Dull subject but makes a change from Coronavirus, travel, visas etc.
Does anyone know where I can buy silica sand preferably in Siem Reap but if necessary from elsewhere in Cambodia?

For those unfamiliar silica sand is sand used to make glass (NOT construction sand). A lot of it is mined in Cambodia and exported so I thought it would be easy to find. Not so. I am only looking for about 160 kilos which is roughly equivalent to 3 bags of cement.

Also looking for some rubberised or plastic style flat strips (non-adhesive) around six inches wide. About 20 metres needed.

https://www.go4worldbusiness.com/member ... -ltd-.html

Eight Nine Enterprise Co., Ltd.
Supplier : Sea sand, river sand, silica sand
Established: 2012

Contact Details:
467, Taphul Village, Sangkat Svaydangk
Siem Reap
Cambodia

monomial wrote: ↑Fri Jun 12, 2020 3:11 pm https://www.go4worldbusiness.com/member ... -ltd-.html

Eight Nine Enterprise Co., Ltd.
Supplier : Sea sand, river sand, silica sand
Established: 2012

Contact Details:
467, Taphul Village, Sangkat Svaydangk
Siem Reap
Cambodia

Sorry already been to this location. It does not exist.

Just out of curiosity, are you going to make glass?

daeum_tnaot wrote: ↑Fri Jun 12, 2020 5:08 pm Just out of curiosity, are you going to make glass?

No, its for laying artificial grass.

samrong01 wrote: ↑Fri Jun 12, 2020 6:04 pm

daeum_tnaot wrote: ↑Fri Jun 12, 2020 5:08 pm Just out of curiosity, are you going to make glass?

No, its for laying artificial grass.

OK, you have me curious now. Why silica sand ?

OK, silly me, I should have used google search first.

https://r.search.yahoo.com/_ylt=AwrgEa6 ... q_Jb677AY-

In case anyone is slightly interested above is result of my grass laying. Although I never found any silica sand and had to lay it without the sand it still came out OK. Its better to have the silica sand though to maintain stability; construction sand should not be used as a substitute. If anyone is interested in doing something similar in their yard in Siem Reap I have a team of guys who are expert in laying grass and in concrete work. Their work is to western standards. Anybody interested can contact me.

In the course of my search I came across some interesting facts. Apparently, due to massive corruption, sand mining in Cambodia has been banned even though it was once a huge industry (see thread from 2017).
Cambodia is one of the few countries in the world that has silica sand and a licence has been issued to two companies only to mine and export only this type of sand to Taiwan. Unfortunately that does not mean its available in Cambodia.

Amongst all the people I spoke to including sand sellers, glass sellers, etc. not a single person knew that glass is made from sand. I wonder how many people on the forum do not know that. The characteristics of silica sand are its white colour and it is composed of semi-spherical grains. Construction sand is made up of jagged sharp grains which bond well with cement. I once worked in a glass factory and have seen how the sand is fed into furnaces together with recycled glass.

And if you do find enough silica sand you could have a go at making your own crystal ball. Here is my first attempt and it's good for telling your future in Cambodia.