U.S. mines produced approximately $90.4 billion in mineral commodities in 2021—a $9.7 billion increase over the 2020 revised total of $80.7 billion—the U.S. Geological Survey announced recently.
This information comes from the 27th annual Mineral Commodity Summaries report from the USGS National Minerals Information Center, which was published Jan. 31. The report is a comprehensive source of 2021 mineral data for the world and includes information on the domestic industry structure, government programs, tariffs, world production and five-year salient statistics for nonfuel mineral commodities that are important to the U.S. economy and national security. It also identifies events, trends and issues in the domestic and international minerals industries that impact production and consumption. This report covers more than 90 nonfuel mineral commodities monitored by the USGS.
“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,” said Steven M. Fortier, USGS National Minerals Information Center director. “Industries that use nonfuel mineral materials—such as steel, aerospace and electronics—created an estimated $3.32 trillion in value-added products in 2021, which represents an 8% increase from that in 2020.”
Increases in consumption of nonfuel mineral commodities were attributed to the restarting of markets in 2021 following closures due to the global COVID 19 pandemic in the prior year.
The $90.4 billion worth of nonfuel mineral commodities produced by U.S. mines in 2021 included other industrial minerals and natural aggregates, as well as ferrous and nonferrous metals. The estimated value of U.S. production of all industrial minerals in 2021 was $56.6 billion, which is 63% of the total value of U.S. mine production value. Crushed stone was the leading nonfuel mineral commodity domestically produced in 2021, accounting for 21% of the total value of U.S. mine production.
U.S. metal mine production in 2021 was estimated to be valued at $33.8 billion, or 23% higher than that in 2020. The principal contributors to the total value of metal mine production in 2021 were copper (35%), gold (31%), iron ore (13%), and zinc (7%).
There were 14 mineral commodities produced in the U.S. valued at more than $1 billion each. These commodities were, in order of value, crushed stone, copper, cement, gold, construction sand and gravel, iron ore, salt, lime, industrial sand and gravel, zinc, soda ash, phosphate rock, palladium and molybdenum.
In 2021, the top 10 producing states were, in descending order of rank, Arizona, Nevada, Texas, California, Minnesota, Alaska, Utah, Florida, Missouri and Michigan.
Other key findings in the report include:
- In 2021, the USGS published a draft proposed revision of the critical minerals list (86 FR 62199) as an update to the original list published in 2018 (83 FR 23295). Critical minerals are discussed in a new critical minerals update added to the front section of the Mineral Commodity Summaries 2022. The minerals in this new section are those from the original list published in 2018. USGS anticipates the publication of the finalized revision of the critical minerals list by the end of February 2022, following the close of a 60-day public comment period on Jan. 10, 2022.
- Due to supply constraints and increasing consumption, prices increased for many commodities, particularly for metals, and contributed significantly to the increase in the value of nonfuel mineral production in the U.S. For example, copper was projected to average about $4.20 per pound in 2021, which was an all-time high.
- Domestically, $43 billion of metals and mineral products were recycled including metals such as copper, gold, iron and steel scrap, and platinum-group elements to supply domestic consumption. This was an increase in value of over 50% from that in 2020.
The USGS delivers unbiased science and information to improve understanding of mineral resource potential, production, consumption and how minerals interact with the environment. The USGS National Minerals Information Center collects, analyzes and disseminates current information on the supply of and the demand for minerals and materials in the U.S. and about 180 other countries. This information is essential in planning for and mitigating impacts of potential disruptions to mineral commodity supply due to both natural hazards and man-made events.
The USGS report, ”Mineral Commodity Summaries 2022″ is available here: https://doi.org/10.3133/mcs2022
Data from the MCS 2022 is available here: https://doi.org/10.5066/P9KKMCP4
The Magma Smelter in Superior was demolished in 2018, but it represents a rich history of copper mining in the Copper Corridor. Photo by Cat Brown