Final USITC Report on Chinese Quartz Imports June 2019 | Page 23

Quartz surface products are composed of three input ingredients: aggregates, binding
agents, and additives. Aggregates account for 93 percent of the mass in a quartz surface. 34 The
aggregate materials are quartz and silica minerals. The quartz and silica come from siliceous
natural stone materials or man-made materials, such as glass or ceramic materials. 35 The
binding agent used in quartz surface products is a polymer resin. Additives make surfaces more
aesthetically appealing by allowing quartz surface products to exhibit various colors or patterns.
Additives are other stone materials for pigmentation or larger particles of glass or metal flecks
for visual effect.
As shown in figure I-2, non-fabricated slabs of quartz surface products are manufactured
in a nine-step process. Slabs are then transformed into fabricated quartz surface products
through the fabrication process.
34
Caesarstone, "CaesarStone Quartz Surfaces: Fastest Growing Choice For Stylish, Durable, Kitchen &
Bathroom Countertops," Newsroom, March 27, 2006,
http://www.caesarstoneus.com/newsroom/press-releases/caesarstone-quartz-surfaces-fastest-
growing-choice-for-stylish-durable-kitchen-bathroom-countertops/ (accessed May 15, 2019).
35
Quarts and silica materials are plentiful, constituting 12 percent of the Earth’s crust. Mottana,
Annibale, Rodolfo Crespi, and Giuseppe Liborio, Simon & Schuster’s Guide to Rocks and Minerals, edited
by Martin Prinz, George Harlow, and Joseph Peters. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster, 1978, pp. 244-
246.
I-17