Improvement of low-grade silica sand deposits in Jeddah Area

Abstract EN

There is no shortage of high-grade silica sand deposits in Saudi Arabia, but they are located about 1000 km from Jeddah industrial city.

Therefore, the transportation cost becomes formidable.

There are several low-grade silica sand deposits near Jeddah, but they require upgrading to provide raw material acceptable for the glass industry.

This study reports beneficiation of two low-grade silica deposits near Jeddah.

Techniques involving froth flotation, shaking table and magnetic separation have been utilized for the purpose.

Proposed flow sheets and processing plant layouts for upgrading the impure sand to a level acceptable for bottle grade silica sand are presented.