The Sydney Sand Market

In the wider community, there is little information available to inform people about the construction industry resource requirements. Many people are unaware of the large volumes of sand consumed annually by the construction industry and of the need to plan long term to secure sand resources for a major city such as Sydney. Sydney currently consumes about 6.5 – 7.0 million tonnes of construction sand annually, some 50% of which is fine sand (ie 3.3-3.5Mtpa). In next 20 yrs +/- 66 million tonne of fine sand would be required to meet the needs of the construction industry.

The principal markets for fine sand are concrete manufacture, plastering, pipe and general filling. The properties of the sand and the distance of the source from the market influence the markets for fine sand sources.

In Sydney, construction sands traditionally are sourced onshore from a variety of beach, river and sandstone deposits up to 60km from the CBD. However, as these resources are exhausted or quarantined for conservation or planning reasons, companies have had to look farther afield. As a consequence t he industry is now reaching well beyond the physical footprint of the Sydney region, visiting the impacts of sand extraction on regional centres and rural communities. Currently, the Sydney sand market reaches as far north as Stockton (north of Newcastle), south to the Southern Highlands and Shellharbour and west to the Blue Mountains to find supplies of construction material.

Marine aggregate has been assessed as a viable replacement or complementary source of fine sand for Sydney and regional markets. The Company’s motivation for exploring marine aggregate resources offshore is to assess long-term options for the Sydney sand market within the context of sensible and risk-based resource management for the region.

For more detail on the supply and demand for construction sand, current resources and projected demand, please see the report below.

J. T. Pienmunne. J.T. & Whitehouse, J.; 2001: Supply and Demand for Construction Sand in the Sydney Planning Region. NSW Geological Survey. Geological Survey Report GS2001/086.