Environment and development in coastal regions and in small islands

CSI papers 1

Seeking Sand Source Alternatives: an Island Case Study

Malcolm D. Hendry and Robert I. Bateson,
Marine Resource and Environmental Management Program, University of the West Indies, Barbados

Abstract

At present rates of demand onshore sand reserves in Anguilla will be depleted within one to two years. The present reserves are provided from the only licensed quarry mining operation. Evaluation of the alternatives provides the following options for Government planners:

1. Back to the beaches: this alternative is not acceptable to Government, who are attempting to prevent further damage to beaches, dunes and coastal environments, given their critical importance in national economic development.
2. Sand imports: to satisfy island sand demand of about 20 000 cubic metres per year, this option will require a substantial increase in sand imports over those previously brought to the island. There are a range of sources for this material, all of which would need to be shipped in.
3. Offshore sand: geophysical and geological investigations identified three large pockets of sand on the shelf close to the north coast. Each pocket contains several million cubic metres of sand, more than enough to satisfy demand for the foreseeable future.

It is technically feasible to mine the offshore sand. Assessment of this operation from an engineering, environmental and cost/benefit perspective suggests that one of these deposits, located off the northwest coast, has a good overall profile as a sand source, and potential impacts associated with extraction can be mitigated. This sand could be slurried to the site of the existing active quarry for washing and stockpiling. Both the imported and shelf sand sources require resolution of potential land use conflicts in the context of the Draft National Land Use Plan. However, for a twenty year sand supply, shelf sand could be mined and stockpiled at approximately 50% of the cost of imported sand, with a net saving of foreign exchange, allowing for the costs associated with mitigation measures and washing to remove salt.

This paper was published in a peer review journal

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