Sourcing quartz and quartzite from China

Zero duty

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 26 September 2026, quartz other than natural sands, and quartzite whether or not roughly trimmed or merely cut into blocks or slabs, of heading 2506 carried 0% duty on goods from China, with no anti-dumping measure. For other building stone blocks, see our granite and sandstone sourcing guide.

Natural silica sands are in heading 2505, fused quartz articles in 7020, covered in the quartz glass guide, and engineered quartz worktops in 6810, covered in the quartz worktops guide; confirm the commodity code.

Purity and silica dust

High-purity quartz is sold on chemistry: SiO2 content and the parts per million of iron, aluminium, titanium, alkali metals and boron, plus particle size distribution and moisture. Ask for a certificate of analysis by ICP for each lot and test the first shipment independently. For finished components, see our quartz glass articles guide.

HSE's workplace exposure limit for respirable crystalline silica is 0.1 mg/m³ over eight hours, so fine quartz powders need a safety data sheet and dust controls where they are handled and bagged; see UK REACH for registration requirements and exemptions. Naturally occurring quartz that is not chemically modified is exempt from registration.

Worked duty example

Take a hypothetical order of 40 tonnes of high-purity quartz sand, entered under 2506 10 00 00: £36,000 free on board plus £6,000 of freight and insurance gives a customs value of £42,000. High-purity quartz carry no duty, so import VAT of 20% on £42,000, £8,400, is the only tax. A VAT-registered importer normally reclaims it, so the border adds no lasting cost. Step by step: UK import duty and VAT.

Inspection checklist

Chemistry: silicon dioxide content and trace elements such as iron, aluminium, titanium, sodium, potassium, lithium and boron by ICP-OES on each lot, with limits in parts per million in the contract and a split sample sent to an independent lab for the first shipments.

Sizing and moisture: particle size distribution by sieving with test sieves to ISO 3310-1, or by laser diffraction for fine powders, against agreed limits for oversize and fines, and moisture by oven drying on arrival so you are not paying freight on water.

Packing and safety: bulk bags built and tested to ISO 21898 with a sealed liner, lot labels matching the certificates, clean loading checked for contamination, and a safety data sheet that addresses respirable crystalline silica, whose workplace exposure limit is set in HSE's EH40.

What goes wrong

Quartz fails on impurities and size. A lot with a few ppm more iron or aluminium than specified can ruin glass colour or crucible performance, particle size drifts so there are too many fines or oversize grains, and wet quartz cakes and adds weight you pay freight on. Bags that are not sealed pick up contamination in transit.

Ask for ICP analysis and a sieve analysis for each lot, test retained samples independently, check moisture on arrival, specify lined, sealed bulk bags with lot labels, and inspect bag integrity and labels before loading.

Cambridge China Bridge sources lump, crushed and high-purity quartz and quartzite, with chemistry, sizing and packing agreed before the order. Find out how we source industrial minerals.