Utah Mineral Industry

"This first thorough survey of Utah's mining history provides overviews of the geology, economic history, and folklore of mining in the state; recounts the development of a selection of historically significant minerals, such as coal, salines, and uranium; and includes region-by-region histories of Utah's mining booms and busts. The essays are written by notable experts in the field, among them historians Thomas G. Alexander, Martha Sonntag Bradley-Evans, James E. Fell Jr., Laurence P. James, Brigham D. Madsen, Allen Kent Powell, W. Paul Reeve, and Raye C. Ringholz and geologists J. Wallace Gwynn and William T. Parry."--BOOK JACKET.

The value of Utah's non-petroleum mineral production in 1995 is estimated to be $2.5 billion, an increase of more than $300 million from 1994, making 1995 production an all-time high. Contributions from each of the major industry segments are: base metals, $1,198 million (48 percent of total), coal, $540 million (22 percent of total), industrial minerals, $429 million (17 percent of total), and precious metals, $310 million (13 percent of total). The growth in Utah's mineral valuation by industry segment for 1993 - 1995 is shown in figure 1. Prices rose sharply for base metals (copper, molybdenum, and magnesium) in 1995 while coal and precious metals showed slight improvement. Industrial mineral prices increased modestly for some commodities and declined for other commodities.

Whether you are a geologist, history buff, or rockhound, this booklet will be a helpful guide to Utah?s mining districts. The booklet is divided up into three parts: the first part provides general information on what a mining district is, how many mining districts are in Utah, types of mineral deposits found at these districts, and landownership issues. The second part includes individual mining-district discussions containing information on location, production, history, geology, mineralogy, and current/future operations. The third part includes a glossary of geologic terms and other useful resources in the appendices, such as a descriptive list of minerals found in the districts, geologic time scale, and a list of mineral resources of the mining districts.

The value of Utah's mineral production in 1996 is estimated to be $2.2 billion, a decrease of $197 million from 1995. This still makes 1996 the second-highest year in total mineral value output. Contributions from each of the major industry segments are: base metals, $960 million; coal, $500 million; industrial minerals, $433 million; and precious metals, $326 million.