Sand and aggregates, which include sand, gravel, crushed stone, block stone, and whole stone, are the basic materials used in the production of concrete, mortar, asphalt mixes, and more. In the global construction wave, sand and aggregates, the second largest natural resource consumed after water, support every foundation from small homes to skyscrapers.
With the depletion of natural sand resources and the tightening of environmental policies, efficient and environmentally friendly mechanisms for sand and gravel production have become the only way out for the industry. As a crushing solutions leader with 40+ years of experience, Andamine will analyse the core processes, technical challenges, and innovative solutions of modern sand and aggregates production to help you seize the first opportunity in the market.
According to statistics, the global annual consumption of sand and gravel aggregates exceeds 50 billion tons, supporting a $10 trillion + infrastructure market. It is expected to reach a scale of $15.5 trillion by 2030. Sand and gravel aggregates, as raw materials for infrastructure, are facing the predicament of depletion of natural sand resources – due to excessive mining and environmental protection restrictions, the demand for manufactured sand has soared by 40%.
Sand and gravel aggregates are the “basic fuel” for infrastructure projects:
The formation of natural sand to tens of thousands of years geological process, and human exploitation speed far beyond the natural added. Data from the China Sand and Gravel Association shows that the national natural sand mining volume in 2023 decreased by 42% compared with 2015, but the output of machine-made sand (sand produced by crushing and screening rocks through crushers) soared to 20 billion tons, accounting for 65% of the total sand and gravel consumption. Emerging markets such as Southeast Asia and the Middle East are also facing shortages of natural sand, with the annual growth rate of manufactured sand production capacity exceeding 8%.
As you can see by this picture, producing sand and aggregate involves a series of stages that transform raw rock material into finished products suitable for construction and other applications. At present, the construction industry mostly uses stone crusher plants for sand and gravel aggregate production, and the crushing process is central to this production. Below is a detailed guide on how to produce sand and aggregate through the crushing process:
Crushing is the “core link” of sand and gravel production. Through multi-stage crushing, the raw materials are gradually reduced from large pieces (particle size > 1 meter) to the target particle size (e.g., 5-20mm, 20-40mm). According to the process stage, there are coarse crushing, medium crushing, fine crushing/shaping equipment.
In the production of sand and gravel aggregates, enterprises often face the challenges of complex raw materials, environmental pressure, site constraints, efficiency, and cost conflicts. These problems directly affect the stability of the production line, cost control, and long-term revenue. Next, I will combine the customer’s specific scenarios to introduce targeted solutions for you.
The raw materials for sand and gravel production may be natural ores (granite, basalt), construction waste (concrete blocks, bricks and tiles), recycled aggregates (containing steel bars, plastic impurities), etc. The hardness, humidity, and mud content of different raw materials vary greatly. For example, steel bars mixed in the construction waste will scratch the wear-resistant parts of the crusher.
Solution:
Andamine 3-in-1 mobile impact crusher can be directly equipped with an iron remover + vibrating screen, completing the removal of impurities and grading at the same time of crushing; avoiding the entanglement of rebar and prolonging the service life of the equipment.
Dust (crushing and screening link), waste water (sand washing link), and noise (equipment operation) in sand and gravel production are the focus of environmental protection inspections. The dust concentration of the traditional production line is too high, which violates the environmental protection policy.
Solution:
Our crushing and screening equipment is equipped with a sealing cover to reduce dust spillage, and the inlet and outlet of the crusher are double sealed, which is less dusty and greener.
Some sand and gravel plants are located in mountainous areas, suburbs of cities, or temporary mining areas, with small sites and complicated terrain; or they need to adjust their production capacity frequently due to fluctuations in orders. The traditional fixed station needs to be installed by piling, with a long civil construction period (2-3 months), and the transfer site needs to be dismantled and rebuilt, with a high cost (about 30% of the total investment).
Solution:
Andamine mobile crushing plant adopts wheeled or crawler chassis, which can be driven directly to the raw material site; integrates feeding, crushing, and screening in one unit, integrating the crushing process and reducing the operation cost; and it can be put into operation in 14 days from ordering to installation.
Sand and gravel production equipment runs at high load for a long time, which is prone to wear and tear of wear-resistant parts (jaws, liners), overheating of bearings, failure of transmission system, etc., which affects customers’ production and brings high losses.
Solution:
Our crushing plant adopts IOT remote monitoring system, which can monitor and control the equipment operation data (such as vibration value and temperature) in real time, and warn the failures in advance (such as abnormal heating of bearings); and it supports 2G/3G/4G network, WiFi, wired network, and so on.
When choosing a supplier, you can’t just focus on price; you need to focus on suitability, serviceability and long-term value:
Adaptability:Can the supplier provide customised solutions according to your raw materials (hardness, humidity) and finished product requirements (specifications, grading)? For example, to deal with basalt, you need to choose cone crusher; to deal with construction waste, you need to choose impact crusher + iron remover.
Service:Does it provide on-site installation guidance, operation training, and 24-hour after-sales response? Andamine has 100+ service outlets around the world, and is available 24 hours online to answer your questions and solve your problems.
Long-term value:The energy consumption of the equipment (e.g. IE4 class motor saves 20% electricity compared with ordinary motor), the life of wear parts (the longer the replacement cycle of wear parts, the lower the cost).
Andamine’s crushing plants are built with key components that are well-selected and durable to ensure continuous operation.
Contact Andamine technical experts immediately to obtain a dedicated sand and gravel aggregate production solution! Optimize your processes, enhance product competitiveness, and achieve sustainable profitability.