SIC 1479 Chemical and Fertilizer Mineral Mining, Not Elsewhere Classified

Contenidos

• NAICS CODE(S).
• INDUSTRY SNAPSHOT.
• ORGANIZATION AND STRUCTURE.
• CURRENT CONDITIONS.
• Salt.
• Sulfur.
• Barite.
• Other Minerals.
• INDUSTRY LEADERS.
• FURTHER READING.

SIC 1479

This category covers establishments primarily engaged in mining, milling, or otherwise preparing chemical or fertilizer mineral raw materials, not elsewhere classified. Establishments primarily engaged in milling, grinding, or otherwise preparing barite not in conjunction with mining or quarry operations are classified in SIC 3295: Minerals and Earths, Ground or Otherwise Treated; similar establishments preparing other minerals of this industry are included here. Establishments primarily engaged in producing salt by evaporation of sea water or brine are classified in SIC 2899: Chemicals and Chemical Preparations, Not Elsewhere Classified.

NAICS CODE(S)

212393

Other Chemical and Fertilizer Mineral Mining

INDUSTRY SNAPSHOT

Salt represents nearly half of all industry chemical and fertilizer mineral industry shipments. Consequently, the performance of the salt industry tends to reflect overall industry conditions. U.S. salt production between 2000 and 2003 declined from 45.6 million metric tons to 41.2 million metric tons, while consumption declined from 51.6 million metric tons to 50.1 million metric tons over the same time period. Because production was declining faster than production, the United States increased its reliance on imports to 23 percent of domestic consumption in 2003, compared to 16 percent of consumption in 2000. At the same time, exports declined from 1.12 million metric tons in 2001 to 500,000 metric tons in 2003.

ORGANIZATION AND STRUCTURE

The major products mined by the chemical and fertilizer minerals industry included salt, sulfur, barite, fluorspar, lithium, and strontium. Salt represents approximately 50 percent of the value of all industry shipments and is primarily produced in Louisiana, Texas, and New York. The second largest segment of the miscellaneous chemicals and fertilizer minerals mining industry is sulfur, which comprises roughly one-third of the value of all industry products. The third largest product in the miscellaneous chemical and fertilizer mineral mining industry is barite, although it represents less than 5 percent of the value of all industry shipments.

CURRENT CONDITIONS

Salt

The United States was the world's largest producer of salt in the early 2000s, followed by China, India, Germany, and Canada. Twenty-nine U.S. companies operated 69 salt-producing plants in 15 states in 2003, producing salt in four basic forms: salt in brine (51 percent of all salt sold or used), rock salt (30 percent), vacuum pan salt (11 percent), and solar salt (8 percent).

There were roughly 14,000 end uses for salts, with the largest being chemicals (45 percent), road de-icing/ice control salt (31 percent), salt sold to distributors (8 percent), industrial uses (8 percent), agricultural salt (6 percent), food (including table salt, 4 percent), primary water treatment applications (2 percent), and exports/other uses (less than 1 percent). Along with limestone, coal, and sulfur, salt was one of the four most important minerals used by the chemicals industry. As early as 1939, salt was being used in the production of 74 industrial chemicals in the form of...