Sand is a loose, fragmented, naturally- occurring material consisting of very small particles of decomposed rocks, corals, or shells. Today, the processing of sand is a multi-billion dollar business with operations ranging from very small plants supplying sand and gravel to a few local building contractors to very large, highly automated plants supplying hundreds of truckloads of sand per day to a wide variety of customers over a large area. These objects, below, are made of sand.