UK Frac Sand Resources

Although still just a glimmer in the gas man’s eye, the prospect of shale hydrocarbon (oil and gas) development in the UK has many companies thinking about the industrial minerals it will require. Chief amongst these is silica sand which is used as a ‘proppant’ in the hydraulic fracturing, or ‘fracking’, of shales to help release the gas. The UK has large resources of sand and sandstone, of which only a small proportion have the necessary technical properties that classify them as ‘silica sand’. Silica sand is high purity quartz sand that is used for glass production, as foundry sand, in horticulture, leisure and other industrial uses. When used as a proppant to enhance oil and gas recovery it is commonly known as ‘frac sand’. The UK is virtually self-sufficient in meeting its silica sand needs and extracts approximately 4 million tonnes per year from 40 quarries. The resources are varied but most production comes from Carboniferous age sandstones in central Scotland, early Cretaceous marine sands in Norfolk and glaciofluvial sands in Cheshire. As there is currently no production of frac sand in the UK, and the prospect of shale gas recovery becoming a possibility, it is timely to consider where ‘frac sand’ could be produced. Will supply of silica ‘frac sand’ be able to meet demand? Will it compete with other applications for silica sand? This presentation will consider those silica sand resources in the UK that may be suitable for ‘frac sand’ production. It will draw parallels with other industrial applications, notably foundry sand, which shares some common technical requirements such as particle shape and size distribution.