High purity silica sands, comprising of 95%+ SiO2, are an important raw material industrial mineral used for glassmaking, ceramics, foundry casting and horticultural, sport and leisure uses.

Extraction is most heavily concentrated in Cheshire in the North West, accounting for approximately 38% of the total UK output. The Cheshire deposits are Glaciofluvial in nature and occur as infill between underlaying clays and mudstones and overlying boulder clays.

The waste derived from silica sand extraction comprises of fines material (<0.063mm) separated during the screening process, containing a mixture of silt, clay and other impurities.