As William Blake famously wrote, "To see a World in a Grain of Sand / And a Heaven in a Wild Flower" is to "Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand / And Eternity in an hour." But as innocuous, ubiquitous and just plain mundane sand can be, it can also be the source of significant conflict and violence while often being extracted to the detriment of our planet.
When the term "conflict mineral" is used, people often think of precious stones like rubies or valuable fuels like coal. Certainly the industry of mining those rocks is fraught with controversy and peril, yet even the most seemingly ubiquitous minerals can serve as the source of conflict. But is sand really in the same category as cobalt and blood diamonds?
