High-purity quartz ore is included in the national strategic mineral resources catalog

Recently, the Ministry of Natural Resources officially announced that high-purity quartz ore will be listed as China's 174th new mineral species and plans to include it in the "National Strategic Mineral Resources Catalog." This decision, approved by the State Council, aims to strengthen resource classification management and increase exploration and development efforts to comprehensively ensure the supply chain security of high-tech industries such as semiconductors and photovoltaics. According to the announcement, high-purity quartz ore must meet the requirements of silicon dioxide (SiO2) purity ≥99.995% (4N5 grade) and impurity and inclusion content that meets the needs of high-end applications. This is a key step for China to break through its dependence on "stuck neck" materials.

In recent years, China has discovered high-purity quartz veins in eastern Qinling, Henan, and Altay, Xinjiang, through a new round of mineral exploration breakthrough strategic actions. The ore-forming conditions are highly similar to those of the Spruce Pine mine in the United States (the core source of global semiconductor-grade sand). The research team has overcome the technology of deep purification and directional impurity removal. The pilot product purity has reached 4N8 grade (99.998%), and the metal impurity content is lower than 0.05 ppm, which can meet the high-precision requirements of semiconductor wafer manufacturing. Currently, a complete industrial chain covering exploration, purification, and application has been formed in China, laying the foundation for large-scale development.

The enhanced strategic position of high-purity quartz ore will directly promote the process of domestic substitution. Data shows that China's dependence on imported semiconductor-grade quartz sand has dropped from 80% to 50% in 2025, and is expected to reach 70% domestic production by 2030. In addition, policies are simultaneously promoting the formulation of industry standards, and domestic enterprises are accelerating their alignment with SEMI international standards to break the technological monopoly of Europe and the United States.

The establishment of the strategic position of high-purity quartz ore marks a new stage in China's key material independence. Our company will take technological innovation as its core driver, fully support the national strategies of "resource security" and "new productivity," and provide a more efficient and reliable Chinese solution for global high-end manufacturing.

Note: The content of this article is based on publicly available government information and authoritative industry analysis. Some data sources are public research reports and corporate disclosures. Specific project progress shall be subject to official announcements.