Industrial minerals are found in nearly every man-made material and their use tends to grow with our population and economy. Without industrial minerals there would be no cities, suburbs, towns or villages or infrastructure to connect them.
We could not produce oil or gas or produce or distribute electricity. We could not grow or harvest abundant crops, raise livestock or produce poultry and eggs. And we could not manufacture the myriad of other consumer products to which we have become accustomed.
The accompanying figure shows some of the industrial minerals that go into various manufacturing sectors.
While the demand for US industrial minerals has increased over the years, production has not kept pace with demand. US manufacturers have become ever more dependent on foreign sources for those minerals.
The accompanying figure shows, by various colors, the United States? relative dependence on imports of industrial minerals.
Without industrial minerals, society as we know it would cease to exist. Send me an email if you want a copy of this figure. And pass it on!