|
| TABLE 7 | ||||
| MINING METHODS USED AT SURFACE OPERATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES- | ||||
| -IN 2012, 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 | 83 | 17 | ||
| Iron | 96 | 4 | ||
| Magnesium metal | -- | 100 | ||
| Molybdenum | 98 | 2 | ||
| Silver | 100 | -- | ||
| Titanium | -- | 100 | ||
| Zinc | 100 | -- | ||
| Industrial minerals: | ||||
| Abrasives | 100 | -- | ||
| Barite | 23 | 77 | ||
| Boron minerals | 100 | -- | ||
| Bromine | -- | 100 | ||
| Clays | -- | 100 | ||
| Diatomite | 7 | 93 | ||
| Feldspar4 | 100 | -- | ||
| Garnet | 38 | 62 | ||
| Greensand marl | -- | 100 | ||
| Gypsum | 100 | -- | ||
| Iodine | -- | 100 | ||
| Iron oxide pigments | -- | 100 | ||
| Kyanite | 100 | -- | ||
| Lithium minerals | -- | 100 | ||
| Magnesite | 100 | -- | ||
| Magnesium compounds | -- | 100 | ||
| Mica, scrap | 74 | 26 | ||
| Olivine | -- | 100 | ||
| Perlite | 27 | 73 | ||
| Phosphate rock | -- | 100 | ||
| Potash | -- | 100 | ||
| Pumice5 | 19 | 81 | ||
| Salt | -- | 100 | ||
| Sand and gravel: | ||||
| Construction | -- | 100 | ||
| Industrial | -- | 100 | ||
| Stone: | ||||
| Crushed | 100 | -- | ||
| Dimension | -- | 100 | ||
| Talc | 100 | -- | ||
| Tripoli | 82 | 18 | ||
| Vermiculite | 8 | 92 | ||
| Wollastonite | 82 | 18 | ||
| Zeolites | 100 | -- | ||
| -- 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 -Stone: Crushed.- | ||||
Source: United States Geological Survey Mineral Resources Program
See also: Mineral commodity prices
