USGS report rates industry

A new report from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) estimates the value of the American mining industry at US$422 billion.

Mineral Commodities Summary 2000 includes information on trends, events and issues from the past year at both the domestic and international levels. The report summarizes mineral industry trends according to each continent and mineral type. It also forecasts the growth of domestic minerals in the year ahead.

In addition, there are statistics on the world production of nearly 90 mineral commodities.

The report goes on to estimate that the value of U.S. non-fuel minerals production in 1999 was US$39.1 billion, a slight decrease from 1998. The decline is a result of a second consecutive year of reduced metal prices. However, the report points out that this is not a trend, and that in 31 of the past 39 years the value of domestic minerals production has increased.

The three states that generated the most revenue from mineral production were California (US$3.2 billion), Nevada (US$2.8 billion) and Arizona (US$2.5 billion). Consumption of many industrial minerals, especially crushed stone (1.6 billion tonnes) and cement (111 tonnes), remained steady despite a decline in construction during the latter half of 1999.

Imports of processed mineral material were valued at US$62 billion, and exports were valued at US$33 billion. Meanwhile, imports of metal ores, concentrates and raw industrial minerals increased to almost US$4 billion from US$3 billion. Exports of raw minerals remained virtually unchanged at about US$3 billion.

The strength of the domestic minerals industry in 2000 will depend largely on the economy. Many economists in government and industry believe that economic growth in 2000 will take place at a somewhat slower pace than in 1999, partly because of higher interest rates.