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Quartz is an oxide mineral with a brittle tenacity. It is estimated to be the second most abundant mineral in the continental crust of the Earth. There are many different colors, varieties, and transparencies that quartz can come in. There are many different varieties of quartz like amethyst, onyx, rose quartz and tiger's eye, just to name a few. Depending on the type of quartz it can be anywhere from opaque to transparent in transparency and anywhere from colorless to black in color.

Quartz Extraction And Processing For Export

Extraction

Quartz is extracted by open pit mining, which involves extracting minerals from a burrow. Most of the time mining operations involve using bulldozers and backhoes to remove the soil and clay around the quartz to expose to the surface. On rare occasions, miners have to use explosives when the quartz they need to expose is deep underground. This extraction is done rarely because quartz can be damaged easily if suddenly exposed to a change in temperature, which an explosive blast would cause. Either way, once the quartz is exposed to the surface, it takes a team possessing small hand tools like chisels or picks to extract the quartz from the quarry.

Processing

Once quartz is mined it must undergo an extensive cleaning process to strip off physical flaws or chemical impurities. After being cleaned, the quartz is screened and then crushed into various sizes depending on its future use. Quartz goes through a process of being crushed by a crusher and then it is separated by a vibrating screen. Next, it is ground by a ball mill and lastly classifying into different sizes by the classifier. Quartz powder is manufactured by crushing the pure lumps quartz up into a fine powder bu using a grinder mill.

Shipping

Quartz is shipped in large shipping containers if it is being transported via large ocean freighters. If the quartz is being transported on land, it is usually done by using trains via the railroad or by large trucks. When shipping quartz types that are considered semi-precious gemstones extra precaution is taken to ensure that they are not damaged.

Applications of Quartz

Quartz has many different and various applications. Since certain types of quartz are considered semi-precious gemstones, they are often used in jewelry and stone carving. When quartz is ground up into quartz sands, they are used in the production of glass, fiberglass and as an abrasive in stone-cutting and sandblasting. Pure, fine quartz sands are also used in water purification systems. Small chips of quartz are found in clocks, watches, televisions, computers and stereos since quartz when under pressure can produce an electric voltage that can control the frequencies of electric impulses.

The Importers Of Quartz

A per the reports produced by the Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) Russia is the top importer of quartz at 12%, the only country to be over 10%. The next countries that import the most quartz are China (6.9%), the United States (6.7%), Japan (6.3%), Norway (6.2%) and South Korea (6.0%). The top quartz importer in South America is Venezuela (1.4%). In Africa, it is Nigeria (0.15%) and in Oceania, it is Australia (0.11%).