Overview

U.S. Silica's Ottawa plant is North America's largest silica production facility, mining fine grain, nearly pure quartz sandstone. The reserves are part of the St. Peter Sandstone Formation.

Our surface mines in Ottawa use natural gas and electricity to produce whole grain and ground silica through a variety of mining methods, including hard rock mining, mechanical mining and hydraulic mining. These silica products have a wide variety of applications, including glass production of all kinds, foundry and refractory sand, abrasives, polishes, paint and other fillers, filtration sand, frac sand and cement testing sands.

The Ottawa facility became part of the U.S. Silica family in 1987, and succeeds in continually improving its processes, products and services, making them the leading producer of silica products, with an annual production rate of 2.2 million tons of silica annually. Since acquiring the facility, we renovated and upgraded its production capabilities to enable it to produce multiple products through various processing methods, including washing, hydraulic sizing, grinding, screening and blending. 

The facility is located approximately 80 miles southwest of Chicago and is accessible by major highways including U.S. Interstate 80. 

Community

Ottawa employees volunteer their time and talents to many benevolent activities, such as youth programs and charitable foundations and boards.

The Ottawa plant maintains a high standard of environmental compliance and awareness. The property is a sanctuary for numerous species of wildlife. Therefore, the organization has contracted with "Pheasants Forever," a nonprofit conservation organization, in an effort to perpetuate the preservation of the "Upland" wildlife existing on the property.

 

Products

Delivery & Logistics

By Rail

Delivery by barge is also available. Call for more information.

By Truck

Our truck loading times are as follows:


Unground Bulk: 24 Hours/ Day

Unground Bag: Monday 7 AM - Saturday 5 AM

Ground Bulk: Monday - Friday, 7 AM - 9 PM

Ground Bag: Monday 7 AM - Saturday 5 AM

Packaging:


Unground: Bulk/Packaged (50# bags, 2,500# Bulk Bags)


Ground: Bulk/Packaged (50# bags)

Driving Directions

From Chicago

Take I-90 East from airport for approximately 1 mile. Exit on the right to I-294 South, which is also called the North-South Toll way. Head toward Indiana.  Pass through two toll gates.  After passing through the second toll, watch for signs for I-55 South.  Exit to the right onto I-55 South.  Go South approximately 40 miles to I-80.  Exit to the right and take I-80 West to Exit 90 which is Illinois Route 23.  Turn left on Illinois Route 23, and go South approximately 1 mile to Norris Drive, which is also Route 6.  Turn right on Norris  Drive and head West for approximately 1 mile to Boyce Memorial Drive.  Boyce Memorial Drive only goes to the left and is not a full cross street.  Turn left onto Boyce Memorial Drive and go approximately 1/2 mile to the U.S. Silica plant entrance on the right.  Go down the plant entrance road, through the gate and the plant office is on the right.

Careers

Careers at US Silica

Our Employees Are Our Most Valuable Asset

When you join the U.S. Silica team, you become a part of a resilient, dynamic culture. We're proud of our 100+ year legacy of doing things right, as we focus on the next 100 years by helping the communities where we live and work thrive.

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