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Journalism of Courage
15 billion tonnes
was the global production of sand and gravel in 2000,if not a bit more. Together,they account for the largest material volumes mined in the world.
Rs22,000 crore
is estimated to be the value of Indias illegal sand mining industry alone. The Asia/Pacific region accounts for 56 per cent of the total demand of silica sand. However,the US is the most valuable silica sand market in terms of money,at around $1 billion.
70 per cent
of the worlds beaches are disappearing due to excessive sand mining,according to Sand Wars,a documentary on the business of sand mining. For two sea-front projects in Dubai,500 million cubic metres of sand was reclaimed from the ocean bed. That would take a row of trucks circling the Earth about 22 times to transport.
60 countries
are seeing illegal sand mining activities,according to a US watchdog.
Sand Wars Singapore
It is the worlds largest importer of sand. But recent reports suggest it has been expanding its coastline with illegally dredged sand from neighbours. Other countries in the region have banned sand exports,leaving a massive shortage in Singapore.
China
In June,116 boats carrying river sand were caught in Guangdong province in China. Officials have raised fines by 200 per cent.
AFRICA
A big part of Africa is affected by sand theft. Benin,Liberia and Senegal have banned coastal sand mining. But in Sierra Leone,this activity is rampant. Sierra Leones coastal erosion stands at 6 m per year.
US
The industry has been growing by nearly 10 per cent annually since 2005. The majority of the market size for mining is held by Texas and Illinois.
Sand is used in various industrial activities
* Construction: 80 per cent of concrete is made up of sand. An average six-room house uses 90 tonnes
* Land reclamation,rebuilding eroding coastlines: To reclaim 1 sq km of land from the sea,up to 37.5 million cubic metres of sand is needed,the equivalent of filling three and a half Empire State Buildings.
* Glass and ceramic industry
* Metal foundries
* Semiconductors,computer chips in electronics industry
* Hydraulic fracturing or fracking: A mixture of fluids and proppants are pumped at high pressure into a perforated well pipe to create small fractures in tight shale rock. The small fractures allow oil and natural gas to escape and flow out of the well.
* Water filtration and purification systems
