# Sand & gravel

Loose rock grains dug from rivers and glacial deposits that become concrete, asphalt and road base: the bulk of all mined material.

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/sand_gravel/

Construction · No. 79

- Not on a critical list
 Construction · Foundation · Matter

Sand and gravel are the most mined materials on Earth, yet no one can say how much the world digs.

Chart: Illustration: Sand & gravel

##### Where it comes from

Chart: Map of where it comes from

Water and ice sort rock into loose grains in rivers, floodplains and glacial deposits, which are dug from pits or dredged from offshore banks.

##### Three things to know

1. Smil puts world use of sand, gravel, clay and stone at around 40 Gt a year, yet no world total exists.
2. Singapore reported 600 million t of sand imports over 2000-20, while exporters reported only 280 million t.
3. Desert sand is mostly useless for concrete, because rounded wind-blown grains behave differently from angular or river sand in a mix.

##### The journey

1. 1 **Rivers and ice**Glacial deposits, river channels, floodplains
2. 2 **Pit or dredge**Excavated on land or dredged offshore
3. 3 **Washing**Washed and screened by grain size
4. 4 **Stockpile**Held at the pit or yard
5. 5 **Construction**Concrete, asphalt, road base and fill

##### Go deeper pick a tab to open it in full

## Other sections

- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/sand_gravel/overview/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/sand_gravel/correlation/index.md)
- [Extraction](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/sand_gravel/extraction/index.md)
- [Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/sand_gravel/production/index.md)
- [Stocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/sand_gravel/stocks/index.md)
- [Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/sand_gravel/cycles/index.md)
- [Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/sand_gravel/trading/index.md)
- [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/sand_gravel/movement/index.md)
- [Criticality](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/sand_gravel/criticality/index.md)
- [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/sand_gravel/characteristics/index.md)
- [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/sand_gravel/emissions/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/sand_gravel/links/index.md)