What is mining?
A while back this thread bantered the definition of mining. Views ranged
from all forms of mineral extraction to only hardrock mining of metallic
minerals. Perhaps this information from the June Issue of Mining
Engineering will clear up the point. Listed under Industrial Minerals mined
in the United States were ball clay, bauxite and alumina, boron, bromine,
cement, chromite, common clay and shale, construction aggregates, diatomite,
dimension stone, feldspar, fire clay, flourspar, fuller’s earth, gypsum,
industrial diamond, industrial garnet, iodine, kaolin, magnesia, magnesite,
mica, nitrogen compounds, peat, perlite, phosphate rock, potash, pumice and
pumicite, rare earths, salt, silica sand, soda ash, strontium, sulfur, talc
and pyrophyllite, titanium, vermiculite, wollastonie, zeolites and zirconium.
It was also noted that the mining of these “industrial minerals” amounted to
$31.4 billion dollars out of a total of $61 billion mined mineral value in
the United States. By the way fuels were not included in the $61 billion in
mined minerals, they are listed separately.
Mason Coggin
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