Description

Quartz is a mineral, which is a member of silica groups and one of the most abundant minerals on earth. It is present in silica rich-igneous rocks and it is the basic materials of sandstone and is found in metamorphic rock lime gneisses, schists, charnockites and khondalites if pure, quartz is a colorless, transparent, and very hard crystalline material of glass-like look. The well-known rock crystals – six-sided prisms with a six-sided pyramid at their ends – are simply well formed crystals of quartz.

Quartz appears in a number of colored varieties, like amethyst (violet), citrine (yellow), or smoky quartz (gray, brown to black). It also occurs in dense forms with no visible crystals, like the multi-colored agate and the gray flint. The term ‘quartz’ is often referred to as a synonym for silica. Silica (SiO2) is one of the ubiquitous materials in the earth’s crust. Quartz, quartz crystals, quartzite, silica sand, sand (others) and moulding sand are all coined together in one generic name ‘silica minerals’.

This is because all these commodities are essentially crystalline silicon dioxide (SiO2) with variations mostly related to their crystalline structure and presence of minor or trace impurities. Silica occurs in several forms giving rise to different varieties.

Quartz is used for a wide range of applications such as kitchen countertops, bathroom vanities, and counters, and tailor-made solutions for home and commercial interiors. Quartz counter tops are specialty stone countertops created by combining ninety percent (90%) ground quartz with ten percent (10%) polymer resins and pigments. It appears like a rough granite-like rock. Quartz countertops or slabs are strong and durable.

Quartz is non-porous, so it can resist discolouration mush better than other materials like granite, concrete and marble. It can withstand stains marks and because they are non-porous in nature, it offers excellent advantages against bacteria and viruses.

Quartz slabs is more widely used in the construction industry owing to its favourable resistance to harmful chemicals and its longetivity, thereby boosting the growth of the market.

Quartz slab, countertop or worktops are used as a work surface in kitchens, bathrooms or workrooms.

The global quartz slab market is predicted to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of four point nine percent (4.9%) from 2022 to 2026, from a value of USD 10.6 billion in 2020 to USD 14.8 billion by the end of 2026.

The growth of the market can be attributed to the increasing demand for quartz slabs from residential and commercial applications and to raising awareness about the benefits of using quartz slabs over other materials such as granite and marble.

On the basis of type, the market is segmented into worktops, window sills, floor & step tiles, wall tiles, and others (lab, etc.). The worktops segment is expected to account for the largest share in terms of value in 2022. On the basis of application, the market is divided into residential applications; commercial applications; and other applications (such as lab, etc.).

The residential segment is expected to account for the largest share of the global quartz slabs market in terms of value in 2023. The growth of this segment can be attributed to the increasing demand for quartz slabs from new construction and renovation projects.

Nigeria has a huge infrastructure deficit with total infrastructure stock in the country amounting to thirty percent (30%) of gross domestic product (GDP), falling short of the international benchmark of seventy percent (70%) of gross domestic product (GDP), set by the World Bank.

With Nigeria’s population growing at a rate of over two pint five percent (2.5%) per annum, and an expected population of four hundred million (400,000,000) people by 2050, the current state of infrastructure in the country is likely to be overwhelmed in the very near future.

In terms of housing, Nigeria currently has a housing deficit of seventeen million (17,000,000) houses and it has been estimated that the county needs to build a minimum of seven hundred thousand (700,000) houses per year in order to close the gap. However, Nigeria currently builds just two thousand (2,000) houses per year.

In 2019, the Ministry of Works and Housing set aside a total sum of 19.8 billion Naira or $55 million for the construction of two thousand, three hundred and eighty-three (2,383) units of housing under the National Housing Program, across the thirty-six (36) states of Nigeria.
Private investors are also active in the construction sector through the development of projects aimed at residential customers and corporate establishments. Commercial estates are being built by private investors to meet the housing demand of high earning citizens in choice locations across Nigeria.

Currently, residential housing unit developers in Lagos develop and sell properties in highbrow areas of Lagos for as much as one million dollars ($ 1,000,000).

The increasing need to build new residential houses, factories and offices to accommodate Nigeria’s large population has created a large, sustainable and growing market for quartz slabs.

This report seeks to confirm the financial viability or otherwise of establishing a quartz slab production plant in Nigeria capable of producing various sizes of quartz slabs using quartz powder, quartz sand (silica sand), polymer resins and pigments as the raw materials. The raw materials would all be locally sourced.

The capacity of the proposed plant is twenty (20) slabs of three thousand, five hundred (3,500) mm by two thousand (2,000) mm mazimum size per hour and the plant would operate at eighty percent (80%) of the installed capacity for double shifts of eight (8) hours per day for three hundred (300) working days per annum.