Massachusetts Minerals Industry

Minerals Industry Report for Massachusetts View/Print/Download the complete report in PDF format In 2007, Massachusetts nonfuel raw mineral production was valued at $277 million, based upon annual U.S. Geological Survey data. This was an $11 million, or a 3.8%, decrease from the State’s total nonfuel mineral value in 2006, which then had increased by $38 million, up by more than 15% from that of 2005. Massachusetts leading nonfuel mineral commodities were, in descending order of production value, construction sand and gravel, crushed stone, and lime, the former two commodities accounting for 96% of the State’s total reported value. Because production value data for lime and for common clays have been withheld, the State’s actual total nonfuel mineral values for 2005–07 are significantly higher than those reported in table 1. Construction sand and gravel led the State’s nonfuel mineral commodities with an increase in value in 2007 of $5 million, a nearly 4% increase from that of 2006, despite a more than 11% decrease in production of 2 million metric tons (Mt). However, this was more than offset by a $16 million, or 11.6%, decrease in the value of crushed stone, in part the result of a 2.4 Mt, or nearly 18%, drop in stone production. Although dimension stone production increased by 11%, the mineral commodity’s value decreased slightly, and common clays production and production value also showed small decreases for the year (table 1). An increase in the production of lime and an increase in the mineral commodity’s unit value led to a nearly 18% increase in its production value. In 2007, the State continued to rank fourth among the States in the quantities of dimension stone produced; additionally, the quarries and sand pits in Massachusetts continued to produce significant quantities of construction sand and gravel and crushed stone as compared with those of the other producing States.