While the shale phenomenon may be spreading, a U.S. Geological Survey report finds the United States will continue to lead in the use of sand for fracking. Natural sand grains are mixed into hydraulic fracturing fluids to prop open fractures in underground shale deposits to release trapped oil and natural gas. Advances in hydraulic fracturing, known also as fracking, has put the United States, and Canada to a certain extent, in leadership positions in terms of oil and natural gas production. The North American frac-sand market is a $2.2 billion industry and is expected to expand by as much as 8.9 percent each year through 2016. The United States by next year […]