OHIO’S FUEL AND NON-FUEL MINERAL INDUSTRIES IN 2016

The value of industrial-mineral production in Ohio is at an all-time high, exceeding $1 billion in 2015 for the second consecutive year. Production of construction aggregates, such as sand, gravel, limestone, and dolomite, have continued to increase during the past six years. Ohio continues to rank consistently in the top five states for crushed limestone production and rank in the top ten states for sand-and-gravel production in the United States. Devonian- and Silurian-age carbonates located in western Ohio are principal sources of crushed stone, and Wisconsinan-age glacial outwash and kame terraces in major river valleys provide plentiful sand-and-gravel deposits. Other major geologic commodities, such as clay, shale, and salt, have remained steady or increased production in recent years.

Numerous factors have contributed to the downward trend of coal production and rising industrial-mineral production in Ohio during the past several years. Some of these influences are the substantial increase in oil-and-gas production in eastern Ohio and increased demand for road construction aggregate. Additionally, Ohio is in the midst of a substantial shift in fuel sources for electric power generation, from a heavily coal-dominated fuel supply to one that includes a larger percentage of natural gas. Coal production is expected to continue to decline, albeit it at a less dramatic rate than the 34% drop from 2013 to 2015. Non-fuel mineral production, largely construction aggregates, is anticipated to maintain growth. Sandstone and conglomerate production is expected to slowly decrease in the immediate future owing to several individual quarries altering their production capacities. Salt sales are a function primarily of projected winter demand for road de-icing material, pre-existing sales contracts, or fluctuating spot prices. The above-normal temperatures and below-normal snowfall in Ohio for the 2015–2016 winter likely will curtail salt sales in the near future as many government stockpiles were not depleted.