In Minnesota, we're losing our beloved Renaissance Festival grounds to sand mining. The sand is uniquely useful for the kinds of drilling and fracking techniques used in the North Dakota oilfields, so it's worth more to strip-mine than to support a multi-decade business that generates millions in income every year. Sigh.
With regards to Minnesota, there are a number of active "sand mines" down here in Georgia, mostly exploiting old deposits when the ocean was much further inland. I remember visiting one while going for Pecans. They are used for everything from providing construction sand, braking sand (think trains), to extracting other valuable minerals like zirconium and titanium.
http://www.manta.com/c/mthg8jf/bryan-rock-products-inc
I don't blame the mine owners - they'll make more money exploiting the land than continuing to rent it to the Ren Fest. But I'm not convinced that it's a net benefit for the community.
He said, providing no hard data whatsoever.