Why sand divers risk their lives 300 times a day for the world's most mined resource
A sand miner in Cameroon, Africa, dumps a bucket of sand into a canoe.
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00:00Sand is the most mined material in the world.
00:07And in this part of Africa, miners like Yona Elvis dive up to 300 times a day, wearing
00:16little to no clothes, scooping out buckets that are 33 pounds.
00:3160% of the sand used in concrete around the world comes from riverbeds like this one in
00:40Cameroon.
00:41And global demand for it has tripled in the last two decades.
00:47Satellite images from China show how it has changed the shape of a major body of water.
00:53And now, experts say sand is being extracted much faster than it can be naturally replaced.
01:03So how can the world avoid a sand crisis?
01:08And what does it mean for people like Elvis, who rely on it to survive?
01:15Yona Elvis' home in southwestern Cameroon is made from the same sand he mines every
01:21day.
01:22He lives with his family and pet monkey, Curtis.
01:41His home is just a short walk away from the river quarry.
01:52There, he meets up with his diving partner, Njombi.
01:57They can look out for each other in case of emergencies.
02:14The Wori is one of Cameroon's largest rivers, flowing for nearly 100 miles.
02:20It's known as the River of Prawns, but fishermen are seeing a decline due to sand mining.
02:32Once they reach the deepest part, Njombi pushes the stick into the ground to anchor the boat.
02:42Elvis jumps in, wearing nothing but skin-tight shorts, to swim more easily in the water.
02:51Then, he uses a steel bucket to scoop up sand from the river floor.
02:59The water is so murky, Elvis can't see anything, even if he wore goggles.
03:20After 12 years, he says he's mastered the art of controlling his breath and conserving his energy.
03:51Elvis and Njombi take turns scooping out water that fills the canoe.
04:06After two hours of diving and dumping, their exhaustion begins to show.
04:15Locals say deaths are common here.
04:19But because this is an unregulated profession, there are no official records on injuries or fatalities.
04:27Elvis nearly drowned once while helping a new diver.
04:45By the end of Elvis' four-hour shift, he has excavated nine tons of wet sand.
04:51That's equal to the weight of two African elephants.
04:56His boss, who owns the canoe, will sell this sand to local contractors, and pay each of them about $12 a day.
05:05It's more than Elvis can make per day.
05:09But it's barely enough to afford three meals a day.
05:14Elvis and his family of four scrape by on this salary.
05:20But some people are in the line of work for other reasons.
05:24Like miner Conjon Simon, who views it as a sport.
05:28He competes in local sand mining tournaments.
05:32He's the only one in the world who can do it.
05:36He's the only one in the world who can do it.
05:40He's the only one in the world who can do it.
05:44Conjon Simon, who views it as a sport.
05:47He competes in local sand mining tournaments.
05:50And says he's earned the title of champion.
05:58Conjon spends 30 minutes exercising every morning.
06:03And even runs to the quarry.
06:06His role model is Africa's first heavyweight UFC champion, Francis Ngannou.
06:13Today, he's seen as a local hero in this region.
06:18Someone who escaped a life of poverty to become one of the best MMA fighters in the world.
06:26It warms my heart to see all the people who are here.
06:30Everyone who has mobilized for this event.
06:34For the welcome at home.
06:37Meanwhile, Conjon continues to plunge 23 feet underwater to test his strength.
06:45And earn enough cash for him, his wife and two kids.
06:51Some of the sand is exported to countries like South Africa,
06:55the Central African Republic and even France.
06:59But as Cameroon is in the midst of a construction boom,
07:03most of the sand is used locally to make concrete.
07:06Demand for sand across the world has reached 50 billion tons per year.
07:12Enough to build a nine-story wall around the planet.
07:16The kind found in riverbeds comes from rocks that broke apart over millions of years as they traveled downstream.
07:24The coarse leftover grains are sharper and can carry more moisture than desert sand,
07:31which makes them the perfect binding material for construction.
07:36In 2022, the global market for construction sand was worth about $23 billion.
07:43It is expected to grow to $46.5 billion by 2031.
07:49The United States is the world's top producer,
07:53while China is the biggest consumer of sand.
07:57But it also produces its own.
08:00Boyang Lake in Jiangxi province is the biggest sand mine on the planet.
08:07Satellite images show just how much excavation has changed the northern branch of the country's largest freshwater lake,
08:15more than doubling its surface area from 1997 to 2019.
08:21The lake is also a key flood outlet for the Yangtze River and its tributaries,
08:27all of which are mined excessively, too.
08:30All this mining is causing water levels in the lake to fall abnormally during winter months,
08:37endangering aquatic animals like porpoises and populations of migratory birds.
08:44Other countries have similar problems.
08:48In Cambodia's Mekong River, barges scrape out more sand than can be naturally replaced.
08:55This kind of large-scale dredging caused riverbanks to collapse twice in 2021.
09:15Dams upstream have also reduced the flow of sediment to the lower part of the Mekong.
09:21Experts say mining is also to blame for erosion along Cambodia's coastline.
09:27Anything that we take out of the environment has an impact.
09:30If you take the sand from rivers, that sand will not reach the coastline.
09:34So eventually it will lead to coastal erosion.
09:40Mining is also taking a toll on local fishing villages.
09:46Tim Yusos lives on a boat with his wife and granddaughter.
09:50He makes a living fishing in the nearby Tonle Sap and Mekong rivers.
09:55But he says work is tough lately because all the dredging has disrupted the fish supply.
10:12And because of the receding water levels, his livelihood is at stake.
10:21We used to catch a lot of fish, but now we can't catch any more.
10:30But here in Cambodia's capital, sand is fueling a housing boom.
10:35Since 2003, developers have filled in 60% of Phnom Penh lakes with sand to create prime real estate for villas and shopping malls.
10:46But people who have lived and worked on these lakes for decades now face eviction as trucks full of sand and gravel get closer and closer to their homes.
10:57Cambodia also exports sand.
11:00UN data for the past decade shows the country sent $27 million worth to countries like Singapore, Thailand, and China.
11:09Rapid urbanization around the world is what's driving up demand.
11:16In India, 25 to 30 people are migrating every minute from rural areas to cities.
11:23By 2030, the country's urban population is likely to reach 600 million.
11:30And they will all need housing.
11:33So India is excavating sand, too.
11:37Here, miners extract it from the Bekhi River, using basic equipment.
11:43This is polluting the water and destroying riverbeds and fish populations.
11:48But for some, mining for sand is as valuable as finding gold.
11:53And many work illegally, in dangerous conditions, because the money is worth it.
11:59They can earn up to $15 for a boatload of sand, which is four times the average daily wage in India.
12:07Now, sand is being mined faster than it can be replaced, through natural geological processes.
12:15So, some companies are now manufacturing it, to help reduce the impact on rivers and lakes.
12:22They crush bedrock, often from old construction sites or demolition waste.
12:28This creates particles about the same size as sand.
12:32They're filtered and washed to remove impurities, like silt or clay, which can damage concrete.
12:39That's why experts say manufactured sand is even better than natural sand for building.
12:45But crushing and grinding M-sand can pollute surrounding soil and water.
12:51And it's more cost-effective, because it's often produced closer to construction sites, bringing down the cost of transportation.
13:00But back in Cameroon, people still continue to mine from riverbeds.
13:22After a long day of work, his muscles are sore.
13:27So, he kicks back and relaxes with his colleagues at the local bar.
13:39And he brightens up when he thinks about what really motivates him to do this work.
13:56When I left home, I didn't know if I was really going back.
14:03So, when I came back and found Saint-Saëns, it was a fantastic moment for me.