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February 2, 2023

RESTON, Va. – U.S. mines produced approximately \$98.2 billion in nonfuel mineral commodities in 2022—an estimated $3.6 billion increase over the 2021 revised total of \$94.6 billion—the U.S. Geological Survey announced today.

A map of the U.S. showing different colors for each state based on the value of minerals they produced in 2022.
This map from the Mineral Commodity Summaries 2023 shows the value of nonfuel minerals produced by each state in 2022. The Mineral Commodity Summaries are issued annually by the USGS National Minerals Information Center and are the earliest comprehensive source of the previous year’s worldwide mineral industry data. USGS image.

This information comes from the 28th annual USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries report, released Jan. 31 by the USGS National Minerals Information Center. The report is a comprehensive source for estimates of 2022 mineral data 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. ­­

The report covers more than 90 nonfuel mineral commodities monitored by the USGS, including mineral commodities such as cement, iron ore and sand and gravel; precious metals such as gold and silver; as well as rare earth minerals such as lanthanum, neodymium and dysprosium. Nonfuel mineral commodities are used in every facet of modern life from construction to the consumer electronics, aerospace, renewable energy and healthcare industries. The annual USGS report identifies events, trends and issues in the domestic and international minerals industries that impact production and consumption.

“Industries that use nonfuel mineral materials created an estimated $3.64 trillion in value-added products in 2022, which represents a 9% increase from 2021,” said Steven M. Fortier, USGS National Minerals Information Center director. “Decision-makers and leaders in both the private and public sectors rely on the crucial, unbiased statistics and data provided by the USGS in the Mineral Commodity Summaries to make business decisions and determine national policy.”

The increase in consumption of nonfuel mineral commodities compared with that in 2021 is attributed to the continued recovery of markets from the impacts of the global coronavirus pandemic in 2020. Global supply chains and the often-volatile mineral commodity markets were significantly disrupted by the pandemic, especially in the first half of 2020. However, for the U.S., the second half of 2020 and all of 2021 saw a rebound in the demand for and prices of nonfuel mineral commodities. This upward trend continued in 2022 with consumption of many mineral commodities now near or exceeding pre-pandemic levels. 

The 98.2 billion dollar value of nonfuel mineral commodities produced by U.S. mines in 2022 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 2022 was $63.5 billion, which is about 65% of the total value of U.S. mine production value. Crushed stone was the leading nonfuel mineral commodity domestically produced in 2022, 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 $34.7 billion, 6% lower than the revised value in 2021. The principal contributors to the total value of metal mine production in 2022 were copper (33%), gold (28%), iron ore (15%), zinc (9%) and molybdenum (5%).

There were 13 mineral commodities produced in the U.S. valued at more than $1 billion each. These commodities were, in order of descending value, crushed stone, cement, copper, construction sand and gravel, gold, industrial sand and gravel, iron ore, zinc, salt, lime, phosphate rock, molybdenum and soda ash.

In 2022, the top 10 producing states were, in descending order of rank, Arizona, Nevada, Texas, California, Minnesota, Alaska, Florida, Utah, Michigan and Missouri.

Other key highlights from the report include:

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 2023” is available here: https://doi.org/10.3133/mcs2023  

Data from the 2023 report is available here: https://doi.org/10.5066/P9WCYUI6

Hard copies will be available later in the year from the Government Printing Office, Superintendent of Documents. To order, please call (202) 512-1800 or (866) 512-1800 or go online.  

For more information on this report and individual mineral commodities, please visit the USGS National Minerals Information Center. To keep up-to-date on USGS mineral research, follow us on Twitter or visit the Mineral Resources Program webpage

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