high-end products are still dependent on imports. With the rapid development of my country's photovoltaic, optical communications, semiconductor and other industries in recent years, coupled with the continuous breakthroughs made by enterprises in the field of high-end products, my country's high-purity quartz sand industry has developed rapidly. According to data, in 2022, the market size of my country's high-purity quartz sand industry will be 6.837 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 28.44%; the output will be 954,000 tons, a year-on-year increase of 18.36%; the demand will be 1.151 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 15.68%. In terms of output structure, at present, my country's high-purity quartz sand products are mainly mid- and low-end products, accounting for about 97.12% of the output in 2022, while the output of high-end products accounts for only 2.88%.
Related report: "China's High Purity Quartz Sand Industry Market Operation Trends and Investment Strategy Planning Report 2024-2030" released by Zhiyan Consulting
From the perspective of industry prices, in recent years, my country's demand for high-purity quartz sand has continued to grow, especially in the context of the rapid growth of demand for high-purity quartz sand in the photovoltaic industry, the supply and demand in the industry has continued to be tight, pushing the price of high-purity quartz sand to continue to rise. According to data, according to data, in 2022, the average price of low-end and medium-end quartz sand products in my country is about 4,482 yuan/ton, a year-on-year increase of 2.94%, an increase of 2,551 yuan/ton compared with 2015; the average price of high-end quartz sand products is about 32,125 yuan/ton, a year-on-year increase of 28.5%, an increase of 9,143 yuan/ton compared with 2015.
Competitive Landscape
At present, the main suppliers of high-purity quartz sand in the world include the United States Unimin (now Sibelco), Norway TQC and China Jiangsu Pacific Quartz Co., Ltd. Among them, Unimin (now Sibelco) is the world's largest high-purity quartz sand production enterprise, with sufficient mineral resources. Its high-purity quartz sand purification technology is at the leading level. It has the advantages of large industrial output, specialized preparation, high degree of automation, high level of testing, and stable product quality. It almost monopolizes the international market for 4N8 and above high-end quartz sand, and is in an absolute leading position in the industry. In the domestic market, the high-purity quartz sand project of Quartz Co., Ltd. was put into production in 2009, breaking the monopoly of foreign products in the domestic quartz sand market. In recent years, through continuous research and development and improvement, Quartz Co., Ltd. has continuously expanded the production scale of high-purity quartz sand and related products, accelerating the process of import substitution of domestic products.
Jiangsu Pacific Quartz Co., Ltd. was founded in 1992 and was listed on the A-share main board of the Shanghai Stock Exchange in 2014. The company mainly uses natural quartz ore materials to engage in the research and development, production and sales of high-purity quartz sand, high-purity quartz tubes (rods, plates, ingots, cylinders), quartz crucibles and other quartz materials; the products are mainly used in light sources, photovoltaics, optical fibers, semiconductors, optics and other fields. It is one of the few companies in the industry that has the ability to produce high-purity quartz sand and quartz glass materials for semiconductors, photovoltaics, and optoelectronics and their precision-processed products. The company has a strong influence and competitive advantage in the quartz industry at home and abroad. According to data, in 2022, the company's high-purity quartz sand output was 36,905 tons, the export volume was 30,836 tons, and the self-use volume was 5,326 tons; the high-purity quartz sand business revenue was 121,453.66 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 302.29%, and the gross profit margin was 79.46%.
development trend
The photovoltaic industry promotes the development of the industry. With the introduction of national policies such as "Carbon Neutrality", "14th Five-Year Plan" and "China's Photovoltaic Development Outlook in 2050", the photovoltaic industry has increasingly highlighted its national strategic position. At this stage, the photovoltaic industry is a new energy industry that requires national fiscal subsidies. The country's macro-control policies and measures on photovoltaic installed capacity, subsidy scale, and subsidy intensity will directly affect the production and operation of companies in the industry. With the improvement of relevant national financial assistance policies and the continuous promotion of other support policies in the industry, the photovoltaic and its accessories industry will develop in the direction of a more complete industrial chain and higher quality products, and this development will inevitably drive the development of the high-purity quartz sand industry upstream of the photovoltaic industry chain.
The tight supply and demand situation will continue. High-purity quartz sand is the main raw material for manufacturing high-performance materials such as silicon dioxide film, quartz glass, semiconductor silicon and optical communication cables. It can be widely used in modern science and technology and economic fields, with high added value. Under the current circumstances, my country's integrated circuits, optical fibers, lasers, aerospace, military, fine chemicals, analytical chemistry and other high-tech fields are developing at an astonishing speed, and the demand for high-purity quartz sand is very strong. However, the preparation technology of its high-end products is monopolized by the United States, Germany and other countries, and the technology and export are restricted. At present, the purification and large-scale mining of quartz sand in my country are still in a difficult exploration stage. Therefore, in the short term, my country's high-purity quartz sand raw materials will still be in short supply, and the tight supply and demand situation will continue.
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