Author Description

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.