Sand trafficking in Latin America
13 comments
·February 6, 2025CapmCrackaWaka
cookie_monsta
It seems to me that business springs up wherever there is arbitrage and this is especially true for "free" natural resources (timber, water, etc).
Organised crime can make it profitable because they already have manpower and equipment, but it isn't necessary.
The smuggling operations between Guatemala and Mexico go both ways, depending on market prices in both countries for some very unglamorous products like eggs and gasoline.
CapmCrackaWaka
Makes sense. Being in organized crime must be fucking fascinating. One day, you’re haggling on the price of black market eggs. Next day, you’re arranging the smuggling of sand from Latin America to Australia.
ty6853
I've forgotten the name, but I once watched a documentary on illegal gold mining in Brazil. One of the most successful of them was a German (illegal immigrant? not enforced in brazil anyway) , who was attracted by the wild west aspect.
There definitely does seem to be a breed of people like this, and Latin America or Africa can present some interesting opportunities (see cowboy capitalism by vice).
sbassi
your answer was like "tell me you don't live in a third-world country without telling me..." I am from Argentina so I know: You go to buy sand and are offered the legit one at a price hard to afford, or the "black" one with some discount. This way you learn there is a black market. Maybe for one bag you will get the same price anyway, but when you need an important amount of it, there will be 2 prices. If you are in a beach town, you hear the rumors about why there is less sand.
dhagberg
First learned about this from a Carl Hiaasen book, Razor Girl (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Razor_Girl)
sali0
A great book that goes deeper into the sand industry is The Material World by Ed Conway. Highly recommended!
throwaway519
About $10 per metric ton end customer price (wholesale, CFR), if anyone's interested.
dkasper
Sand is heavy af. A ton is only like 20 cubic feet. Still… that’s not very much money.
lostlogin
My eye is twitching remembering a fiasco where someone ordered concrete assuming 1 cubic metre required 1 ton of concrete.
Ever since that I’ve assumed it’s about 2.5 tons per cubic metre. This works much better.
boringg
It would be interesting to know percentage of market
cookie_monsta
There's a chart about half way through the article - around 40% in Brazil
throwaway5752
[flagged]
Is anyone else fascinated more about the stories of the people that get into this kind of stuff? I mean, it seems like you must just be destined to be in this business if you are in it. Nobody goes on the Internet and researches how to get started sand trafficking.