On June 5th, reports surfaced indicating that the ongoing construction of AI computing power infrastructure has fueled a price hike within the optical fiber and cable sector. Notably, high-purity quartz sand, particularly its premium variants, has witnessed a significant price escalation due to a pronounced imbalance between supply and demand.

A representative from a quartz product processing company elaborated that high-purity quartz sand is integral to various stages of optical fiber preform fabrication, as well as in the production of ancillary products for optical fibers. The burgeoning optical fiber industry is thus propelling the market for high-purity quartz sand, conferring advantages upon enterprises capable of manufacturing top-tier 6N grade sand.

Pricing within the downstream processing segment adheres to market principles, being swayed by factors such as production costs, supply-demand dynamics, and prevailing market conditions. Data sourced from China Powder Network reveals that the prevailing quoted prices for high-purity sand utilized in optical fiber production span from 48,000 yuan per ton to 55,000 yuan per ton.

The self-sufficiency rate for domestically produced high-purity quartz sand of 6N grade and higher remains notably low, exacerbating the supply scarcity. The production of quartz-based optical fibers primarily encompasses two key processes: preform preparation and optical fiber drawing, with high-purity quartz sand playing a pivotal role at every juncture.