Publications

Four companies — H.C. Spinks Clay Co., Inc., Imerys Group, Old Hickory Clay Co., and Unimin Corp. — mined ball clay in four states in 2011. Production, on the basis of preliminary data, was 940 kt (1.04 million st) with an estimated value of $44.2 million. This is a 3-percent increase in tonnage from 912 kt (1.01 million st) with a value of $41.3 million that was produced in 2010...

The element cadmium was discovered in 1817 by Friedrich Stromeyer, a professor of chemistry at the University of Göttingen in Germany. Stromeyer noticed that a yellowish glow would occur when heat was applied to certain samples of calamine, a zinc-carbonate. This was unusual as the reaction was expected to be colorless. After further testing, Stromeyer deduced that an unknown metallic...

Current global and domestic mineral resources of beryllium (Be) for industrial uses are dominated by ores produced from deposits of the volcanogenic Be type. Beryllium deposits of this type can form where hydrothermal fluids interact with fluorine and lithophile-element (uranium, thorium, rubidium, lithium, beryllium, cesium, tantalum, rare earth elements, and tin) enriched volcanic...

The article offers information on aluminum, a mineral resource which is described as the third-most abundant element in Earth's crust. According to the article, aluminum is the second-most used metal. Hans Christian Oersted, a Danish chemist, was the first to isolate aluminum in the laboratory. Aluminum is described as lightweight, corrosion-resistant and an excellent conductor of...

The article offers information on mercury, a mineral commodity used in industrial and small-scale gold mining applications. Mercury has been reported to be used for amalgamation with gold since the Roman times. Mercury from cinnabar from Almadén, Spain has been used by Romans and has been continued to be used through the Middle Ages and the Colonial era.

In 2011, world lithium consumption was estimated to have been about 25 kt (25,000 st) of lithium contained in minerals and compounds, a 10-percent increase from 2010. U.S. consumption was estimated to have been about 2 kt (2,200 st) of contained lithium, a 100-percent increase from 2010. The United States was estimated to be the fourth-ranked consumer of lithium and remained the leading...

In 2011, rare earths were recovered from bastnasite concentrates at the Mountain Pass Mine in California. Consumption of refined rare-earth products decreased in 2011 from 2010. U.S. rare-earth imports originated primarily from China, with lesser amounts from Austria, Estonia, France and Japan. The United States imported all of its demand for yttrium metal and yttrium compounds, with...

The United States is the world's fourth leading producer and consumer of gypsum. Production of gypsum in the U.S. during 2011 was estimated to be 9.4 Mt (103 million st), an increase of 6 percent compared with 2010 production. The average price of mined crude gypsum was $7/t ($6.35/st). Synthetic gypsum, most of which is generated as a fluegas desulfurization process from coal-fired...

Rhenium, a silvery-white, heat resistant metal, has increased significantly in importance since its discovery in 1925. First isolated by a team of German chemists studying platinum ore, the mineral was named for the Rhine River. From 1925 until the 1960s, only two metric tons of rhenium were produced worldwide. Since then, its uses have steadily increased, including everything from...

The article offers information on dimension stone (DS) that are quarried as natural rock for a specific size and dimension chosen for its color, strength, durability. Varieties of metamorphic, igneous or sedimentary rocks are used but DS rocks are mainly marble, granite and slate that can be found from Maine to Alabama in the U.S., in the Carrara District of Italy as well as in Greece...

Hydraulic cements are the binders in concrete and most mortars and stuccos. Concrete, particularly the reinforced variety, is the most versatile of all construction materials, and most of the hydraulic cement produced worldwide is portland cement or similar cements that have portland cement as a basis, such as blended cements and masonry cements. Cement typically makes up less than 15...

The Statistical Abstract of the United States, published since 1878, is the authoritative and comprehensive summary of statistics on the social, political, and economic organization of the United States. Use the Abstract as a convenient volume for statistical reference, and as a guide to sources of more information both in print and on the Web. Sources of data include the Census Bureau...