Zach Sickmann, Nicholas Lammers, Aurora Torres

Globally increasing demand for construction sand needs to be met with transparent and responsible supply-networks. Currently, there are no scalable methods for tracing construction sand distribution without direct observation. We examined sand “fingerprinting” as a potential tool to trace construction sand supply-networks from “source to sink” in a case study from Texas, USA. Both natural bulk major element and optical petrography fingerprints are preserved through construction sand processing and transport such that sand can be tied back to its original mining source even at the final point of distribution. Additionally, we developed an image analysis model called sandID that is ~90% effective at determining the original mining source of sand in the study area. Our results demonstrate that sand fingerprinting, has untapped potential to support traceability and certification schemes and to support monitoring and enforcement in areas where there are concerns about illegal, illicit or simply unknown construction sand sourcing.