“The focus now returns to the real issue: passage of a long-term surface transportation bill,” says Pete Ruane in a written statement. “…we will continue to ‘fight-the fight’….”

USGS: U.S. minerals sector DECLINED in 2009

The value of U.S. mineral production significantly declined in 2009, according to the recently released report, Mineral Commodity Summaries 2010, from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

The value of raw, non-fuel minerals mined in the United States was $57.1 billion in 2009, a decline of 20 percent during the past year, according to USGS. The value of materials domestically processed and refined from these raw minerals was $454 billion in 2009, a 25-percent decline from that of 2008, the government agency reports.

Also during the past year, USGS says that U.S. dependence on foreign sources for minerals has increased, continuing a trend that has been evident for more than 30 years. The United States relied on foreign sources to supply more than 50 percent of domestic consumption of 38 mineral commodities in 2009, and was 100-percent reliant on imports for 19 of those, according to USGS.

Minerals are a fundamental component to the U.S. economy, the government agency says, which is significant to note in today’s tumultuous economic environment. Final products, such as cars and houses, produced by major U.S. industries using mineral materials, composed about 13 percent (more than $1.9 trillion) of the 2009 gross domestic product.

“Over the last year, there has been reduced production of almost every mineral commodity and lower prices for most metals,” said USGS Mineral Resources Program Coordinator Kathleen Johnson in a written statement. “This report allows for timely research and analysis of our nation’s minerals sector.”

The USGS report “Mineral Commodity Summaries 2010” is available at http://www.minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/mcs.

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