Thanks for that.quote: "The sand that was used in the...

OriginallypostedbyApoptosis

Haha,I'vejusttranslatedonepagetoEnglish.Pastedbelow.ThankyouMonteforthelink.

PLEASENOTE:itreferstoconstructionsandWHICHISNOTOURTARGETMARKET.Howeveritreferstothe180milliontonnesof"glasssands"requiredeachyear.Itsalsojustagreatread.

Apologiesforthewalloftext!
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Afterdrinkingwater,sandistheworld'slargestexploitedresource.InVietnam,therawmaterialisalreadyscarce-andcriminaltradersmakethegrainstomoney.Lineduplikepearlsonastring,deep-watercargoshipschugdownVietnam's"RedRiver"anddockattheharborpiersofthecapital,Hanoi.Inspectorsrecordshipnamesandplacesoforigin.Guardswatchoutthatnotruckjustunloadsitselfsecretlyfromthedust.Eventhepoliceareinvolvedandcheckifalldocumentssubmittedaregenuine.Overthepastfewmonths,theyhaverepeatedlydetectedsmugglingships,loadedtothebrinkwithAsia'snewgold:buildingsand.OntheriversofVietnamexcavatorssuckupthepreciousbuildingmaterialfromthegroundaroundtheclock.OnsomeVietnamesebeaches,theyleavedeepholes,becausethesandthusobtainedcanbeexporteddespiteitshighsalinitytoSingaporeorSouthKorea.Sandpriceshaverisenby200percentinthepastsixmonths.IfthepredictionsofPhamVanBac,thedirectorofVietnam'sDepartmentofConstructionMaterialsintheMinistryofConstructionoftheSoutheastAsiancountry,cometopass,thecurrentpricehikeswilleventuallygodowninhistoryasharmlessanecdotes.Becausefromtheyear2020,thetimesarefinallyover,inwhichVietnamcouldbuildonsandasbefore.Thecountrycurrentlyneedsabout130millioncubicmetersofsandperyear.Twoyearsago,itwasjust90millioncubicmeters.Butallcallsformoderationsofarhadonlyoneeffect:theypusheduptheprices.NotonlyVietnamisfacingalackofsandVietnam'ssandcrisishaslongbecomesoacutethateventhegovernmentcabinetinHanoidiscussedtheissue.Now,therulingCommunistPartyhopestotemporarilycontaintheproblemwithtwomeasures.Someprovinces,whichuntilnowhaveprohibitedthesupplyoftheirownnaturalresourcestotherestofVietnam,mustlifttheprohibitions.Inaddition,researchwillseekwaystodevelopalternativerawmaterialsforsandproduction.ButHanoi'shopesforalternativesarenowliterallybuiltonsand.ButnotonlytheSoutheastAsiancountryfacesalackofsand.Theeconomicdevelopmentofthewholeworlddependsonthestuffalreadyknownandlovedbychildrenallovertheworldasplayingmaterial.Thatitwillendwiththeglobalsandboxgamesisnothingnew.Alreadyin2014,theUnitedNationsEnvironmentProgram(UNEP)paintedsuchagloomypictureinthereport"Sand,scarcerthanyouthink",thatsomespeculatorsalreadybelievedinsandasthegoldandsilverofthefuture:"In2012,theyfellAccordingtoourestimates,nearly30billiontonsofconstructionsandareusedfortheproductionofconcrete.Thatwasenoughmaterialtobuilda27-meter-highand27-meter-widewallaroundtheequator."Lackingstatistics,nobodyknowsexactlyhowmuchsandwillbeusedforcoastaldevelopmentorroadworks.TheconservativeestimateintheUNreport:"Theworldcurrentlyconsumes40billiontonsannually,twiceasmuchasworld-wideriverssweepintotheseaeachyear."Thisfigureincludesthe180milliontonsofsandthatareusedbyindustryworldwidethemanufactureofglassscreensfromsmartphonesviacruisemissilestoartificialhipjointsareprocessed.The"SandMafia"carriesoffnorthoftheGangeswholemountainrangesNaturallyoccurringsand,accordingtotheauthorsof"Sand,scarcerthanonethinks",isafterwaterthelargestexploitednaturalresource.Vietnam'salarmcallsindicatethatsand,thoughfoundallovertheworld,couldbecomeasourceofconflictasmuchaswater.TheUnderworld,meanwhile,haslongsincerealizedhowmuchmoneythereisinthescarceresource-andmakesaheftycash.A"sandmafia"carriesentiremountainrangesbetweenthesouthernlowlandsoftheHimalayasandthenorthbankoftheGanges,indirectlyexacerbatingthefloodsduringthemonsoonseason.Environmentalistsprotestingagainstthedepletionrisktheirlivesaswellascompetitorswhowanttopushintothelucrativebusiness.Indiansandisusedbecauseofitscompositionworldwidewithpreferenceforsandblasting.TheglobalfinancialcenterofSingapore,whichproudlyreferstoitsironrulesandgreatsuccessesinthefightagainstcorruption,owestheglitteringfacadesofitsshoppingcentersandskyscraperstothedarkmachinationsofcriminalsandtradersinSoutheastAsia.With5.4milliontonnesperinhabitant-nearlysixmillionpeopleliveinthecity-theislandstateleadstheundisputedworldrankinginpercapitasandconsumption.24IndonesiansandislandshavebeencompletelyclearedtofeedtheconstructionboominSingapore.SingaporeisnowbuyingrawmaterialsfromVietnamtoMyanmaratpriceswellover$200aton.Sandcostjustthreedollars20yearsago.DesertsandislargelyuselessTheauthoritiesofthecity-state,whichforthepast40yearsincreaseditsterritoryby130squarekilometerswiththehelpofsand-dumping-thatisabout20percentoftheterritory-,cannotordonotwanttoexplainthecleardiscrepancyinthestatisticstothisday.Officially,Singaporeannuallyimportsabout520milliontonsofsand.TheSoutheastAsianneighboringcountriesdeliveraccordingtotheirowndocumentsbut640milliontonstothecity-state.ApparentlytheillegaltradeflourishesandSingaporeofficialsdonotwanttoknowanythingspecific.Sandgrainsaredefinedbygeologistsbysize:theyhaveadiameterof0.0625totwomillimeters.Buttheirnaturedecidesifandhowtheycanbeusedintheconstructionindustry.Desertsandislargelyuselessbecauseitisgroundbythewindaround.Civilengineersneedsandwithroughedges.Saltyseasandmustbewashedbeforeitcanbeused.ButsuchcostswereindifferenttothebuildersinDubai,astheyrealizedtheirgiganticdreams.ThelandwheretheBurjKhalifastands,thetalleststructureintheworld,comesfromthesea.SinceitwasminedintheGulfofArabia,marinelifethereislargelydead.ThesandthatwasusedintheconstructionofthegiganticstructurecomesfromAustralia.EvenwiththeGulf,Dubaidoesnotmakeendsmeetwithitsowndesertsand.Toensurethatthewhiteballsdonotdisappearwithoutatrace,sandwasimportedfromabroad,whichnowfillsinthebunkers-andmakesthegolfballsvisible.ChinahasusedtoomuchsandinfouryearsWithoutthesmallgrainsofsand,expertsagree,theworldwouldhavestoodstilllongsince.Buthowlongthedepletioncancontinue,isquestionable.PascalPeduzzi,oneoftheauthorsoftheUNstudy,explainedontheBBCthatChina,forexample,hasbuiltupasmuchsandinfouryearsastheUShasinthelastcentury.In2013alone,around146,400kilometersofroadswerebuiltintheMiddleKingdom.Around90percentofasphaltand80percentofconcretepavementsconsistofdifferenttypesofsand.India,theotheremergingeconomicnation,planstoinvest$107billionoverthenextfiveyearstobuild84,000kilometersofroadsandimproveinfrastructure.Wherethesandshouldcomefrom?Therearenodetailsfromtheplannersyet.Inviewofthesedevelopments,itisnotsurprisingthatinMalaysia,whichhasapopulationofaround30million,thegovernmentisalreadytakingdrasticmeasurestosatisfythehungerforrawmaterialsofthecountry'sconstructionindustry.Forexample,inthecityofIpoh.Thepicturesquelocationissurroundedbycountless,denselytree-coveredlimestonemountains.Meanwhile,acementfactorywasbuiltnearthecity,excavatorstearclay-coloredscarsinthegreenenvironment.Wholemountainsareclearedtodelivertherawmaterialfromwhichsandisgroundfortheconstructionindustry."Withus,theweatherchanges,"saysaresidentofthecity.0

Thanks for that.
quote: "The sand that was used in the construction of the gigantic structure (Burj Khalifa)comes from Australia."

I know this is construction sand which isnt a Market for VRX, but it would be interesting to know where it came from in Oz.