Sand Mining Related Literature Review

Review of Related Literature

2.1 Introduction

Soil is an important source of raw materials such as clay, sand, gravel and minerals. It is a non- renewable natural resource with potentially rapid degradation rates and extremely slow reformation and regeneration process(Mwangi,2007). Sand is a cheap and heavy resource consisting of very small pieces of rocks and minerals, a result of weathering that forms beaches and deserts. River sand is extracted from riverbeds and banks; unscientific mining has led to the degradation and ecological imbalance around mining areas(Saviour,2012).

Gaddard (2007) realised that decisions on where to mine, how much and how often requires definition of "reference state" and sand budget. Reference state is the

Industrial sand and gravel are produced, processed and used in construction and industry all over the world. The leading nations in mining and processing sand and gravel are United States of America, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, India, Spain, Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa. As a cheap and readily accessible resource many companies are involved in its mining both legally and illegally without considering the damage they are causing to the environment (Draggan, 2008).

Soil mining and gravel extraction is a common activity in United States of America. A publication by Schaetzl (1990) showed that historically, from 1920s many states in USA relied on mining of gravel and sand for road and cement aggregate. The uses had doubled by 2008 to date. Sand and gravel are mined more than all other minerals in most States in America. According to Draggan (2008), USA is the largest producer and consumer of sand and gravel in the world as well as the leading exporter of silica sand to every region of the world. This is because it has extensive high quality deposits of the resource combined with technology to process it into any product. Construction sand and gravel are produced in all fifty states. The highest producers are California, Texas, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Arizona, Utah, Colorado and

Most important commercial sources of sand and gravel are river floods, river channels and glacial deposits. Goddard (2007) further noted that soil extraction and processing have significant impacts on scenic landscapes. Excessive extraction intensifies coastal and exposed hillside erosion, causing accumulation of seawater upstream of rivers, leaving the coasts more vulnerable to extreme weather conditions. Soil mining contributes to construction of buildings and development but can cause permanent loss of soil as well as major habitat destruction (Goddard, 2007). Kuttipuran (2006) reviewed soil mining in Indian communities and explained that as urban areas grow, less wood is used with more concrete structures being required leading to demand for low cost sand. Sand and gravel are most accessible cheap and basic raw materials for construction industry in India. There is a business of indiscriminate sand mining in public spaces in India. Soil mining is an environmental issue in India and public awareness of illegal extraction in states of Maharashtra and Goa is going on (Pereira, 2012). Bagchi (2010) supported Kuttipuran (2006) on that construction boom fuelled the demand for sand and gravel facilitating uncontrolled extraction which threatens existence of river