Publications

Mexico and Spain are the leading producers of celestite, the most common strontium ore. Those countries produced nearly 80 percent of the estimated 360 kt (397,000 st) of celestite produced worldwide during 2002. China and Turkey are other significant celestite producers.

Fluorspar, this month’s featured mineral resource commodity, has been widely used in steelmaking since the introduction of basic open-hearth furnace technology in the late 19th century. Its uses have grown and changed over the last 100 years, and now fluorspar’s most important markets are fluorochemicals, aluminum refining and steel. M. Michael Miller, Fluorspar Commodity Specialist for the U.S. G

Perlite is found in most homes, workplaces and schools. Most of the white ceiling tiles in offices and classrooms are made primarily of perlite. The soil around potted plants also has small white grains of perlite. Other than in these lightweight construction products and horticultural soil mixes, perlite is used in food processing for filtration and in natural gas processing as a low-temperature

Part of the 2002 industrial minerals review. Statistics on ball clay consumption, production, prices, trade, and trends are presented.

Since domestic sulfur production peaked at nearly 11 million metric tons in 1974, the sulfur industry has undergone dramatic change. In 1974, mined sulfur produced using the Frasch hot water method provided 8 million tons of sulfur, representing 75 percent of total elemental sulfur production. (In the Frasch process, hot water is injected directly into the sulfur-containing mineral strata, melting

Shallow ground water in areas of increasing urban development within the Upper Colorado River Basin was sampled for inorganic and organic constituents to characterize water-quality conditions and to identify potential anthropogenic effects resulting from development. In 1997, 25 shallow monitoring wells were installed and sampled in five areas of urban development in Eagle, Grand, Gunnison, and Su

Exploration budgets fell for a fourth successive year in 2001. These decreases reflected low mineral commodity prices, mineral-market investment reluctance, company failures and a continued trend of company mergers and takeovers.

Part of a special section on industrial minerals. Gemstone production, consumption and uses, prices, imports and exports are discussed, and the future of the gemstone industry is considered.

In 2001, one mine in Utah produced a small quantity of fluorspar. The majority of fluorspar consumed in the United States continued to come from imports or material purchased from the US National Defense Stockpile (NDS). In addition, a small amount of synthetic fluorspar (CaF2) was produced from industrial waste streams.

Seawater and natural brines accounted for about 60% of US magnesium compounds production in 2001. Dead-burned and caustic-calcined magnesias were recovered from seawater in Florida by Premier Chemicals. They were also recovered from Michigan well brines by Dow Chemical, Martin Marietta Magnesia Specialties and Rohm & Haas. And Premier Chemicals recovered dead-burned and caustic-calcined magnesias

Published on an annual basis, this report is the earliest Government publication to furnish estimates covering nonfuel mineral industry data. Data sheets contain information on the domestic industry structure, Government programs, tariffs, and 5-year salient statistics for over 90 individual minerals and materials.

Part of an annual review of mines and mineral resources in the U.S. An overview of nonfuel-mineral exploration in 2000 is presented. Principal exploration target was gold exploration in Latin America, Australia, and the U.S. There was a decrease of 18 percent in the exploration budget for gold as compared with the budget for 1999. Statistical information on nonfuel-mineral exploration worldwide is