Crushed stone, sand and gravel accounted for about half of all domestic industrial minerals production last year, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) reports.
According to USGS, crushed stone, sand and gravel generated $27 billion in value in 2020. The estimated value of all U.S. industrial minerals last year was $54.6 billion, USGS says. The $54.6 billion is about 4 percent less than what was produced in 2019.
Additionally, USGS says crushed stone was the leading nonfuel mineral commodity domestically produced in 2020, accounting for 22 percent of the total value of U.S. nonfuel mineral production.
USGS report
Also in 2020, U.S. mines produced about $82.3 billion in minerals – a figure that is down about $1.5 billion from 2019, according to USGS.
USGS shared that dollar figure in its 26th annual “ Mineral Commodity Summaries” report from the USGS National Minerals Information Center. The report is a comprehensive source of 2020 mineral production data for the world and includes information on the domestic industry structure, government programs, tariffs and five-year salient statistics on more than 88 mineral commodities that are important to the U.S. economy and national security.
The report also identifies events, trends and issues in the domestic and international minerals industries that impact production, USGS says. The report covers about 90 nonfuel minerals USGS monitors – including crushed stone, sand and gravel.
“Decision-makers and leaders in both the private and public sectors rely on the crucial, unbiased statistics and data provided in the ‘Mineral Commodity Summaries’ to make business decisions and determine national policy,” says Steven Fortier, director of the National Minerals Information Center.
According to this year’s report, the U.S. continues to rely significantly on foreign sources for many raw and processed minerals. In 2020, imports made up more than half of U.S consumption for 46 nonfuel mineral commodities, and the U.S. relied entirely on imports for 17 of those. A number of the imported minerals are key materials for renewable energy generation and storage and for infrastructure technologies, USGS says.
