SOURCE: Aggregates Business | June 27, 2025
Sand production is in the spotlight, and Weir is seizing the opportunity to solve producers’ sand supply challenges. Aggregates Business reports
Sand demand far outpaces supply, and construction material producers grapple with what industry experts acknowledge as the ‘big sand shortage’.
Sand is regarded as the second-most used resource after water, and its usage in a wide range of products from concrete to glass means demand seems to be ever-increasing.
Researchers at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands examined demand and found that growth in demand, especially in lower-income regions like Western and Eastern Africa and parts of Southern Asia, could rise by 269 to 500 per cent by 2060.
Their report stated: “International cooperation in sand extraction, material recycling and building technologies is essential in addressing the inequalities in access to shelter and resources for infrastructure. Better governance and planning will be needed to ensure future generations will have enough sand resources.”
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) found in 2022 that sand extraction is rising at around six per cent annually, with around 50 billion tonnes extracted globally. The UNEP researchers concluded that this rate was “unsustainable.”
“Our sand resources are not infinite, and we need to use them wisely. If we can get a grip on how to manage the most extracted solid material in the world, we can avert a crisis and move toward a circular economy,” GRID-Geneva director at UNEP Pascal Peduzzi said at the time of the report.
“To achieve sustainable development, we need to drastically change the way we produce, build and consume products, infrastructures and services.”
These statistics have led to a conversation around sand production globally, how it is extracted, and potential alternatives. While this focus is not new, it has started to impact what technology companies are turning to in key markets for their sand production businesses.
Weir’s global product manager for sand and washing plants, Peter Brewitt, said the business had seen shifts in key markets, including the US and Europe, with its Sandmaster equipment.
“The Sandmaster type technology has been standard across Europe for the past 20 years, and the US has only started adopting it relatively recently,” he told Aggregates Business at AGG-1/World of Asphalt 2025 in St Louis, Missouri (25-27 March 2025).
“There has been a slight shift in the acceptance of the technology. There has been a concentration on the sandscrews and bucket wheels and things like that, but people are beginning to realise how much more efficient the hydrocyclone-based technology is, and we believe we have the best cyclones and pumps on the market.
“It cuts the sand better, is cleaner, and recovers more. Old sandscrew technology means you’re losing 10-15 per cent of the sand, but hydrocyclone technology is recovering most of that.”
Weir released the Sandmaster in 2022 in response to customer feedback, which the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) listened to in several markets.
“Weir decided to manufacture sand wash plants because, like any product, it is important that it comes first from the customer and it is a customer need,” Weir’s vice president of strategy and transformation, Fred Bradner, said.
“We identified the need, and then we also found out there were many products that go into a sand wash plant that we already made.”
Weir designed the Sandmaster range to be portable and easy to assemble, operate, and maintain. This is partly made possible by the quality products Weir produces in-house through its global manufacturing facilities.
The Sandmaster wash plants include well-known parts from Weir, which are produced in-house to the company’s high standards. The Sandmaster sand wash plants also include WARMAN pumps, LINATEX rubber, ENDURON screens, Isogate valves, and CAVEX hydrocyclones.
The CAVEX hydrocyclones are mining-grade hydrocyclones adapted for the sand production industry. According to Weir, the LINATEX rubber lining used in the CAVEX hydrocyclones in Sandmaster plants is four times thicker than conventional linings used by some other producers. It is also included on all of the high-abrasion touchpoints within the machine. This enables customers to reduce their maintenance requirements and face less downtime.
The ENDURON screens have been a long-standing feature of Weir’s portfolio for the quarrying and aggregates industry. The design is well-regarded, and the polyurethane screen media and LINATEX rubber on all the hoses and touchpoints were developed in-house.
A WARMAN pump. Image/Weir
The Sandmaster plants are divided into the SP and DP series, which offer nuanced differences to suit the customer’s approach. Producers can make single-grade sand from the SP series. The SP series excels at removing excess fines or coarse material to deliver a low-moisture product that can be used for stockpiling or conveying. It can also be used to remove unwanted fines and/or clays, convert crusher dust, wash recycled or construction or demolition waste, or recover tailings and grit.
The DP series is capable of producing two separate sand products at the same time, including coarse and fine sand. Raw sand is separated by the split-deck ENDURON dewatering screen, with finer materials passed through into the sump. From there, it is pumped by a WARMAN WGR pump to the CAVEX hydrocyclone, which removes the ultra-fines before it is sent to the ENDURON screen for dewatering and discharged to the stockpile.
The versatility of the Sandmaster sand wash plants has been a key factor with a rise in producers using alternative materials, including crusher dust, to make manufactured sand.
Brewitt said the demand for manufactured sand is occurring in most major global markets.
“Natural sand is running out, so manufactured sand is becoming more and more important,“ he said.
“Crusher dust can be upgraded to manufactured sand with the correct washing, and that wasn’t the sentiment in the beginning.
“I think everyone thought manufactured sand might have been something new they needed to create, but now they’ve realised they just need to upgrade what they already have into a sellable material.
“In the past, it was just sitting there forever, but now, primarily due to legislation and particularly in Europe, local authorities are pushing this along and people are realising that there is quite a lot of sellable sand and aggregate to be made.
“We have to get the sand to a higher specification, a cleaner specification, and to do that, we have to adopt the newer technologies.“
As Brewitt described, some markets have come to rely on the sandscrew technology while others are pivoting to the hydrocyclone-based equipment, like the Sandmaster washplants.
Part of the reason producers are pivoting to the newer technology is the greater recovery rate of cyclone-based technologies. Hydrocyclone systems are better at capturing finer particles, while sand screws are better at dealing with coarse aggregates and changes in feed.
Brewitt told Aggregates Business about how one Weir customer in the US purchased the first Sandmaster unit in the country. Previously, using a sandscrew, they estimated they were losing around 17 to 18 per cent of material during processing, with the losses compounding over time. Since transferring to a 150 tonne per hour (tph) Sandmaster sand wash plant, they have been impressed by its performance and plan to purchase more in the future.
Another customer in Ireland was producing coarse sand with a large amount of waste product. By switching to a Sandmaster sand wash plant, they produced coarse sand and fine sand, which became certified asphalt sand and created a new revenue stream for the business. This customer estimated they saw a return on investment from their Sandmaster unit within the first year of ownership.
“A small amount of capital expenditure on a Sandmaster can pay for itself in 12 to 18 months. The return on investment is absolutely stunning,“ Brewitt said.
“If you could tell your finance manager that you’ll get a return on investment in 12 to 18 months, they’d take the arm off you.“
Weir’s global network supports all of the Sandmaster sand wash plants, which can provide technical service and after-sales support. The company employs over 13,000 people across 60 countries to help its customers.
“The Sandmaster wash plants are supported by a global service network in service centres close to our customers. We have over 150 service centres around the world,“ Bradner said.
Weir BeltMetrics Gen 2
Weir Minerals notes that mine-to-mill optimisation relies on continuously evaluating blasting, crushing, and grinding operations. Monitoring material characteristics on the belt provides key insights into upstream performance, helping to identify issues with crusher throughput and enabling productive adjustments to maximise efficiency and output.
Weir’s AI and stereoscopic imaging-inclusive BeltMetrics Gen 2 belt monitoring solution, showcased at AGG-1/World of Asphalt 2025, is an accurate alternative to sieve analysis that doesn’t interrupt production. Receiving empty belt alerts and particle size data collected with the BeltMetrics system allows users to react quickly to upstream blockages and optimise crusher gap settings to ensure they hit their production goals.
“The biggest thing that our customers like about the solution is that it saves time doing physical belt cuts,“ explains Jarin Wildeman, Weir regional sales leader, North America. “Traditionally, you will have a mining engineer or a geologist taking several different belt cuts [to analyse production activity and maintenance needs]. This means the belt has to stop each time, disrupting production. BeltMetrics Gen 2 enables customers to focus on other areas of their operation.“
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