Non-metallic Minerals - American Glass Sands, Their Properties and Preparation (with Discussion)

In the present day manufacture of glass nearly pure quartz sands are used almost exclusively as the source of the silica, which is the major constituent of all common varieties of glass. Ordinary soda-lime, such as bottle, common tableware, plate, and window glasses, contains from 65 to 75 per cent. of silica. Occurrence Glass sands occur in nature either in the form of loose, unconsolidated sediments or in deposits in which the individual grains have been more or less thoroughly bound together by some cementing agent so as to form sandstones. While deposits of sand and sandstones occur both widely and abundantly distributed, deposits that are sufficiently free from other constituents than quartz grains, so that they can be employed in the manufacture of the better grades of glass, are, comparatively speaking, of rare occurrence. The major portion of the glass sand produced in the United States comes from sandstones. In order to be suitable for glass sand, they should be rather friable. The rock should break down readily along the cementing material between the grains and should not break across the grains rather than along the bond. Some of the sandstones used are so friable that only light shots of slow-burning dynamite are necessary to disintegrate them sufficiently for hydraulic mining, while others have to be passed through crushers in order to disintegrate the rock into its individual grains. MINERALOGICAL COMPOSITION An ideal glass sand is made up entirely of grains of the mineral quartz free from inclusions of foreign substances. Sands containing 100 per cent. silica, however, are not found in nature, although some very nearly approach this composition.