Silica Sand prices for low Fe impurity, page-193

"Competition is not a threat, the market for silica sand is large enough to engulf anyone that pops up. VRX has also the advantage of the shear scale of the projects, we won't be anywhere near half way through our reserves before the others have been depleted."


Should we really be dismissive about the emergence of competing silica sands suppliers? VRX's massive resource notwithstanding, PEC, DRX and MLM claim to have supply of high-purity silica lasting for multiple scores of years. In the case of DRX and MLM, they're adjacent to the world's largest silica sands mine that Mitsubishi have operated since the sixties. You would think that Mitsubishi are the prominent supplier of high-purity silica into the Japanese market, if not the global market. It must be a distinct possibility that Mitsubishi can acquire DRX and/or MLM if needs be.

The advent of ample supply of silica sands can significantly reduce the price of the commodity, and this will be exacerbated by VRX commercialising its massive resource. So perhaps the rosy economics of projects such as VRX's (and its competitors) are not as solid as we might think?