Publications

Electric vehicles have been promoted to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and lessen U.S. dependence on petroleum for transportation. Growth in U.S. sales of electric vehicles has been hindered by technical difficulties and the high cost of the lithium-ion batteries used to power many electric vehicles (more than 50% of the vehicle cost). Groundbreaking has begun for a lithium-ion battery...

Lime is the common term for several chemicals in three major categories: quicklime, hydrated lime and refractory dead-burned dolomite. Lime is almost never found naturally. It is primarily manufactured by burning limestone in kilns, followed by hydration when necessary.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) analyzes mineral and metal supply chains to identify and describe major components of material flows from ore extraction, through intermediate forms, to a final product. Supply chain analyses may be used to identify risks to the United States associated with the supply of critical and strategic minerals and metals and to provide greater supply chain...

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) provides information on the current use and flow of minerals and mineral-based materials in the U.S. and world economies. This Data Series report on “Historical Global Statistics for Mineral and Material Commodities” contains information on the production of selected commodities from 1990 to the most current year. The data may be used in the analysis of

Pumice is an extrusive igneous volcanic rock formed through the rapid cooling of air-pocketed lava, which results in a low-density, high-porosity rock. Fine-grained pumice, or pumicite, is defined as minute grains, flakes, threads or shards of volcanic glass, with a size finer than 4 millimeters.

Iodine is a bluish-black lustrous solid (violet-colored in its gaseous state) found primarily in seaweed, underground brines associated with petroleum deposits and caliche ore deposits.

Since 1995, domestic production of lead has increasingly shifted from primary mining and smelting to the recovery of lead-bearing scrap by the secondary lead industry, which accounted for 91 percent of U.S. lead production in 2012. Increasingly stringent environmental regulations for lead emissions in the United States have contributed to the closure of primary lead refineries and the

This crosswalk is based on the premise that there is a connection between the way mineral commodities are used and how this use is reflected in the economy. Raw mineral commodities are the basic materials from which goods, finished products, or intermediate materials are manufactured or made. Mineral commodities are vital to the development of the U.S. economy and they impact nearly...

Bromine, along with mercury, is one of only two elements that are liquid at room temperature. Bromine is a highly volatile and corrosive reddish-brown liquid that evaporates easily and converts to a metal at extreme pressures — above about 540,000 times atmospheric pressure. Bromine occurs in seawater, evaporitic (salt) lakes and underground brines associated with petroleum deposits.

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