The (USGS) US Geological Survey’s Mineral Commodity says there’s around $112 billion worth of nonfuel minerals in the country.
This includes materials such as gold, silver, copper, cement, stone, sand, and gravel, but excludes fuel resources including coal, oil, and natural gas.
The USGS ranked states based on their mineral production value.
Nevada tops the ranking with $12.6 billion in nonfuel mineral production, accounting for 11.26% of the US total.
Arizona and Texas rank second and third with production values of $10.4 billion and $10.2 billion, respectively.
Between them, Nevada, Arizona, and Texas generate nearly 30% of the country’s total nonfuel mineral production value.
But Florida came in at number 6. The USGS says the sunshine state has $3.02 billion in mineral production. Those items included cement, phosphate rock, construction sand and gravel and crushed stone.
“Gold may be the material that captures the public’s imagination, but this ranking shows how varied America’s mineral economy really is. We tend to think of mineral wealth in terms of rare metals bit what stands out is how often cement, sand, gravel, and crushed stone appear in the ranking,” said Brandon Aversano, CEO and Founder of The Alloy Market.
Aversano says these ordinary materials are needed for new homes, roads, factories, and public infrastructure and states need the workforce, infrastructure, and industries required to extract, process, and transport these materials.
