UNITED STATES MINERAL RESOURCES 



SAND AND GRAVEL 



By Warren Yeend 



CONTENTS 



Abstract of conclusions 561 



Introduction 561 



Geologic environments and their distribution 562 



Potential resources 562 



Exploration techniques 563 



Problems for research 564 



References 565 



ABSTRACT OF CONCLUSIONS 



The sand and gravtel industry is the largest nonfuel min- 

 eral industry in terms of volume, in the United States. Al- 

 though the United States currently produces enough sand 

 and gravel to supply its requirements, it is predicted that 

 by A.D. 2000 the domestic resources accessible at 1968 prices 

 will barely meet the demand. 



The most important commercial sources of sand and gravel 

 are river channels and glaciated terrain. However, as these 

 sources become depleted, marine and lake environments could 

 become important. 



Deposits in all areas are located by conventional field map- 

 ping with the aid of geophysical techniques, such as seismic 

 refraction and reflection and resistivity surveys. 



A current major problem facing industry is land-use con- 

 flict where land containing potentially rich sand and gravel 

 resources is at present more valuable for building develop- 

 ment and is thus removed from future mineral production. 

 Planning resulting in effective multiple use of the mineral- 

 rich land would allow for the recovery of sand and gravel 

 prior to urbanization. 



Additional sand and gravel now noneconomic may be 

 made available through development of low-cost transporta- 

 tion from remote deposits or by the establishment of a 

 workable two-way (back haul) exchange system. 



INTRODUCTION 



The sand and gravel industry is the largest non- 

 fuel mineral industry, in terms of volume, in the 

 United States. Although this commodity possesses 

 the lowest average unit value of all the mineral 

 commodities ($1.11 per ton in 1968), its total pro- 

 duction value in 1970 was approximately $1.1 bil- 



lion, surpassed by only a few mineral commodities. 



The construction industry accounts for 96 per- 

 cent of all domestic consumption of sand and gravel, 

 the principal uses being concrete aggregate, bitu- 

 minous mixes, and fill. 



At present the United States is entirely self- 

 sufficient and produces enough sand and gravel to 

 supply all domestic requirements. However, because 

 of the continual increasing cost of land, equipment, 

 and personnel, as well as widespread zoning and 

 environmental limitations, the outlook for the in- 

 dustry is uncertain and not without problems. Do- 

 mestic resources now accessible at 1968 prices are 

 barely adequate to meet the maximum cumulative 

 forecast demand of 66 billion tons by the year 2000 

 (Cooper, 1970). Transportation costs severely limit 

 international trade in sand and gravel; thus, it is 

 not surprising that less than 1 percent of the sand 

 and gravel used in the United States is imported. 



Domestic production of sand and gravel in 1970 

 was 943.9 million short tons, 43 percent of which 

 was produced in seven States — California, Michi- 

 gan, Ohio, Minnesota, Illinois, Wisconsin, and New 

 York. Of the 100 largest sand and gravel operations 

 in the United States, almost all are near the large 

 population centers. The San Francisco Bay and Los 

 Angeles areas account for 27 of the 100 largest 

 operations. Most of the remainder are east of the 

 Mississippi River in the Northern States, where the 

 bulk of the population of the country is centered. 

 Fortunately, much of this area falls within the 

 glaciated area of the United States, which is a rich 

 source area for sand and gravel deposits. 



Although there seems to be an increasing need, 

 the demand for this commodity has, in the past, 

 fluctuated locally as a function of construction of 

 large public works projects, such as dams, freeways, 

 and aqueducts. Such construction consumes by far 

 the greatest tonnages of sand and gravel. A pre- 

 diction of future need, therefore, hinges on a pre- 



U.S. GEOL. SURVEY PROF. PAPER 820 



561 



