High-purity quartz (HPQ) is a critical raw material for strategic emerging industries, including next-generation information technology, new energy, and high-end manufacturing. Traditional HPQ resource evaluation systems rely heavily on experimental validation through mineral processing and purification. However, this approach suffers from paradigmatic defects, such as protracted cycles, high costs, elevated technical barriers, and significant risks regarding sample representativeness. Consequently, numerous geologically delineated industrial-grade ore bodies remain technically unviable resources due to the recalcitrance of key impurities, leading to substantial sunk costs. Based on the fundamental mechanisms underlying HPQ non-utilizability, this study identifies rigid technical bottlenecks within the purification process and proposes an innovative “two-stage progressive” methodology for efficient exploration and evaluation. Research indicates that the economic potential of high-purity quartz (HPQ) is not determined by the total SiO 2 grade, but is instead controlled by the content and occurrence of two types of recalcitrant impurities: fluid inclusions (especially small inclusions 99.9978%) after purification. In contrast, quartz from the eastern sector contains 30–50 ppm of Al and only achieves a 4N6 grade. This methodology implements an evaluation strategy of rapid exclusion and precise focusing, effectively mitigating the resource misallocation risks inherent in traditional methods. It provides an efficient, economical, and reliable technical framework for regional-scale rapid screening and strategic target selection of high-purity quartz resources.
Wang et al. (Tue,) studied this question.
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