Category: Sand Mining

For centuries, the massive sand dunes overlooking the warm waters off the South African east coast have created a majestic scenery, acting as a natural wall between the sea and the land environment. In recent years, mining companies have been eager to dig inside these dunes to extract the valuable minerals they contain.

People from Viapar, a coastal village in Tamil Nadu’s Tuticorin district, say they have never seen sea waves reach so close to their homes. Several neighbouring villages echo the same story as years of illegal mining have led to heavy beach erosion across the region.

Rampant sand mining will have dire ecological consequences, warn environmentalists.

From forcing the river to change its course, to affecting the groundwater tables and adversely impacting the habitat of micro-organisms, the ramifications of illegal sand mining are many.

The seemingly unceasing mining operation on the Yamuna and Hindon riverbeds in western Uttar Pradesh is encouraged by the increasing demand for sand for construction by realtors.

Illegal beach sand mining is reaching alarming levels along the 10 kilometers shoreline from the East of Jijel city to Oued Djendjen area, on the northeastern coast, Algeria.