Manufactured abrasives are made by heating or chemically treating metals or minerals to give them physical properties needed to abrade, clean, etch, grind, polish, scour, or otherwise remove material by rubbing action (as in a grinding wheel) or impact (pressure blasting). Their most important properties are hardness, toughness (rigidity), grain shape and size, character of fracture, and purity (uniformity). Additional considerations include thermal stability, bonding characteristics, cost, and availability. No single property is paramount for any use.

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Annual Publications

Mineral Commodity Summaries

• Manufactured Abrasives
    PDF Format:
       | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 |2012 |2013 |2014 |2015 |2016 |2017 |2018 | 2019 |
• Appendixes

Minerals Yearbook

• Manufactured Abrasives (See Silica for Tripoli and Special Silica)
    PDF Format:
       | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 |
    XLS Format:
       | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 |
• Archive
       | 1932-1993 |

Quarterly Publications

Mineral Industry Surveys

• Manufactured Abrasives
    PDF Format:
      2019: | First Quarter |
      2018: | First Quarter | Second Quarter | Third Quarter | Fourth Quarter |
    XLSX Format:
      2019: | First Quarter |
      2018: | First Quarter | Second Quarter | Third Quarter | Fourth Quarter |

Special Publications

• Historical Statistics for Mineral and Material Commodities in the United States
  Data Series 140
  • Abrasives