Publications

Since domestic sulfur production peaked at nearly 11 million metric tons in 1974, the sulfur industry has undergone dramatic change. In 1974, mined sulfur produced using the Frasch hot water method provided 8 million tons of sulfur, representing 75 percent of total elemental sulfur production. (In the Frasch process, hot water is injected directly into the sulfur-containing mineral...

Seawater and natural brines accounted for about 60 percent of U.S. magnesium compounds production during 2002. Dead-burned and caustic-calcined magnesias were recovered from seawater by Premier Chemicals in Florida. They were also recovered from well brines in Michigan by Dow Chemical, Martin Marietta Magnesia Specialties and Rohm & Haas. And they were recovered from magnesite in Nevada...

Part of the 2002 industrial minerals review. Statistics on gemstone production, processing, consumption, prices, and trade are provided. The outlook for gem diamonds and other precious gems is considered.

Statistics on the production, consumption, cost, trade, and government stockpile of natural and synthetic industrial diamond are provided. The outlook for the industrial diamond market is also considered.

Exploration budgets fell for a fifth successive year during 2002. These decreases reflected unsettled mineral commodity prices and the continued reluctance to invest in mineral markets.

The precious metals commonly referred to as platinum-group metals (PGM) include iridium, osmium, palladium, platinum, rhodium and ruthenium. PGM are among the rarest of elements, and their market values — particularly for palladium, platinum and rhodium — are the highest of all precious metals.

Part of the 2002 industrial minerals review. The production, consumption, and price of shale and common clay in the U.S. during 2002 are discussed. The impact of EPA regulations on brick and structural clay product manufacturers is also outlined.

Mexico and Spain are the leading producers of celestite, the most common strontium ore. Those countries produced nearly 80 percent of the estimated 360 kt (397,000 st) of celestite produced worldwide during 2002. China and Turkey are other significant celestite producers.

Fluorspar, this month’s featured mineral resource commodity, has been widely used in steelmaking since the introduction of basic open-hearth furnace technology in the late 19th century. Its uses have grown and changed over the last 100 years, and now fluorspar’s most important markets are fluorochemicals, aluminum refining and steel. M. Michael Miller, Fluorspar Commodity Specialist for...

Germanium is a hard, brittle semimetal that first came into use over a half-century ago as a semiconductor material in radar units and in the first transistor ever made. Most germanium is recovered as a byproduct of zinc smelting, but it has also been recovered at some copper smelters and from the fly ash of coal-burning industrial power plants.

In the industrialized world, silicon is as ubiquitous in the objects people use every day as it is in nature. The second most abundant element in Earth’s crust and more than 25 percent of the crust by weight, silicon is one of the most useful elements to humans.

Dimension stone can be defined as natural rock material quarried to obtain blocks or slabs that meet specifications as to size (width, length and thickness) and shape for architectural or engineering purposes. Color, grain texture and pattern, and surface finish of the stone are also normal requirements. Other important selection criteria are durability (based on mineral composition...