Publications

Beryllium metal is lighter than aluminum and stiffer than steel. These and other properties, including its strength, dimensional stability, thermal properties and reflectivity, make it useful for aerospace and defense applications, such as satellite and space-vehicle structural components. Beryllium’s nuclear properties, combined with its low density, make it useful as a neutron...

The United States is the third leading producer of feldspar worldwide, after Italy and Turkey, according to data published by the U.S. Geological Survey. Foreign analysts indicate that China is also a leading feldspar producer, but official production data are not available. Feldspars are aluminum silicate minerals that contain varying proportions of calcium, potassium and sodium...

Part of the 2003 industrial minerals review. The legislation, production, and consumption of common clay and shale are discussed. The average prices of the material and outlook for the market are provided.

Supply and demand data for fluorspar are provided. Industry developments and the outlook for 2005 are discussed.

As if classified as a top-secret project, the rare earths have been shrouded in secrecy. The principal ore mineral of the group, bastnäsite, rarely appears in the leading mineralogy texts. The long names of the rare-earth elements and some unusual arrangements of letters, many Scandinavian in origin, may have intimidated even those skilled in phonics. Somewhat obscurely labeled, the rare...

Supply and demand data for industrial garnet are provided. Topics discussed are production, consumption, prices, foreign trade, and the outlook for 2004.

The United States is a major producer and consumer of refined lead, representing almost one quarter of total world production and consumption. Two mines in Alaska and six in Missouri accounted for 97 percent of domestic lead production in 2002. The United States also imports enough refined lead to satisfy almost 20 percent of domestic consumption. Other major producers or consumers of...

Peat is a natural organic material of botanical origin and commercial significance. Peatlands are situated predominately in shallow wetland areas of the Northern Hemisphere. Commercial deposits are formed from the gradual decomposition of plant matter under anaerobic conditions over about a 5,000-year period.

The ammonia industry partially recovered from the effects of high natural gas prices that had closed a significant portion of the industry in 2001. Ammonia production capacity in the United States in 2002 was about 17.1 Mt (18.8 million st). About 53 percent of this capacity was centered in Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas where there are large reserves of natural gas.

Part of the 2002 industrial minerals review. Production, consumption, cost, and trade data for bentonite during 2002 are presented. Predictions on bentonite markets in 2003 are also provided.

Part of the 2002 industrial minerals review. Statistics on ball clay consumption, production, prices, trade, and trends are presented.

The estimated domestic production of pumice and pumicite in 2002 was 950 kt (1.04 million st), a 3.2 percent increase compared with the revised total of 2001, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The amount of pumice and pumicite sold or used in the United States was revised for the years 1998 through 2001 in the USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries, 2003.