Nonmetallic Mineral Mining and Quarrying

Brief Excerpt from Industry Overview Chapter:

The nonmetallic mineral mining and quarrying industry in the US includes about 3,300 companies with annual revenues of about $24 billion. Major companies include Vulcan Materials, Martin Marietta Materials, and subsidiaries of foreign firms such as Lehigh Hanson (Germany) and Oldcastle Materials (Ireland). The industry is fragmented, with many small firms serving local geographic markets.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Demand is driven by construction spending and agricultural spending on fertilizers. Large companies have some economies of scale in purchasing and administrative systems, and have the production volume to supply large construction projects, such as new highways. Small companies typically own just one mine and compete in a local market based on superior customer service.

PRODUCTS, OPERATIONS & TECHNOLOGY

Major products include crushed and broken limestone (35 percent of revenue), construction sand and gravel (20 percent); crushed and broken granite (10 percent); potash, soda, and borate (5 percent); kaolin and ball clay; and phosphate rock (each less than 5 percent). Other products include gypsum, bentonite, clay, and other broken stone. Phosphates and potassium salts are used to make fertilizers. Crushed stone, sand, and gravel are also referred to as aggregates.

Most quarries are open-pit mines where the surface is blasted to reach stone mineral and stone deposits. Benches are cut in to the walls to enable access to deeper deposits. The rock is blasted from the mine face, loaded into trucks, and carried to the primary crusher, which breaks it into smaller pieces....