Industrial sand and gravel, often called "silica," "silica sand," and "quartz sand," includes sands and gravels with high silicon dioxide (SiO2) content. These sands are used in glassmaking; for foundry, abrasive, and hydraulic fracturing (frac) applications; and for many other industrial uses. The specifications for each use vary, but silica resources for most uses are abundant. In almost all cases, silica mining uses open pit or dredging mining methods with standard mining equipment. Except for temporarily disturbing the immediate area while mining operations are active, sand and gravel mining usually has limited environmental impact.

Trends indicate that demand for quartz crystal devices should continue to grow, and consequently, quartz crystal production should remain strong well into the future.Limited resources of natural quartz crystal suitable for direct electronic or optical use are available throughout the world. World dependence on these resources will continue to decline because of the increased acceptance of cultured quartz crystal as an alternative material; however, use of cultured quartz crystal will mean an increased dependence on lascas for growing cultured quartz.