Evaluation of Natural Sudanese Sands as Potential Sources for High-Purity Silica (Sio₂)

The growing global demand for high-purity silica (SiO₂) has encouraged extensive research on the identification and beneficiation of natural silica resources. Silica plays a fundamental role in several industrial sectors including glass manufacturing, electronics, semiconductors, ceramics, solar energy technologies, polymer composites, and chemical catalysis. The objective of this study is to evaluate the potential of natural sand deposits from three Sudanese regions—Bara (North Kordofan), North Omdurman (Khartoum State), and Al-Matamma (River Nile State)—as possible raw materials for high-purity silica production. Representative sand samples were collected from the selected locations and subjected to physical and chemical characterization processes. The experimental methodology included drying, particle size analysis through mechanical sieving, silt content determination, bulk density measurement, alkali fusion treatment using sodium carbonate, acid leaching using hydrochloric acid, and thermal calcination at elevated temperatures. The chemical composition of the treated samples was determined using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis. The results demonstrated significant variations in silica concentration among the studied deposits. The sand collected from Bara exhibited the highest SiO₂ content reaching approximately 96.43%, followed by North Omdurman with 94.84% and Al-Matamma with 92.42%. The purification process effectively reduced impurity levels, particularly iron oxides and alumina. These findings indicate that Bara sand deposits represent a promising raw material for the development of local silica-based industries in Sudan. The study highlights the economic and industrial potential of utilizing indigenous silica resources to support national mineral processing industries.