Marine aggregate extraction

Marine aggregates mined in metropolitan France include silica sands and gravels and calcareous sands and maerl. There are also extraction operations in Guadeloupe (mixed volcanic and calcareous sands used for construction and civil engineering) and at Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon (siliceous sands and gravels). The products are principally used in construction and public works (siliceous aggregates), agriculture soil improvement (calcareous aggregates and maerl), beach nourishment and, in smaller amounts, for commercial vegetable gardening (siliceous sands), drinking water processing and bone surgery (maerl).

1. -: negligible, na: not available
2. Shelly sands and maerl. Brittany production.
3. Based on average price estimates, after consultation of the industry.
4. Based on accounting data of sector 08.1 (NAF 2008).
5. Average number of seamen and onshore jobs, incl. calcareous sand processing plants.
Source: UNPG French Association of Aggregate Producers
  • The activity involves 12 businesses and 15 sand extraction vessels. It also involves two calcareous sand processing plants located in North Brittany.
  • 2% of construction materials originate from marine aggregates in France, i.e. around 7.5 million tonnes (source: UNPG industry association).
  • Maerl extraction is becoming marginal, given the environmental problems of this activity (see law n°2009-967, article 35): the phasing out of the activity is foreseen for 2013.
  • Beach nourishment is included in the activity but is documented by fragile data. The need for beach nourishment material in France is less important than e.g. in the Netherlands, but are not meaningless: between 2 and 3 million tonnes per annum, according to the Secretariat General for Sea Affairs.
  • There is no marine aggregate extraction on the French Mediterranean coast, except for beach nourishment.

Marine aggregate extraction in Europe, 2010

  • UK recently recorded a sharp decrease in extracted amounts, from around 14 million cubic metres (mcm) in 2007 to a little more than 9 million in 2010 in areas under Crown Estate licenses.
  • Conversely, extracted amounts in the Netherlands went up from 28 to 122.5 mcm between 2007 and 2010 (i.e. more than 200 million tonnes in 2010), of which 91.4 mcm (more than 150 mt) for the Maasvlakte 2 project; launched in September 2009, this project consists in a 20 sq km offshore extension of Rotterdam harbour. It will require an overall 290 mcm materials (480 million tonnes).
  • Data on Japan, large marine aggregate producer, are not recent; in 2002, when the Dutch and British activities amounted to 32 and 13 mcm respectively, that of Japan was of around 40 mcm.
Source: ICES International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, WGEXT Working Group on Extraction of marine aggregates 2011 report