Non-Metal Mining & Quarrying
Industry Profile Report
Dive Deep into the industry with a 25+ page industry report (pdf format) including the following chapters
Industry Overview Current Conditions, Industry Structure, How Firms Operate, Industry Trends, Credit Underwriting & Risks, and Industry Forecast.
Call Preparation Call Prep Questions, Industry Terms, and Weblinks.
Financial Insights Working Capital, Capital Financing, Business Valuation, and Financial Benchmarks.
Industry Profile Excerpts
Industry Overview
The 2,700 non-metal mining companies in the US develop mine sites, extract non-metallic minerals from mines, and process the minerals mechanically through beneficiation (crushing, grinding, washing, separating, and concentrating) or by using chemical or electrochemical techniques. Products include dimensional stone blocks or slabs, crushed or broken stone, sand and gravel, clay, and minerals such as potash, soda, borate, sodium, potassium, and phosphate.
Environmental Impacts Of Extraction
During operation, mining companies must control soil erosion and prevent runoff that could contaminate nearby bodies of water.
Injuries and Fatalities Drive Regulation
The mining industry has a high injury and fatality rate.
Industry size & Structure
The average non-metal mining company operates out of one to two locations, has about $57 million in annual revenue, and employs about 33 workers.
- The non-metal mining industry consists of about 2,700 firms that employ 99,700 workers and generate about $156 billion annually.
- Major industry segments include dimensional and crushed stone mining and quarrying; sand and gravel quarrying and dredging; and clay, ceramic, refractory, and other nonmetallic mineral mining and quarrying.
- About 71% of establishments have fewer than 20 employees.
- Most companies operate only one or two mine sites at a time, due to the large capital investment in equipment needed for extraction and processing.
- Large US companies include Martin Marietta Materials, The Mosaic Company, Compass Minerals International, Intrepid Potash, and United States Lime & Minerals.
Industry Forecast
Non-Metal Mining & Quarrying Industry Growth
Recent Developments
Mar 27, 2024 - Prices and Payroll Costs Rose in 2023
- Producer prices for non-metal mining and quarrying firms rose 5.7% in December compared to a year ago after jumping 14% in the previous annual comparison, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Producer prices ended the year just short of their peak in June 2023. Employment by non-metal mining and quarrying firms ticked up 1.3% last year while average wages were $30.94 per hour in December, a 8.8% year-over-year rise and a new high for the industry.
- In a win for the mining industry, a federal appellate court in February vacated a lower court ruling that froze new coal leases on public lands, Politico reports. In an unsigned decision, the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals vacated a lower court judge’s decision in 2022 that reinstated an Obama-era moratorium on reviewing most new coal leasing applications, according to Politico. The National Mining Association (NMA) applauded the ruling stating the court agreed with the NMA, as well as the states of Wyoming and Montana, that the case should have ended once the challenged Department of Interior Secretarial Order was rescinded in 2021. Rich Nolan, NMA president and CEO, said the lower court’s earlier decision “manufactured a nationwide injunction against federal coal leasing unless and until the Bureau of Land Management completed an unnecessary programmatic environmental impact statement.”
- As of January 19, 2024, the US Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) required mine operators to have written safety programs for surface mobile equipment, excluding belt conveyors, at surface mines and the surface areas of underground mines, Coal Age reports. MSHA’s final rule requires that mine operators develop programs, implement them, and update them when necessary. Moreover, the written safety program must be developed and updated with input from miners and their representatives and include actions mine operators will take to identify hazards and risks to reduce accidents, injuries, and fatalities related to surface mobile equipment. In recent years, powered haulage equipment and machinery have been the leading causes of serious and fatal mine accidents. The mining industry had its deadliest year in a decade in 2023, as 40 miners died in accidents across the US. Compliance with MSHA’s final rule is not required until July 17, 2024.
- A bipartisan bill to encourage the cleanup of abandoned hardrock mine sites will benefit wildlife, public lands and waters, local communities, and outdoor recreationists, according to the National Wildlife Federation. The Good Samaritan Remediation of Abandoned Hardrock Mines Act of 2023, reintroduced in September, is also drawing support from the National Mining Association. “If there is one place where the mining industry, environmental organizations, elected officials, and local communities should be aligned, it is on the cleanup of legacy mine sites that were abandoned decades ago,” said Rich Nolan, CEO of the NMA. The bill removes liability provisions that have hampered the cleanup operations by conservation and other “good Samaritan” organizations such as state agencies, local governments, nonprofits, and other groups. The US has over 140,000 abandoned hardrock mine features, of which 22,500 pose environmental hazards according to the General Accounting Office.
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