Industrial sand producers in the US Midwest told IM they are seeing a dramatic increase in demand for frac sand, leaving glass and foundry industries short of material.
A leading industrial sand supplier in Wisconsin told IM: “Industrial sand is selling extremely well across the US due to the ongoing boom in oil and natural gas drilling. As a result there is now a shortage of silica sand for other industries like foundry and glass which are steadily recovering”.
Hydraulic fracturing (or "fracking") involves pumping large volumes of sand, water and chemicals into...