In recent years, large scale sand-mining, which is banned in St. Eustatius, has taken place at Zeelandia beach. Although efforts were made to block vehicle access to the beach, individuals have, through the removal of vegetation, created a path in between the sea grapes to drive onto the beach.
Read MoreDeadlocked: economics versus the environment at New Zealand’s NZ$1bn sand mining project
Trans-Tasman Resources has been involved in a protracted legal battle over a proposed sand mining project off the New Zealand coast, which would see 50 million tonnes of sediment lifted and processed a year to mine for iron ore beneath the waves.
Read MoreThe recent killing of a reporter in India’s Uttar Pradesh state has exposed the dangers for journalists covering illegal sand mining and construction in the country. The sand mining industry is laden with corruption, and this puts journalists who cover the topic at an increased danger.
Read MoreResidents are pleading with the government to come to their aid as illegal miners continue to mine sand and causing grave environmental hazard to the community. They say that there is continuous 24-hour, 7-day beach mining taking place.
Read MoreWe are astounded to discover there are more stars in the universe than grains of sand on our beaches.
Read MoreNorth Korea might be making millions — and breaking sanctions — selling sand. Yes, sand.
North Korea is barred from exporting earth and stone under United Nations sanctions passed in December 2017. Trading North Korean sand is a violation of international law. Despite those measures, North Korea raked in at least $22 million last year using “a substantial sand-export operation,” UN investigators said in a report released in April.
Read MoreSatellites Show Scale Of Suspected Illegal Dredging In South China Sea
An unrelenting fleet of China-based dredging vessels are churning up the South China Sea. They are accused of acting illegally, and of causing ecological damage. Satellite images show the incredible scale of the activity.
Read MoreStripe picks $1 million in carbon-removal projects to spur industry
The billionaire brothers who control San Francisco-based online payments company Stripe are spending a quarter of a million dollars to import special sand to a remote Caribbean beach.
Read MoreSand is the single most mined commodity, eclipsing minerals and metals by a colossal margin. Around 85% of the material we pull up from the earth is sand, gravel or other aggregate materials. Globally our annual aggregate consumption is somewhere around 53 billion tonnes – the equivalent to every person on earth using 20kg of sand every single day.
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