Quarried natural resources

Quarried natural resources

Natural stone and earth materials include a variety of mineral resources, in particular gravel and sand, crushed natural stone, natural stone, limestone, marlstone and dolomite, gypsum and anhydrite stone as well as coarse ceramic clay and loam. Stone and earth are bulk raw materials; they are site-specific due to geological conditions and are not evenly distributed across the country.

History

Quarrying has been handed down since the beginning of human history. According to scientific findings, the oldest known “stones from human hands” originate from the 9th to the 8th millennium B.C., taken from ground fortifications in the Middle East. The extraction of quarried natural resources also has a very long tradition in Germany. In the past, these natural resources were mainly extracted by hand, but companies today use modern technology. Geophysics, GPS, intelligent machine and plant control and largely automated processes control the extraction of these natural resources.

Economic Importance

Every year, the building materials and quarrying industry extracts roughly 560 million tonnes of primary raw materials (excluding quartz sand and gravel, kaolin and fine ceramic clay; these natural resources are covered in the section on industrial minerals) or uses these materials in production. In 2023, gravel and sands with 232 million tonnes and broken natural stone with 203 million tonnes represented the largest share of natural resources in terms of quantity in the German extractive industry. The total value of quarried natural resources was around EUR 5.7 billion in 2023. Thus in 2023 almost 40 % of the total value of natural resources mined in Germany was attributed to quarried natural resources.

Germany meets its own requirements for quarried natural resources largely from reserves within the country. In 2023, the extraction of quarried natural resources amounted to 515 million tonnes. Quarried products are generally mined on a regional basis and are transported over short distances to the consumers. The reason for this is that the transport costs are relatively high compared to the value of the material. Accordingly, foreign trade plays mainly a role in areas adjacent to the border. The main customers are the countries which are Germany’s direct neighbours, e.g. the Netherlands, Switzerland and Belgium. In 2023 (2024), imports in terms of volume were approx. 14.5 (14.6) million tonnes valued at EUR 1.2 (EUR 1.2) billion. Exports in terms of volume were approx. 23.2 (21.6 million tonnes valued at EUR 0.9 (EUR 0.9) billion.¹ In 2023 (2024), the quarried natural resources sector (including Other mining) employed 37,777 (37,364) people in Germany who are subject to social insurance contributions (see also Employment and Social Affairs).

Extraction

Quarried natural resources are mined decentrally and, with just a few exceptions, are extracted in open-cast operations. According to the association, mass building materials such as gravel and sand or natural stones were produced in around 2,700 plants in 2023. A plant/location may include several production sites in Germany.² When extracting sand and gravel, a distinction is made between dry and wet extraction, depending on the groundwater situation, and these two scenarios require different production techniques. Nearly all quarried natural resources require processing and refinement before they are sent on for their intended use. As non-renewable natural resources, they are also site-bound because of their volumes.

Uses

Around 80% of the quarried materials are supplied directly to the building industry (e.g. civil engineering to build road bases and wearing courses, track ballast) or are initially processed by the building products sector into basic and building materials (e.g. cement, concrete, quick lime, mortar, insulation materials, tiles, bricks) and then supplied to the construction industry. The remaining approx. 20% are used in the chemical, steel or glass industries. In addition to the quarried quantities of primary earth and stone, approx. 100 million tonnes of secondary raw materials (mineral construction waste and by-products from industrial processes) are used in the building industry every year.³ These result from e.g. the demolition of buildings, the production of pig iron (blast furnace slag) or from electricity generation in conventional power stations (FGD gypsum, fly ash). The use of secondary raw materials contributes to the substitution of primary natural resources. The substitution rate is around 15 %.^4,5

{acf_content_section_2}

{acf_quellenangaben}