|
| TABLE 7 | ||||
| MINING METHODS USED AT SURFACE OPERATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES- | ||||
| -IN 2010, BY COMMODITY- | ||||
| (Percentage of total material handled) | ||||
| Preceded by drilling | Not preceded by drilling | |||
| Commodity | and blasting | and blasting1 | ||
| Metal ore: | ||||
| Beryllium | 100 | -- | ||
| Copper2 | 98 | 2 | ||
| Gold3 | 85 | 15 | ||
| Iron | 95 | 5 | ||
| Magnesium metal | -- | 100 | ||
| Molybdenum | 100 | -- | ||
| Titanium | -- | 100 | ||
| Uranium | -- | 100 | ||
| Zinc | 100 | -- | ||
| Industrial minerals: | ||||
| Abrasives | 100 | -- | ||
| Barite | 32 | 68 | ||
| Boron minerals | 100 | -- | ||
| Bromine | 43 | 57 | ||
| Clays | 5 | 95 | ||
| Diatomite | 37 | 63 | ||
| Emery | 100 | -- | ||
| Feldspar4 | 94 | 6 | ||
| Garnet | 40 | 60 | ||
| Greensand marl | -- | 100 | ||
| Gypsum | 100 | -- | ||
| Iodine | -- | 100 | ||
| Iron oxide pigments | -- | 100 | ||
| Kyanite | 100 | -- | ||
| Lithium minerals | -- | 100 | ||
| Magnesite | 100 | -- | ||
| Magnesium compounds | -- | 100 | ||
| Mica, scrap | 51 | 49 | ||
| Olivine | 100 | -- | ||
| Perlite | 30 | 70 | ||
| Phosphate rock | 4 | 96 | ||
| Potash | -- | 100 | ||
| Pumice5 | 19 | 81 | ||
| Salt | -- | 100 | ||
| Sand and gravel: | ||||
| Construction | -- | 100 | ||
| Industrial | -- | 100 | ||
| Stone: | ||||
| Crushed | 100 | -- | ||
| Dimension | -- | 100 | ||
| Talc | 98 | 2 | ||
| Tripoli | 84 | 16 | ||
| Vermiculite | 34 | 66 | ||
| Wollastonite | 83 | 17 | ||
| Zeolites | 99 | 1 | ||
| -- Zero. | ||||
| 1Includes drilling and cutting without blasting, dredging, mechanical excavation and | ||||
| nonfloat washing, and other surface mining methods. | ||||
| 2Includes copper-molybdenum. | ||||
| 3Includes gold-silver. | ||||
| 4Includes aplite. | ||||
| 5Excludes volcanic cinder and scoria; included with -Crushed stone.- | ||||
Source: United States Geological Survey Mineral Resources Program
See also: Mineral commodity prices
