UNITED STATES MINERAL RESOURCES 



CONSTRUCTION STONE 



By Robert A. Laurence 



CONTENTS 



Page 



Abstract of conclusions 157 



Introduction 157 



Production and use 157 



Distribution 158 



Problems for research 161 



Selected references 161 



FIGURES 



18. 



Map showing litholog^ic provinces of the United 

 States as related to occurrence and production 

 in 1969 of principal kinds of crushed stone 



Map showing lithologic provinces of the United 

 States as related to occurrence and production 

 in 1969 of principal kinds of dimension stone- 



TABLES 



34. Production of stone, United States 



35. Production of stone in 1969, by types of stone, 



in the United States 



159 



160 



Page 

 158 



161 



ABSTRACT OF CONCLUSIONS 

 Domestic resources of stone for construction, both crushed 

 and dimension stone, are adequate to provide for the ex- 

 pected demand indefinitely. Resource problems exist in local- 

 ities of urbanization and industrial development and will 

 increase, unless careful plans are made to reserve favorable 

 areas for quarrying. Geologic mapping, especially of urban 

 and suburban areas, can provide basic data for such plan- 

 ning. 



INTRODUCTION 



Stone is an essential mineral commodity in our 

 modern industrialized society. It is especially im- 

 portant in building highways and railroads, but 

 also has wide use in all phases of construction. 



"Stone," as a commercial term, includes all con- 

 solidated rock used for construction and roads, as 

 well as that used in cement manufacture, in agricul- 

 ture ("aglime," poultry grit), in chemical and metal- 

 lurgical industries, and for roofing granules. For 

 purposes of this chapter, only stone used for con- 

 struction, monuments, and roads is considered. 

 Other uses of stone are discussed in the appropriate 

 chapters. 



Stone as a construction material may be further 

 classified as crushed stone and dimension stone. 

 Crushed stone is a term applied to rock that has 

 been broken, crushed, or ground to smaller frag- 

 ments after quarrying (Thrush, p. 284). Dimension 

 stone is natural building stone that has been se- 

 lected, trimmed, or cut to specified or indicated 

 shapes or sizes (American Society for Testing and 

 Materials, 1972, p. 103). 



Desirable properties of stone for use as crushed 

 stone in construction are toughness, strength, abra- 

 sion resistance, low porosity and absorption, and 

 absence of minerals, such as sulfides or chert which 

 may deteriorate through weathering or by chemical 

 reaction with certain types of cement. 



Desirable properties of dimension stone include 

 those for crushed stone; in addition dimension 

 stone must be free from fractures and other flaws 

 so that it can be removed from the quarry in large 

 blocks and then cut or shaped as desired. For most 

 interior uses, dimension stone should be capable of 

 taking a polish, and for both interior and exterior 

 uses, the color and appearance of the exposed face 

 are important characteristics. 



PRODUCTION AND USE 



According to Cooper (1970, p. 1219), 

 The stone industry is the largest nonfuel, nonmetallic min- 

 eral industry in the United States from the standpoint of 

 total value of production and is second only to sand and 

 gravel in volume produced. With exception of a few special 

 varieties or qualities of dimension stone, the United Statos is 



U.S. GEOL. SURVEY PROF. PAPER 820 



157 



