High Purity Silica

Page last updated:4 September 2026

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As part of the Australian Critical Minerals Research and Development Hub, Geoscience Australia undertook a detailed mineral potential study of high purity silica (HPS) to identify the favourable geology and regions across Australia that have the greatest potential to supply raw material suitable for the production of silicon.

Why did we research High Purity Silica?

High purity silica is the only naturally occurring and economically viable feedstock for the production of silicon. Silicon, a critical mineral, is the key component in advanced modern technologies such as semiconductors and solar photovoltaic cells.

The global transition towards a net-zero carbon future means there is a growing demand for new discoveries of HPS to meet the needs of the ever-expanding silicon production industry.

In recognition of this strategic importance, the Australian Government formally listed silicon as one of Australia's 31 critical minerals in 2022.

While silicon is among the most abundant elements in the Earth’s crust, it does not occur naturally in its elemental form and is commonly found in various silicate minerals. Quartz (SiO2), the second most common mineral on Earth, is the primary form of silica and the key raw material of silicon production.

Despite its widespread presence, finding silica with the required purity needed to develop high-tech applications remains a challenge due to its rarity.

Silica, used in the production of metallurgical-grade silicon, typically contains 98-99% SiO2 and for semiconductor and solar cell production, purity must exceed >99.995% SiO2.

We researched high purity silica to better understand the geological factors that control its formation in Australia and to identify where potential deposits are likely to occur.

As per caption

Geoscientists assessing quartz in the Mount Isa - Cloncurry region

What we did

As part of this project, Geoscience Australia:

  • undertook a summary review of the state of the HPS industry, exploration and deposit styles in Australia;
  • delivered a mineral potential assessment to identify the regions of Australia that have the greatest potential for the discovery of suitable HPS deposits;
  • defined controls on targeted HPS mineral systems and determined relevant datasets to support the mineral potential assessments;
  • identified required analytical techniques to deliver an ‘Explorer’s Toolbox’ that will guide explorers through the analytical processes required to discover and define high-quality mineral deposits;
  • developed High Purity Silica Economic Fairways, a decision support tool which combines user selected infrastructure and economic-based criteria to identify locations which are economically viable for HPS.

To complement this work, the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) provided access to the processing technologies and knowledge needed for high purity quartz (HPQ) production, in particular, high temperature chlorination for all future Australian projects.

HPQ is used for the manufacture of the consumables (fused quartz products e.g. crucibles) required in ultra-high purity silicon production, plus a range of optical and specialty applications.

What was Geoscience Australia’s goal?

The Future Made in Australia agenda set out a vision for building sovereign processing and manufacturing capability, not just mining raw materials, but capturing more of the clean energy value chain. Through this project, Geoscience Australia provided the precompetitive geoscience knowledge needed to help industry assess high purity silica opportunities with greater confidence and support government decision-making on future silicon supply chains.

This work supports the Future Made in Australia initiative and Australia's Critical Minerals Strategy by strengthening the evidence base for exploration, investment and downstream processing. It also aligns with Geoscience Australia's broader 10-year strategy to unlock Australia's resource potential through expert geoscience knowledge and analysis, helping Australia navigate the transition to net-zero and strengthen sovereign industrial capability.

Find out more

Geoscience Australia’s National-scale mineral potential assessment of high purity silica mineral systems in Australia provides the first continent-wide view of the nation’s HPS potential.

The assessment identifies both known and emerging areas that may support future exploration in line with Australia’s strategic priorities.

Map of Australia showing modelled mineral potential for high purity silica (HPS), with a blue-to-red scale from low to high potential. High-potential areas (yellow-red) cluster in the Gascoyne region and southwest Western Australia, the Georgetown and Coen Inliers in far north Queensland, and scattered belts across the NT, eastern Queensland, and eastern NSW/Victoria. Black dots mark known HPS deposits and occurrences, concentrated in WA and around the Georgetown Inlier, with scattered points elsewhere. Thin white lines outline geological regions, and open squares mark state/territory capital cities.

Knowledge-driven weighted sum mineral potential model for High Purity Silica in Australia, shown with geological regions outlined to show where the areas modelled as high potential sit in relation to geological regions. Geoscience Australia, 2026.

Data and Publications

Factsheets

Conference papers and presentations