US mineral output stagnant

The value of mineral-based materials produced in the U.S. in 2002 was US$373 billion, almost the same as in the previous year, according to a report from the U.S. Geological Survey.

The lack of improvement is attributed to the sluggish U.S. economy. Especially hard hit were copper, lead and zinc producers. Steel producers, despite a slight improvement in output, continued to face strong foreign competition, higher energy costs, and lower prices for their products. Some improvement in homebuilding and other domestic construction sectors — significant consumers of brick, cement, glass and stone — accounted for a slight increase in the production of industrial mineral materials.

Mine production of U.S. raw non-fuel minerals in 2002 was US$38 billion, slighly less than in 2001. Within that category, however, the difference between the metal and non-metal components was significant. Metals output dropped from the previous year by 7% to US$8 billion, whereas the estimated output of industrial minerals increased by less than 1% to US$30 billion. California, Nevada, Texas, Florida and Arizona were the leading mineral-producing states.

Imports of raw and processed mineral materials fell to US$62 billion, a drop of about 8% from the previous year. Aluminum, copper, and steel were among the largest imports. Exports of raw and processed mineral materials in 2002 fell 14% to US$39 billion.

The report is available on the Internet at http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/mcs/.

— The preceding is from a bulletin published by the U.S. Geological Survey.