SIC 1411 Dimension Stone
SIC 1411
This category covers establishments primarily engaged in mining or quarrying dimension stone. Also included are establishments engaged in producing rough blocks and slabs. Establishments primarily engaged in mining dimension soapstone or in mining or quarrying and shaping grindstones, pulpstones, millstones, burrstones, and sharpening stones are classified in SIC 1499: Miscellaneous Nonmetallic Minerals, Except Fuels. Establishments primarily engaged in dressing (shaping, polishing, or otherwise finishing) blocks and slabs are classified in SIC 3281: Cut Stone and Stone Products. Nepheline syenite mining operations are classified in SIC 1459: Clay, Ceramic, and Refractory Minerals, Not Elsewhere Classified.
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Dimension Stone Mining and Quarry
In 2003, 132 U.S. companies produced 1.35 million tons of dimension stone for use in building, monuments, and curbing with a total value of $236 million. Roughly 176 quarries operated in 2003 in 34 states, with those in Indiana, Wisconsin, Georgia, Vermont, and Massachusetts accounting for 53 percent of the national output. Of the total industry tonnage, 34 percent was granite dimension stone, 28 percent limestone, 16 percent sandstone, 5 percent marble, 1 percent slate, and 16 percent other types of dimension stone.
The use of dimension stone in the high-end single-family housing sector was bolstered by an increase in residential construction in the early 2000s. Despite a weak U.S. economy, historically low interest rates fueled new housing starts. Increased use of granite and marble dimension stone in residential kitchens and bathrooms, limestone dimension stone in landscaping stone and ledges, and "worked" or hand-carved dimension stone and roofing slate in residential homes indicated that the residential segment would continue to be an expanding market for U.S. dimension stone producers.
The U.S. quarrying industry as a whole encompasses two major sectors: crushed stone and dimension stone. Within the dimension stone segment, companies mine, cut, and in some instances prepare stone blocks for such uses as building stone, monument stone, paving stone, and curbing. The dimension stone industry traditionally has accounted for only 0.5 to 1.0 percent of the 1 billion total tons of stone produced annually.
Dimension stone consists of both rough block and dressed stone. Rough stone accounted for 52 percent of all dimension stone produced by U.S. firms in 2003. Roughly 45 percent of rough block was used in building, and 23 percent was used in irregular shaped stone applications. The largest uses of dressed stone were flagging, curbing, and ashlar (a squared cut of stone used as facing material).
Among the many minerals mined for use as dimension stone by U.S. producers are basalt and diabase. Although these minerals, known collectively as trap rock or "trap," are primarily used in crushed stone, small amounts are quarried, cut, and polished as "black granite" for dimension stone. Because traprock dimension products are low-cost commodities in the stone market, they become less profitable as they are transported farther from mining locations. As a result, proximity to end-use markets or inexpensive modes of transportation are considered more important than their properties as minerals.
Another material commonly used as dimension stone is granite. The granite category includes"true" granite, granite gneiss, syenite and diorite, and some forms of granite-gabbro. Dimension granite is used in monuments and memorials; in heavy construction as large blocks; in residential and other buildings as foundation blocks, steps, and columns known as ashlar (when cut to regular shapes and sizes); and as paving stones and curbstones. Factors influencing the value of dimension granite deposits include color, uniformity of texture, and hardness. Besides final appearance, these factors also affect the cost of quarrying, cutting, and "dressing"or processing the rock.
The production of dimension granite historically has occurred in three regions: New England, the Southeast, and the midwestern states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and South Dakota. Smaller amounts of dimension granite were produced in 14 other states.
Limestone is another material with numerous applications as dimension stone. Mines in Indiana traditionally have accounted for 60 percent of the dimension limestone produced in the United States. Dimension limestone is used nationally for the exteriors of commercial and institutional buildings as "Indiana" or "Bedford stone." Valuable properties of dimension limestone include...
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