Extraction and consumption of surface minerals in the Netherlands, 1980-2001*
Many basic building materials such as gravel, sand and clay are extracted as surface minerals in the Netherlands. The stocks of most surface minerals are very large, but the degree to which they can be extracted is limited, mainly by spatial considerations.
| 1980 | 1990 | 1995 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001* | |
| Gravel | billion kg | |||||
| Extraction | 16.0 | 8.8 | 5.5 | 7.1 | 6.9 | 5.7 |
| Imports | 12.1 | 14.1 | 15.8 1) | 13.3 1) | 10.8 | 15.9 |
| Exports | 4.0 | 0.9 | 1.1 1) | 0.5 1) | 2.1 | 0.7 |
| Consumption | 24.1 2) | 22.0 2) | 20.3 | 21.6 | 19.4 | 21.1 |
| Concrete and mason sand | ||||||
| Extraction | 21.3 | 21.8 | 19.8 | 20.5 | 21.4 | 19.8 |
| Imports | 6.9 | 7.9 | 9.0 | 7.7 | 11.0 | 11.4 |
| Exports | 8.9 | 8.4 | 9.5 | 7.5 | 8.7 | 6.3 |
| Consumption | 19.3 2) | 21.3 2) | 18.7 2) | 22.2 1) | 22.5 | 24.7 |
| Embankment sand | million m³ | |||||
| Extraction | 53.0 | 48.3 | 52.2 | 53.2 | 60.5 | 58.4 |
| Imports | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Exports | 2.0 | 2.0 | 1.3 | 2.3 | 2.5 | 3.1 |
| Consumption 2) | 51.0 | 46.2 | 52.8 | 50.9 | 58.0 | 55.3 |
| Clay | ||||||
| Extraction | 3.6 | 3.1 | 6.4 | 3.0 | 2.4 | 1.5 |
| Imports | . | . | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Exports | . | . | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Consumption | . | 3.1 | 6.4 | 4.0 | 2.8 | 2.2 |
| Source: Directorate General for Public Works and Water Management, Road and Hydraulic Engineering Division. | CBS/EDC/Sept03/0067 | |||||
| 1) Estimates. 2) Calculated on the basis of the balance: consumption = extraction + imports - exports. N.B. The figures about imports, exports and consumption of gravel and concrete and mason sand come from Muskens (2000) and Hofstra (2002, 2003); the figures about extraction, imports and exports of embankment sand and clay come from LCCO (publication in preparation) and previous volumes of that publication. | ||||||
Annual consumption of basic building materials approximately 150 million tons
Total demand for raw building materials in the Netherlands is approximately 150 million tons a year. Of this, 10 to 15% comes from reuse. The other basic building materials are mainly extracted as surface minerals in the Netherlands. A small proportion come from abroad.
Resources large, extraction possibilities limited
In geological terms the Netherlands has extremely large reserves of most surface minerals, with the probable exception of gravel and high-quality silver sand. Exploitability depends to a great extent on spatial planning, social and economic aspects: clearing projects take up precious space and may pose a threat to nature and the landscape. This is why the term relative or societal exhaustibility is used.
Extraction and consumption of four surface minerals
Gravel is mostly used in the preparation of concrete and asphalt. A major proportion of the gravel used in the Netherlands comes from abroad. Some also comes from gravel extraction activities in the Netherlands, mainly in Central Limburg. The extracted and consumed quantities of gravel vary from year to year.
Some embankment sand is used for construction and highways. More than 50% is quarried from the large bodies of water, although increasing amounts are coming from the Netherlands Continental Plate in the North Sea. A striking feature is the strong increase in quarrying in 2000/2001. This is presumably a result of high demand for embankment sand for the IJburg construction project (in which islands are to be built in the IJmeer to provide residential housing).
Concrete and mason sand are mostly quarried from the major rivers in the centre of the Netherlands. The consumption and the quarrying of these substances vary from year to year.
Clay quarrying is conducted mostly along the major rivers in Gelderland. Approximately two-thirds of the clay quarried is used in the ceramics industry (bricks and roof tiles), with the rest going to dike reinforcement. As a result of the implementation of the Delta Plan for the Large Rivers, the use of clay for dike reinforcements went up temporarily in the mid-nineties.
Policy
The policy for the extraction of surface minerals has been set out until now in structure plans, such as the Second Surface Minerals Structure Plan (V&W, 2001). During the procedure for this structure plan, however, the government decided to run down its involvement as a director in this policy area. There is no longer any policy with respect to timely and adequate provision. There is a continuation in the emphasis on the spatial aspects of the policy and on sustainable raw-material supplies (the encouragement of careful and high-grade use, the encouragement of the use of secondary and renewable raw materials).
