Pumice and pumicite
R.D. Crangle Jr.
2013, Mining Engineering (2013) 77-78
Production of pumice in the United States during 2012 was estimated to be 515 kt (568,000 st), a 5-percent increase compared to 2011. The unit value of pumice varied widely by end use in 2012. Pumice used as an abrasive was priced at $10.30/t ($9.34/st), while specialty-grade pumice, used in...
Potash
S.M. Jasinski
2013, Mining Engineering (2013) 76-77
In 2012, world potash production, consumption and sales decreased from 2011. High inventories of potash, primarily in China and India, forced major producers to reduce output in 2012. U.S. production was estimated to have decreased to 900 kt (990,000 st) potassium oxide (K2O) in 2012 from 1 Mt (1.1 million...
Perlite
W.P. Bolen
2013, Mining Engineering (2013) 72-73
Domestic production and prices of crude processed perlite in the United States were estimated to have increased in 2012 compared with 2011. Perlite trade, both imports and exports, slowed in 2012 compared with 2011. With imports of perlite down by about 13 percent and domestic production up slightly, the balance...
Peat
L.E. Apodaca
2013, Mining Engineering (2013) 71-71
In 2012, domestic production of peat, excluding Alaska, was estimated to be 560 kt (617,000 st), compared with 568 kt (626,000 st) in 2011. In 2012, imports decreased to 940 kt (1 million st) compared with 982 kt (1.1 million st) in 2011, and exports were estimated to have increased...
Nitrogen
L.E. Apodaca
2013, Mining Engineering (2013) 70-71
Ammonia was produced by 13 companies at 25 plants in 16 states during 2012. Sixty-one percent of total U.S. ammonia production capacity was centered in Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas because of those states’ large reserves of natural gas, the dominant domestic feedstock....
Lithium in 2012
B.W. Jaskula
2013, Mining Engineering (65) 63-64
In 2012, estimated world lithium consumption was about 28 kt (31,000 st) of lithium contained in minerals and compounds, an 8 percent increase from that of 2011. Estimated U.S. consumption was about 2 kt (2,200 st) of contained lithium, the same as that of 2011. The United States was thought...
Kaolin
R.L. Virta
2013, Mining Engineering (2013) 60-62
Nineteen companies mined kaolin in eight states in 2012. Production, on the basis of preliminary data, was estimated to be 5.88 Mt (6.48 million st) valued at $841 million, an increase from 5.77 Mt (6.36 million st) valued at $817 million in 2011. Production in Georgia, the top producing state,...
Industrial sand and gravel
T.P. Dolley
2013, Mining Engineering (2013) 55-56
Domestic production of industrial sand and gravel in 2012 was about 49.5 Mt (55 million st), increasing 13 percent compared with that of 2011. Some important end uses for industrial sand and gravel include abrasives, filtration, foundry, glassmaking, hydraulic fracturing sand (frac sand) and silicon metal applications....
Industrial garnet
D.W. Olson
2013, Mining Engineering (2013) 54-55
Garnet has been used as a gemstone since the Bronze Age. However, garnet’s angular fractures, relatively high hardness and specific gravity, chemical inertness and nontoxicity make it ideal for many industrial applications. It is also free of crystalline silica and can be recycled....
Industrial diamond
D.W. Olson
2013, Mining Engineering (2013) 53-54
Estimated 2012 world production of natural and synthetic industrial diamond was about 4.45 billion carats. During 2012, natural industrial diamonds were produced in at least 20 countries, and synthetic industrial diamond was produced in at least 12 countries. About 99 percent of the combined natural and synthetic global output was...
Gypsum
R.D. Crangle
2013, Mining Engineering (2013) 49-50
The United States is the world’s fifth ranked producer and consumer of gypsum. Production of crude gypsum in the United States during 2012 was estimated to be 9.9 Mt (10.9 million st), an increase of 11 percent compared with 2011 production. The average price of mined crude gypsum was $7/t...
Gemstones
D.W. Olson
2013, Mining Engineering (2013) 45-46
The estimated value of natural gemstones produced from U.S. deposits during 2012 was $11.1 million, a slight increase from 2011. U.S. gemstone production included agate, amber, beryl, coral, garnet, jade, jasper, opal, pearl, quartz, sapphire, shell, topaz, tourmaline, turquoise and many other gem materials....
Fluorspar
M. Miller
2013, Mining Engineering (2013) 42-43
World fluorspar demand slowed in 2012 and, according to some sources prices decreased, especially in the latter half of the year. In 2012, nearly all fluorspar (CaF2) consumption in the United States was from imports. Hastie Mining and Trucking Co. produced some fluorspar as a byproduct of its limestone quarry...
Diatomite
R.D. Crangle Jr.
2013, Mining Engineering (2013) 39-40
The United States continues to be the world’s leading producer and consumer of diatomite. Production of diatomite in the United States during 2012 was estimated to be 820 kt (903,000 st), a slight increase compared with 2011 production. The unit value of diatomite varied widely by end use in 2012....
Bromine
J.A. Ober
2013, Mining Engineering (2013) 29-30
The element bromine is found principally as a dissolved species in seawater, evaporitic (salt) lakes and underground brines associated with petroleum deposits. Seawater contains about 65 parts per million of bromine or an estimated 907 Gt (100 trillion st). In the Middle East, the highly saline waters of the Dead...
Borates
R.D. Crangle Jr.
2013, Mining Engineering (2013) 28-29
Four minerals represent 90 percent of the borates used by industry worldwide — the sodium borates (tincal and kernite), calcium borate (colemanite) and the sodium-calcium borate (ulexite). Borax is a white crystalline substance, chemically known as sodium tetraborate decahydrate, and is found naturally as the mineral tincal. Boric acid is...
Bauxite and alumina
E. Lee Bray
2013, Mining Engineering (2013) 24-25
The United States is reliant upon imports for nearly all of the bauxite that it consumes. Small amounts of bauxite and bauxitic clays are produced in Alabama, Arkansas and Georgia for nonmetallurgical uses. Metallurgical-grade bauxite (crude dry) imports in 2012 totaled 10.3 Mt (11.3 million st), 8 percent more than...
Barite
M. Miller
2013, Mining Engineering (2013) 23-24
Barite is the mineralogical name for barium sulfate, which is also referred to as barytes. The most basic marketable product is known as “crude barite,” which is barite that usually has undergone simple beneficiation methods, such as jigging, tabling and washing, or more complex methods, such as flotation, heavy-media separation...
Ball clay
R.L. Virta
2013, Mining Engineering (2013) 22-23
Four companies — H.C. Spinks Clay Co., Inc., Imerys, Old Hickory Clay Co. and Unimin Corp. — mined ball clay in five U.S. states in 2012. Production, on the basis of preliminary data, was 900 kt (992,000 st), with an estimated value of $42.3 million. This was a slight increase...
Enhanced innate immune responses in a brood parasitic cowbird species: degranulation and oxidative burst
D. Caldwell Hahn, Scott G. Summers, Kenneth J. Genovese, Haiqi He, Michael H. Kogut
2013, Avian Diseases (57) 285-289
We examined the relative effectiveness of two innate immune responses in two species of New World blackbirds (Passeriformes, Icteridae) that differ in resistance to West Nile virus (WNV). We measured degranulation and oxidative burst, two fundamental components of phagocytosis, and we predicted that the functional effectiveness of these innate immune...
Simulation of groundwater flow in the "1,500-foot" sand and "2,000-foot" sand and movement of saltwater in the "2,000-foot" sand of the Baton Rouge area, Louisiana
Charles E. Heywood, Jason M. Griffith
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1153
Groundwater withdrawals have caused saltwater to encroach into freshwater-bearing aquifers beneath Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Groundwater investigations in the 1960s identified a freshwater-saltwater interface located at the Baton Rouge Fault, across which abrupt changes in water levels occur. Aquifers south of the fault generally contain saltwater, and aquifers north of the...
Total suspended solids concentrations and yields for water-quality monitoring stations in Gwinnett County, Georgia, 1996-2009
Mark N. Landers
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1145
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Gwinnett County Department of Water Resources, established a water-quality monitoring program during late 1996 to collect comprehensive, consistent, high-quality data for use by watershed managers. As of 2009, continuous streamflow and water-quality data as well as discrete water-quality samples were being collected...
A multi-decade time series of kelp forest community structure at San Nicolas Island, California
Kevin D. Lafferty, Michael C. Kenner, James A. Estes, M. Tim Tinker, James L. Bodkin, Robert K. Cowen, Christopher Harrold, Mark Novak, Andrew Rassweiler, Daniel C. Reed
2013, Ecology (94)
San Nicolas Island is surrounded by broad areas of shallow subtidal habitat, characterized by dynamic kelp forest communities that undergo dramatic and abrupt shifts in community composition. Although these reefs are fished, the physical isolation of the island means that they receive less impact from human activities than most reefs...
Ecological impacts of energy-wood harvests: Lessons from whole-tree harvesting and natural disturbance
Alaina L. Berger, Brian Palik, Anthony W. D’Amato, Shawn Fraver, John B. Bradford, Keith H. Nislow, David King, Robert T. Brooks
2013, Journal of Forestry (111) 139-153
Recent interest in using forest residues and small-diameter material for biofuels is generating a renewed focus on harvesting impacts and forest sustainability. The rich legacy of research from whole-tree harvesting studies can be examined in light of this interest. Although this research largely focused on consequences for forest productivity, in...
Consideration of vertical uncertainty in elevation-based sea-level rise assessments: Mobile Bay, Alabama case study
Dean B. Gesch
2013, Journal of Coastal Research (63) 197-210
The accuracy with which coastal topography has been mapped directly affects the reliability and usefulness of elevationbased sea-level rise vulnerability assessments. Recent research has shown that the qualities of the elevation data must be well understood to properly model potential impacts. The cumulative vertical uncertainty has contributions from elevation data...
