Connecticut Minerals Industry

Minerals Industry Report for Connecticut View/Print/Download the complete report in PDF format In 2007, Connecticut’s nonfuel raw mineral production was valued at about $166 million, based upon annual U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) data. This was a $9 million, or 5%, decrease from the State’s total nonfuel value of 2006, following a $14 million, or 8.7%, increase from 2005 to 2006. Because data for dimension stone (mostly quartzite) and common clays were withheld (company proprietary data), the actual total values for 2005–07 are higher than those reported in table 1.  Crushed stone and construction sand and gravel, the leading nonfuel mineral commodities by value, accounted for nearly all the State’s total nonfuel mineral production and value. In 2007, the unit values of each of these mineral commodities showed small increases, but a more than 12% decrease in the production of crushed stone and a 5.5% decrease in the production of construction sand and gravel led to decreases in their production values of $6.6 million and $2.2 million, respectively. The value of common clays also was down, while the production and value of dimension stone and gemstones were the same as that of 2006 (table 1).  The following narrative information was provided by the Connecticut Geological and Natural History Survey2 (CGNHS). In 2007, the CGNHS completed an update of its listing and the location of all of the State’s active stone quarries, the large majority of the work being performed in 2007. All sites were fi eld checked and Global Positioning System coordinates were recorded. (Sand and gravel operations were not included in updates completed through 2007.) As part of a multiyear effort, fi eldwork for 2008 primarily included historic mining sites. Based upon this completed update, in 2007, Connecticut had 46 active stone quarries and one clay pit, all surface mining sites. Thirty-three of the sites were crushed stone, composed of basalt, marble, or gneiss, and 13 of them were dimension stone, including those of granite, gneiss, and quartzite, others being sedimentary rocks.