K3Delta may expand sand mining in the US, Een and Steenbergen. A year ago, the company was asked by the Environmental Impact Assessment Committee to do more research on the effects of expansion on the surrounding nature.
These last contractions have now been ironed out, making the space about 30 hectares larger. “We have now started the preparatory work,” says Gildert Hijlkema on behalf of the company. “We’re excavating topsoil, relocating a main aqueduct and moving a weir.”
“We don’t expect to start what we call the ‘wet expansion’ until late May,” Hijlkema continues. “We don’t know exactly when that will be yet.”
K3Delta has been sourcing sand from the US for about forty years. Sand is mainly used for building houses and roads in the region. The new projects require approximately three million cubic meters of sand.
Also, approximately 12 hectares of ‘new nature’ will be created in the southern part of the lake. ‘We want to do this by connecting the area to the surrounding landscapes: the open beet colony area and the closed Estorp landscape,’ project leader Ivan Reirink notes on the K3Delta site.
There should be a recreational area for people to walk and cycle along the shores of the sand mining lake. Tiny houses should reinforce the recreational function of the area. It should be noted that the sand mining lake does not function as a swimming lake now or in the future. K3Delta has an agreement with nearby Ronostrand owners about this.
In September last year, the municipality of Noordenveld already agreed to K3Delta’s plans. The expectation is that sand can be mined in the United States for at least another ten to fifteen years.
