Darwin Office
3/85 Winnellie Road,
Winnellie NT 0820
Telephone: 08 8947 5002
Registered Office
Wardell Nominees Pty Ltd
NT House Level7, 22 Mitchell Street
Darwin NT 0800
Telephone: + 61 8 981 7144
Frac Sand
East Coast Australia currently has a natural gas shortage crisis with Government intervention in the spot market looming. This shortage is predicted to increase into 2023. Frac sand used in Northern Territory is set to dramatically increase as soon as 2024 with the opening of the Beetaloo Gas Shale Basin just south of Darwin. This follows on Northern Territory Fracking enquiring with 135 recommendations for the safe use of onshore fracking being recommended and implemented by the Northern Territory government and industry stakeholders. It is predicted during production over three hundred wells will be drilled per year with expectations wells being drilled 3km horizontally and require up to 3000 tonnes of sand required per kilometre for each well. Currently frac sand is delivered over 2500km from Adelaide at huge expense. Territory Sand will be the closest, lowest cost producer in the Northern Territory with three frac sand deposits located in close proximity to the Beetaloo Sub-Basin.
| Year | 2023-2025 | 2025-2040 | 2040 onwards |
| Wells Required Per annum | 20-40 | 200-300 | 30-40 |
| Tonnes required per hole (kt) | 3 | 9 | 9 |
| Sand Tonnage required per annum (kt) | 60 to 120 | 1800 to 2700 | 270 to 360 |
| Sum of tonnes for time period (kt) | 180 to 360 | 27000 to 40500 | 270 to 360 per year |
Deloitte partnering with Core Energy and Resources and EPC Technologies. (2020)
Well forecast: Sand Requirements for Appraisal and Production Wells
Territory Sands has three Frac sand deposits totalling 108 million tonnes of sand dedicated to servicing the Beetaloo Basin with a trucking distance of 50-150km from most Beetaloo Basin gas wells.
Frac sand (proppant) needs to be a high quality clean rounded quartz sand. The basic premiss of fracking shale basins is to pump large volumes of sand (around 3000 tonnes of sand per horizontal kilometre) and water under high pressure into drill holes to infill and hold/prop open fractures in target shale formations to create the conductivity necessary for oil and gas to flow from low-permeability shale up to surface through the permeable sands.
Frac sand is highly specialized silica because it plays a critical role in the design of the hydraulic fracturing treatment. The standards and specifications are established by the American Petroleum Institute (API) and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). These organisations describe sand in terms of grain size, crush resistance, roundness and mineralogy.
Territory Sands Frac sand from the Larrimah area is a high purity 99.3-99.4% SiO2 after processing.
Silica Sand
Silica sand is used predominantly in the glass-making and foundry industries. Asia is the biggest sand market in the world. Due to environmental and social concerns, beach and river dredging for sand is beginning to cease. Illegal beach sand mining can cause erosion, salination of aquifers, loss of protection against storm surges and impact on biodiversity. New large-scale deposits with secure and responsible supply chains are being actively explored and being prepared for mining due to the rapid exhaustion of current supplies worldwide.
IMARC Group has predicted global silica sand market will grow from US $7 billion in 2018 to US $20 billion in 2024. High-grade silica used in value from US$30 dollars a tonne for 99.5% silica to US$12 000 per tonne for 99.999% pure silica. High-quality silica is used in semiconductors, solar panels LCD glass and optical fibres.
| Use | Specification | Asian Market Sized (Mt) |
| Float Glass | 99.5% SiO2 | 60-65 |
| Container Glass | 99.5% SiO2 | 60-65 |
| Cover Glass | 99.5% SiO2 | 5-6 |
| Smart Glass | 99.5% SiO2 and low iron | 5-6 |
| Specialist Glass | 99.5% SiO2 and low iron | 0.5-0.66 |
Asian Market Sand Demand
At present there is a global shortage of silica sand. In 2019 120 million tonnes of silica sand was produced with China, Taiwan, and Japan as the largest importers. Global consumption is set to grow by 3.2% per year through to 2022 with the Asia Pacific at a higher growth rate of 5-6% per year.
Drill Results 2022
Foundry Sand
The UN estimates some 50 billion tonnes of sand are used each year. Foundry sand is one major use along with construction and glass making. Foundry sand also known as casting or moulding sand is bonded to be used in ferrous and nonferrous metal castings. It can handle the high temperatures of casting requirements and be used in a range of shapes and sizes. Typically, a green sand is used which is a mixture of high-quality silica sand and about 10% clay, 2-5% water and about 5% carbonaceous mould. Sand is a key mineral used in foundry sands along with olivine, chromite, zircon and spherical ceramic sand. The market from 2022 to 2030 is set to significantly grow. IMARC Group has predicted global silica sand market to grow from US $7 billion in 2018 to US $20 billion in 2024, with foundry sand being the second largest use after the glass industry.
- Foundry sand is clean, uniformly sized, high quality silica sand used in foundry casting processes. The sand is bonded to form moulds or patterns.
- Potential foundry sand from Larrimah averages 99.45% SiO2 after processing.
- It is suitable for use as foundry sand and can be resin coated
- Foundry sand is used to make casts and moulds for car and tractor parts, pumps and a large range of machinery parts
- Foundry sand is resin coated (RCS) to help it’s green strength at high temperatures.
- RCS is used to make ball valves, stop valves, gate valves, diaphragm valves etc