A key ingredient in fracking is a “proppant” like sand. But not just any old sand. The sand used in fracking typically used in fracking is silica and comes from the Midwest–Wisconsin and other states. U.S. Silica is one of the largest sand companies in the world. Strangely enough, it’s headquartered in Maryland. Proppants are so-named because after being washed into fractures the sand stays behind to “prop open” the cracks, allowing oil and gas to escape from shale. Always looking for an edge, particularly against competitors that manufacture ceramic proppants, U.S. Silica recently announced a new resin-covered sand product line…
