After three consecutive years of increases, the value of US mineral production declined slightly last year, corresponding to an overall drop in the price of significant metals.
According to the US Geological Survey's Mineral Commodity Summaries 2014 report, the US produced $74.3 billion worth of minerals in 2013, down slightly from $75.8 billion in 2012. The report reveals that the net exports of mineral raw materials and old scrap contributed an additional $15.8 billion to the US economy.
"To put this in context, the $90.1 billion value of combined mined, exported, and recycled raw materials is more than five times greater than the 2013 combined net revenues of Internet titans: Amazon, Facebook, Google, and Yahoo," USGS Mineral Resources Program Coordinator Larry Meinert said in a statement. "This illustrates the fundamental importance of mineral resources to the nation’s economy, technology, and national security."
The drop in value was not due to lower production – in fact, production increased for most industrial mineral commodities and remained stable for most metals. The drop in metals prices resulted in the reduced value of US mineral production.
Read Report at This Link - Full Report in PDF
According to the US Geological Survey's Mineral Commodity Summaries 2014 report, the US produced $74.3 billion worth of minerals in 2013, down slightly from $75.8 billion in 2012. The report reveals that the net exports of mineral raw materials and old scrap contributed an additional $15.8 billion to the US economy.
"To put this in context, the $90.1 billion value of combined mined, exported, and recycled raw materials is more than five times greater than the 2013 combined net revenues of Internet titans: Amazon, Facebook, Google, and Yahoo," USGS Mineral Resources Program Coordinator Larry Meinert said in a statement. "This illustrates the fundamental importance of mineral resources to the nation’s economy, technology, and national security."
The drop in value was not due to lower production – in fact, production increased for most industrial mineral commodities and remained stable for most metals. The drop in metals prices resulted in the reduced value of US mineral production.
Read Report at This Link - Full Report in PDF