Sand mining is a practice that is becoming an ecological problem as  the 
demand for _sand_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sand)   increases in _industry_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industry)  and _construction_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Construction) . Sand is _mined_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mining)  from _beaches_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beach)  and inland _dunes_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dune)  and _dredged_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dredging)  from  ocean beds and _river_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River)  
beds. It is often used in  manufacturing as an _abrasive_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abrasive) , for example, and it  is used to make _concrete_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concrete) . As communities grow,  construction requires 
less wood and more concrete, leading to a demand for  low-cost sand. Sand is 
also used to replace eroded coastline. 
A related process is the mining of mineral sands, such as rutile, ilmenite  
and zircon, which contain industrial useful minerals, mainly titanium and  
zirconium. These minerals typically occur combined with ordinary sand. The sand  
is dug up, the valuable minerals are separated in water by using their 
different  density, and the remaining ordinary sand is re-deposited. 
Sand mining is a direct and obvious cause of _erosion_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erosion) , and also impacts the  local _wildlife_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wildlife) . For example, _sea  turtles_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_turtle)  depend on sandy beaches for their nesting, and sand mining has 
led  to the near extinction of _ghariyals_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghariyal)  (a species of _crocodiles_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crocodiles) ) 
in _India_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India) . Disturbance of underwater  
and coastal sand causes _turbidity_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turbidity)  in 
the water, which  is harmful for such organisms as _corals_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coral)  that need sunlight. It also  destroys _fisheries_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fishery) , causing problems for  people who rely on 
fishing for their livelihoods. 
Removal of physical coastal barriers such as dunes leads to flooding of  
beach-side communities, and the destruction of picturesque beaches causes 
_tourism_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourism)  to  dissipate. Sand mining is 
regulated by law in many places, but is still often  done illegally. 
New South Wales 

In the 1930's mining operations  began on the _Kurnell  Peninsula_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurnell,_New_South_Wales)  (_Captain Cooks_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_Cook)  landing  place in _Australia_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia) ) to supply the  expanding Sydney building market. It 
continued until 1990 with an estimate of  over 70 million tonnes of sand 
having been removed. The sand has been valued  for many decades by the building 
industry, mainly because of its high crushed  shell content and lack of organic 
matter, it has provided a cheap source of  sand for most of Sydney since sand 
mining operations began. The site has now  been reduced to a few remnant dunes 
and deep water-filled pits which are now  being filled with demolition waste 
from Sydney's building sites. Removal of  the sand has significantly weakened 
the peninsula's capacity to resist storms.  Ocean waves pounding against the 
reduced Kurnell dune system have threatened  to break through to _Botany Bay_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botany_Bay) , especially  during the storms of May 
and June back in 1974 and of August  1998.

Queensland
A large and long running sandmine in _Queensland_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queensland) , _Australia_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia)  (on  
_North  Stradbroke Island)_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Stradbroke_Island#Mining)  provides a case study in the (disastrous) environmental  
consequences on a fragile sandy-soil based ecosystem, justified by the provision  of low 
wage casual labor on an island with few other work  options.



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