The nation’s largest silica sand provider — U.S. Silica — projects a 15 percent drop in demand.

美国最大的石英砂生产商美国石英砂公司预计需求将下跌15%。

Silica sand is also ideal for use in fracking. And that meant for it was significant when their business was booming.

石英砂还是压裂技术中的理想材料，这意味着在商业繁荣时它的用处很大。

That concern has a ripple effect through many industries, including silica sand. Several mines have already closed or suspended operations because of decreased demand.

这一担心通过包括石英砂在内的多个行业造成了连锁效应，几个矿场已经因为需求减少关闭或暂停营业。

Their competitor, Unimin, stopped construction last year to expand its Utica facility. But plant manager Nick Fetig says there is still demand for silica sand outside the fracking business.

该公司的竞争者Unimin去年就暂停工厂的扩展建设，但工厂经理尼克称，在石油开采行业之外的行业仍对石英砂有需求。

" Glass, " first of all, can be a substance, something you make by heating up, for example, silica sand (a certain substance) to a very high temperature.

“玻璃” ，首先，可以是一种物质， 你通过加热制成的东西，例如，硅砂（某种物质）到非常高的温度。