1. Vecellio & Grogan, Inc., White Rock, Miami-Dade County, Florida

2. Texas Crushed Stone Co., Inc. Georgetown, Williamson County, Texas

3. Cemex S.A.B. de C.V., F.E.C. Quarry, Miami-Dade County, Florida

4. Vulcan Materials Co., McCook 378, Cook County, Illinois

5. Martin Marietta Aggregates, Beckmann Quarry, Bexar County, Texas

Top Sand and Gravel Operations

The five leading construction sand and gravel pits/plants, in descending order of 2007 production, are listed below. These five pits/plants produced 21 million metric tons (23 million short tons) of construction sand and gravel, valued at $157 million.

1. California Portland Cement Co., Dupont Pit, Pierce County, Washington

2. Clyde Companies, Inc., South Hansen, Salt Lake County, Utah

3. Gila River Indian Community, Maricopa Pit, Pinal County, Arizona

4. Nevada Ready Mix, Lone Mountain Pit, Clark County, Nevada

5. All American Asphalt, Corona Plant, Riverside, California

Jason Christopher Willet is a crushed stone commodity specialist with the U.S. Geological Survey.

Headline: USGS Reports

The USGS produces a set of publications on construction aggregates and other mineral commodities, including the Minerals Yearbook, Mineral Industry Surveys, and Mineral Commodity Summaries. The Minerals Yearbook is an annual publication that contains statistical data on crushed stone and construction sand and gravel as separate chapters. The Minerals Yearbook series includes chapters on approximately 90 mineral commodities and 175 countries. Aggregates Mineral Industry Surveys are quarterly, Web-based publications designed to provide timely statistical data on domestic production of crushed stone, construction sand and gravel, and aggregates at the national, state, and regional levels. The quarterly survey is a sample survey that generates production-for-consumption estimates by quarter, based on information reported voluntarily by a limited number of producing companies. The Mineral Commodity Summaries is published on an annual basis and is the earliest annual government publication to furnish estimates regarding prior-year construction aggregates industry data. The 2009 Mineral Commodity Summaries will provide preliminary data on 2008 production in early 2009. A directory of producers is published annually for the crushed stone industry and for the construction sand and gravel industry. These directories rank the leading companies based on their production-for-consumption for the previous year.

All publications are available on the USGS Mineral Resources Program Web site, http://minerals.usgs.gov/, by selecting the Quick Link for “Minerals Information.”