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Sand, It's Not Just For Beaches Anymore

Rocks, Minerals, Sand, Aggregates a Vital Part of Modern Life

Sand is one of the most common materials on the earth's surface. It is a naturally occurring material resulting from the physical and chemical breakdown of rocks. Sand is derived from many rock types some of which are calcium carbonate (limestone), aluminum silicate (feldspar) or silicon dioxide (quartz). Many products used in everyday life are made from sand. Different kinds of sand are used for varying industrial purposes. For example, sand used for cement and concrete can be very different in physical and chemical composition than sand used in the making of fiberglass, or container glass.

Making Sand Castles

Sand has a significant value to society. Children play in it, vacationers relax on it, and the general population relies on products made or derived from it. Many people see sand as readily available and relatively simple to find. However, this is not always true. It takes time and money to develop a deposit to produce sand products to be used for construction and industrial uses. Without certain types of sand, countries would not have glass products, iron and steel components for cars and trucks, steel structures, and concrete and asphalt for roads, bridges and houses.

Sand and gravel are sometimes dug up from under water in an excavation called a pit. A dredge is commonly used. Dredges, often as large as a three-story house, floats in a natural or artificial pond. It uses buckets on a continuous chain or rotary cutting heads and a suction hose to remove material from below the water surface. Equipment on the dredge separates mineral particles from the sand and gravel. Boom conveyors on the dredge then deposit the waste in the area already mined. A large dredge can handle 1,000 tons of gravel per hour.

The construction aggregate industry is the largest consumer of sand for use in concrete and asphalt products. Another large consumer of sand is the container glass industry.

Container or (Flat) Glass

Flat glass is produced for residential housing and office buildings. Specialty products like containers, mirrors and table tops use flat glass.

Glass Fiber House Made With Crushed Stone, Aggregates and Sand Products

House Made With Crushed Stone, Aggregates and Sand Products

Fiberglass or glass wool manufacturing is a large volume user in the construction industry. Fiberglass insulation is most often used in the construction of new homes and office buildings to help control heating and cooling as well as noise. It is also used in older homes and offices during renovations.

Foundry Sand

Foundry sand is used in creating cores and molds used in the casting of iron, steel, copper and aluminum products. In construction, steel and iron beams-known as girders-are used in the building of bridges, large office buildings and some homes. Copper pipes, aluminum supports and even the hardware and hand tools used in construction had their origins at the foundry. Foundry sand is the second largest industrial use of sand in terms of tons consumed.

Blasting Sand

Sand is used in the construction industry as an abrasive to clean metal, concrete, brick and wood.

Other Construction Related Products

Stone, Rocks, Minerals, Gypsum Sand is used in stucco, plaster, roofing, bricks, grout, non-skid floors, paint, plastics, sealants, rubber, adhesives and recreational products.

Sand is used on the backs of roofing shingles as a non-stick component and in some bricks, cement, stucco and plaster for color, strength and weatherability. Sand is used as a flattening agent in paint and dispersant for pesticides. It also improves toughness, increases scrubability, prevents chalking and improves weatherability. In plastics it enhances flexural strength and provides dielectric properties.

Recreational Products

Sand is used for golf course bunkers and top dressing sand, play sand, pool filter media and baseball diamond infield mix.

Baseball Playing Field Sand and Player Pool media sand is sold for use in filters for pools at residential homes.

Baseball infield mixed is generally made from sand which has a content of reddish silt or clay adhering to the grains. This gives the aesthetic color to baseball and football fields.

Health Aspects

Producers are well aware of any safety aspects for this type of product. Producers of sand take exceptional care in preventing dust on site and in production buildings. All workers are provided with safety equipment and are very well protected. In addition, the sand industry has been regulated for many years by OSHA, MSHA and EPA.