Everyone knows that little Belgians are the champion of sandcastles, but few people know that in its quarry in Mettet, near Charleroi, Sibelco exploits “the Rolls-Royce of track sand for horseracing tracks around the world, including those in Qatar and Dubai”. Although the Middle East is not exactly lacking in sand, the quality cannot compare with that of the sand from our quarry. “This was originally a kaolin quarry,” explained Paul Bertels, Sports and Leisure Manager at Sibelco. “This guarantees that the sand is plastic and solid. It is finer, whiter and contains a minimal amount of kaolin.” 80% of the 40,000 tonnes produced can be found on racetracks.
But Belgian sand does not stop there, as it also plays in the big league. The company supplies 80% of the football stadiums and training pitches in the British Premier League. And from the football to the little golf ball; this sand is always good quality, even though it is coarser on greens, as the important element is not stability but water management.
Belgian group Sibelco has 214 production sites in 43 countries around the world and specialises in the extraction and processing of different types of sand and minerals. But sport is not its only playground, as its sector of activity also covers access to drinking water, solar technologies and purification, among other things.
