Besides water, sand is the most consumed raw material in the world. It is not only used in the construction industry, but also widely used in glass and chip manufacturing. Recently, CCTV finance reprinted a CNBC report entitled "global sand shortage crisis", which has been widely concerned

          According to CNBC, the world consumes about 4.1 billion tons of cement every year in the field of construction. However, the amount of sand used is about 10 times that of cement. That is to say, in construction alone, the world consumes more than 40 billion tons of sand every year. If you build a 27 meter high and 27 meter wide wall with the sand, the sand wall can circle the earth.

          According to the United Nations Environment Programme, the amount of sand used in the world has increased by 200% compared with 20 years ago, partly due to the rapid development of urbanization. A lot of sand is used in building, bridge, road and sea reclamation projects. In addition, the silicon used in glass and chip manufacturing basically comes from sand. At present, the world is facing the shortage of chip supply, and with the distribution of the new crown vaccine, it is estimated that the world will need 2 billion glass medicine bottles in the next two years, which has intensified the demand for sand.

          Although one third of the earth is covered by deserts, the sand in deserts is too smooth and round for construction. The most common sand used in the construction industry is river sand, which is usually formed by weathering and water erosion. Although river sand belongs to renewable resources, the speed of regeneration is very slow. With the explosive growth of demand, the consumption of sand has exceeded the natural growth rate.

          China is a country with large mineral resources, and the amount of mine waste and tailings is also huge. Therefore, the efficient comprehensive utilization of mine tailings resources has become an essential measure for the sand and stone industry. Efficient utilization of tailings, construction waste and other resources can not only reduce the environmental burden caused by storage, alleviate the problem of insufficient sand and stone, but also reduce the production cost of sand and stone enterprises, and effectively improve the market adaptability and economic benefits of sand and stone enterprises.

Selected from：China Sandstone Network