Quantifying the informal sand market and its consequences: The case of Brazil

Abstract

Sand is a globally abundant resource and one of the most used minerals in construction. Local scarcity is becoming more common owing to the increasing demand in urban areas and stricter environmental regulations. In addition, the environmental impact caused by sand mining is worsened by clandestine extraction, which operates in a predatory manner. To reach the targets proposed by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, a country needs to combat the illegal extraction of sand, and this is only possible by knowing the local situation that needs to be changed. This study aims to estimate more accurately the total sand consumption that is being illegally extracted and is used by the Brazilian construction sector, its consequences, and ways to mitigate it. The method is applicable to any country with a similar problem. The results show that 76% of the extracted sand in Brazil is being mined illegally. The sum of unspent funds in environmental recovery, annual uncollected taxes, and annual unpaid social charges due to the activities of unregulated mining companies were equivalent to USD 774 million (0.05% of Brazil's GDP) in 2020. Strategies for concrete and mortar industrialization, and the substitution of natural sand by secondary materials could mitigate half of the illegal sand market that supplies sand for Brazilian construction, but it requires efforts of the entire construction sector, society, and government.