It is easier to make “sand” in a rock crushing plant at a quarry. It is colloquially called “rock dust.” It is the result of well tuned cone crushers and a wet screening process that can remove organics like clay from the aggregate. This is a common product in industry.
The whole “sand shortage” story seems to be politically motivated and some kind of inflated commodity scam by someone with a lot of money. There are alternatives, it is just slightly less convenient than an antiquated resource that could be scooped up and used without investing in large equipment to process it.
Landscaping I do not know about, but sand for construction is rarer than you might think. For construction, you want clean, fairly uniform particles of very hard mineral. Quartz sand mined from rivers is often good. Beach sand usually has a lot of salts in it. Desert sand is often too soft, degenerating toward clay. Saudi Arabia imports construction sands and gravels for this reason.
Latest Answers