Uses of Industrial Quartz

I’m putting this in Stonework because quartz *is* a stone, but mostly because I can’t think of a more applicable place and I had to put it somewhere...

When I cleaned out my mom’s shed to use it as a chicken coop, I found a 100 lb bag of “industrial quartz.” I barely managed to get it into the wheel barrow and it’s still sitting there in its substantial plastic packaging. I got it down the hill... not sure if I’ll ever get that wheelbarrow back into general use. 😄 I’ve been trying to find out what it might be useful for, but I’m coming up empty online. I probably just don’t know the right questions. It must be a left-over from the construction of mom’s house, but as far as I’m aware, no sandblasting came into the process. I don’t know the mesh... couldn’t find it on the bag, but turning that bag around this way and that isn’t easy, so...

I have no idea what to do with it. Any ideas?

I know the Biodynamic people use fine ground quartz agitated in water as one of their main "preparations", if you're into that sort of thing.  It might need to come from special sources though.  If it is just quartz it is chemically pretty harmless and you could simply sprinkle it around to be rid of it, even around food crops, with no danger.  Think sand...a light colored sand is often mostly quartz.

Alder Burns wrote:I know the Biodynamic people use fine ground quartz agitated in water as one of their main "preparations", if you're into that sort of thing.  It might need to come from special sources though.  If it is just quartz it is chemically pretty harmless and you could simply sprinkle it around to be rid of it, even around food crops, with no danger.  Think sand...a light colored sand is often mostly quartz.

This was my first thought too, traditionally they pack the fine ground quartz into a cow horn and then bury it over the course of a summer. Then that quartz is used as a spray to 'draw in the energy of warmth and light'

Quartz sand is commonly used as medium for water filtration. Maybe it was bought for that purpose?
For its chemical composition: https://www.evers.de/en/products/everzitr-filter-materials/filtration/quartz-sand-and-quartz-gravel/
I don't see any reason not to use it in the garden (instead of perlite). After 2-3 years of heavy use as filter medium for our pool, we replace quartz sand. The used material (it is exactly the same thing, but a lot of organic material and dirt in between) is then spread over lawn. That is how I use it. I don't think it will have any ill effect on health of veggies and us, since it is not readily reactive. I don't see any reasons for not to add to a compost pile, or use as a mulch layer.

Thanks, guys. I figured it was inert, but wanted to make sure. I guess if it’s not too fine I could use it in the chickens’ run. I guess dust must not hurt them much (respiratory-wise) anyway, since they dust-bathe, but I’m not too keen on fluffy quartz. I’ll have to break down and slit the bag to find out how finely ground it is. I didn’t want to in case I needed to keep it for some use but if I’m spreading it out it doesn’t matter.

No swimming pool, and there is a water filtration system, but it uses uber-expensive proprietary filters and softener salt. I guess it’s gonna stay a mystery as to why it was in there. 🤷‍♀️

As for cow horns, my girls say they will not donate.... they think they’re prettier with them. 😉 Silly vain little heifers.

for humans at least breathing in quartz dust can cause silicosis
breathing quartz dust should be avoided
if cutting a quartz bearing rock one should use water to keep the dust down
if it is a nice coarse angular sand then it should make a good potting medium where you want to avoid overwatering
great drainage if it is coarse enough

At Home Depot it is found under "Cement & Concrete Aggregates" so I assume it is used to make some sort of concrete or cement??

Granusil Mineral Fillers are produced from high purity quartz sands. They are used for a wide variety of industrial and contractor mixed applications which need a reliable contribution or require chemically inert structural filler. Unimin silica sand is renowned for quality, uniformity and consistency.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Granusil-50-lb-4095-White-Silica-Sand-520-50-4095/207131948

That could be it, Anne... There Is concrete of course, though it was ordered in wet... maybe they needed some later for some reason. I wondered about that but I didn’t turn up the Home Depot link. At any rate it seems I can safely dispose of it, taking into account how fine it turns out to be ground up. It’s not possible to tell by just feeling through the bag since it’s very tight and fairly thick-feeling. I’ll figure it out once I open it. Then I can have my wheelbarrow back! 😋