2005 Salt Lake City Annual Meeting (October 16–19, 2005)

Paper No. 8
Presentation Time: 9:45 AM

U.S. MINERALS INDUSTRY RELIANCE ON IMPORTED MINERAL MATERIALS: EFFECTS OF CHINESE MINERALS CONSUMPTION


MCCARTAN, Lucy, MENZIE, W. David, MORSE, David E., PAPP, John F., PLUNKERT, Patricia A. and TSE, Pui-Kwan, Minerals Information Team, U.S. Geological Survey, 12201 Sunrise Valley Drive, Reston, VA 20192, lmccarta@usgs.gov

Nonfuel minerals and mineral materials required by U.S. industry are mined and processed at thousands of localities in the United States. In the United States, while most low unit-value mineral commodities, such as crushed stone and construction sand and gravel, continue to be used almost entirely near the mines and processing facilities, some high-value nonfuel mineral commodities, such as copper, rare earths, and vanadium, are increasingly imported. The use of recycled metals in place of some types of ore for feedstocks has contributed to lower U.S. net import reliance for some commodities. Production and consumption of minerals and mineral materials in China and other developing countries have had both positive and negative effects on the U.S. minerals industry. Rising prices of mineral commodities increase U.S. mineral commodity producers' profits and may stimulate increased production but result in higher costs for downstream manufacturers and other consumers. Analysis of production, consumption, and trade trends for selected U.S. metals and industrial minerals industries provides key insights on future implications of China's emergence as a major industrial nation.
  Percentage net import reliance for the United States   China consumption (thousand metric tons) U.S. consumption (thousand metric tons)
Mineral Commodity 1980 2000 2004e 2002 2003 2002 2003
Aluminum E 33 41 4,120 5,190 6,320 6,130
Bauxite and alumina (Al equivalents) 94 100 100 4,990 5,830 2,860 3,240
Barite 44 84 79 1,390 1,430 1,920 2,070
Copper 16 37 43 2,740 3,070 2,370 2,290
Iron ore (Fe content) 25 10 8 149,000 182,000 36,100 33,600
Manganese (Mn content) 98 100 100 1,900 2,340 696 618
Nickel 76 56 49 84 133 227 211
Rare earths (REO content) 11 71 100 25 28 11 9
Titanium mineral concentrates (TiO2 content) 80e 79 65 590 650 1,400 1,410
Vanadium (V content) 35 100 100 21 23 3 3
Zinc (all forms) 60 60 56 1,680 1,980 1,420 1,340
Source: USGS. E, net exporter. e, estimated.