Saudi Arabia should prioritise the development of the kingdom’s abundant silica sand and quartz resources and remove obstacles hindering investment in the sector, the Saudi Mining & Minerals Exhibition & Symposium 2015 was told 29 October.

“There are many resources of silica sand and quartz in Saudi Arabia,” industrial mineral specialist at the Saudi Geological Survey (SGS) Miam Habib said. “This is the right time to start to issue licences for the development of silica and quartz. There is great potential for silicones, particularly in the construction industry. All hurdles should be removed which are holding back the development of the silica and quartz industry.”

Silica and quarta were comparatively neglected in the 1970s and 1980s, but have attracted growing SGS attention since the start of the century as demand soared for solar panels and other products made using silica and quartz materials.

The conference was told that the SGS has completed investigation of six quartz resources in different parts of the kingdom.