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Mining in the United States

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Mining in the United States has been active since the beginning of colonial times, but became a major industry in the 19th century with a number of new mineral discoveries causing a series of mining rushes. In 2015, the value of coal, metals, and industrial minerals mined in the United States was US $109.6 billion. 158,000 workers were directly employed by the mining industry.

The mining industry has a number of impacts on communities, individuals and the environment. Mine safety incidents have been important parts of American occupational safety and health history. Mining has a number of environmental impacts. In the United States, issues like mountaintop removal, and acid mine drainage have widespread impacts on all parts of the environment. As of January 2020. the EPA lists 142 mines in the Superfund program.

In 2019, the country was the 4th world producer of gold; 5th largest world producer of copper; 5th worldwide producer of platinum; 10th worldwide producer of silver; 2nd largest world producer of rhenium; 2nd largest world producer of sulfur; 3rd largest world producer of phosphate; 3rd largest world producer of molybdenum; 4th largest world producer of lead; 4th largest world producer of zinc; 5th worldwide producer of vanadium; 9th largest world producer of iron ore; 9th largest world producer of potash; 12th largest world producer of cobalt; 13th largest world producer of titanium; world's largest producer of gypsum; 2nd largest world producer of kyanite; 2nd largest world producer of limestone; in addition to being the 2nd largest world producer of salt. It was the world's 10th largest producer of uranium in 2018.

History

See also:

Mining by commodity

Top Commodities mined in the US, 2019

Rank Commodity Value, US$ billion
1 Coal 25.1
2 Crushed rock 18.7
3 Cement 12.5
4 Gold 9.0
5 Construction sand and gravel 9.0
6 Copper 7.9
7 Industrial sand and gravel 5.7
8 Iron ore 5.4
Source: US Geological Survey, Mineral Commodities Summaries, 2020.

Mining by mineral

Mining by state

Main page: Category:Mining in the United States by state

Mining accidents

Non-coal mining fatalities in the United States, 1911-2014 (data from US Department of Labor)

From 1880 to 1910, mine accidents claimed thousands of fatalities, with more than 3,000 in 1907 alone. Where annual mining deaths had numbered more than 1,000 a year during the early part of the 20th century, they decreased to an average of about 500 during the late 1950s, and to 93 during the 1990s. In addition to deaths, many thousands more are injured (an average of 21,351 injuries per year between 1991 and 1999), but overall there has been a downward trend of deaths and injuries.

The Monongah Mining Disaster was the worst mining accident of American history; 362 workers were killed in an underground explosion on December 6, 1907 in Monongah, West Virginia. The U.S. Bureau of Mines was created in 1910 to investigate accidents, advise industry, conduct production and safety research, and teach courses in accident prevention, first aid, and mine rescue. The Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act

  1. US Geological Survey, Commodity Summaries, 2016.
  2. US EPA, OLEM (2015-05-27). "Abandoned Mine Lands: Site Information". US EPA. Retrieved 2020-05-06.
  3. USGS Gold Production Statistics
  4. USGS Copper Production Statistics
  5. USGS Platinum Production Statistics
  6. USGS Silver Production Statistics
  7. USGS Rhenium Production Statistics
  8. USGS Sulfur Production Statistics
  9. USGS Phosphate Production Statistics
  10. USGS Molybdenum Production Statistics
  11. USGS Lead Production Statistics
  12. USGS Zinc Production Statistics
  13. USGS Vanadinum Production Statistics
  14. USGS Iron Ore Production Statistics
  15. USGS Potash Production Statistics
  16. USGS Cobalt Production Statistics
  17. USGS Titanium Production Statistics
  18. USGS Gypsum Production Statistics
  19. USGS Kyanite Production Statistics
  20. USGS Lime Production Statistics
  21. USGS Salt Production Statistics
  22. World Uranium Mining
  23. Mineral Commodity Summaries 2020 (PDF). Reston, Virginia: US Geological Survey. 31 January 2020. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  24. Minerals Yearbook, Volume 3. Washington DC: US Bureau of Mines. 1995. p. 7. ISBN 978-1345966411. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  25. Historical Data on Mine Disasters in the United States Archived 2016-02-10 at the Wayback Machine U.S. Department of Labor