WorldWide Drilling Resource

making Texas one of the nations lead- ing clay producers. Ceramic products include structural and paving brick, and decorative tile. Nonceramic clays are used as bleaching or absorbent agents, bonding clays, drilling muds, and other uses. Sulfur has also played an impor- tant role in the natural history of Texas. Around 1919, the Texas Sulfur Company began extracting sulfur from the Big Hill Dome deposit in Matagorda County. Since then, it is estimated the state has produced almost 80% of the nation’s sulfur supply. The Lone Star State is home to one of the largest and highest quality salt deposits in the U.S. In the town of Grand Saline, the Morton Salt Mine employs hundreds of people, and makes Texas the number 2 salt-producing state in the U.S. Officials estimate the moun- tain of salt below Grand Saline could supply the entire world’s need for salt for the next 20,000 years. The state’s mining industry could be entering new territory in the future. Texas Rare Earth holds leases to explore and develop a 950-acre rare earth min- erals deposit in Round Top Mountain, about 85 miles southeast of El Paso. An assessment released last year esti- mated the mountain could produce around $8 billion worth of rare earth minerals over a 20-year period. 72 DECEMBER 2014 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® Mining in the USA Part 26 Compiled by Amy White, Associate Editor WorldWide Drilling Resource ® Texas has been mining natural resources for over 300 years. Since the state is a megaproducer of petrole- um, natural gas, and natural gas liquids, its nonpetroleum minerals are often overshadowed; but they are sti l l an important part of the economy. Currently, some of the leading mineral commodities produced in Texas are coal, crushed stone, sand and gravel, clay, sulphur, and salt. The possibility of mining rare earth minerals in the future is also being negotiated. Throughout the 1880s and 1890s, about 15,000 tons of coal were mined each year and used to power cotton gins, brickworks, railroads, and steam power plants. Today, Texas produces around 50 million tons of coal per year, and was the sixth largest coal-produc- ing state in the U.S. in 2013. Texas is also a major producer of crushed stone, mainly limestone. Most of this stone is used as aggregate in concrete and road material. Many tons are also used to manufacture lime and cement. Sands from Texas are valuable for industrial purposes. Abrasive, blast, chemical, engine, filtration, foundry, glass, hydraulic fracturing, molding, and pot- tery sands are all industrial sands pro- duced in the state. Sand and gravel deposits along Texas rivers and mountainous areas also hold commercial value, and are mined for use in construction materials. A variety of clays occur in many geologic units throughout the state, 4< /*2'3* "& > > > > ,'< ? /2+ '6* /3+6 /3+6 ')1/3- " " !8=2+ /7843 4* 4* ')1/3- !+8 5)7 !8'3*'6* $'2:+ 9((+6 6':+2 $'2:+ 9((+6 !+'87 9((+6 $'2:+ 37+687 #6+8.'3+ $'2:+ 37+687 $'2:+ !56/3- ! ! $'2:+ 4:+6 '71+8 ? !;/:+2 ')1/3- ? !+6/+7 ? !+6/+7 ? !+6/+7 ? !+6/+7 ? !+6/+7 ? !+6/+7 < /3+6 < /3+6 < /3+6 < /3+6 < /3+6 6/)+7 !9(0+)8 "4 .'3-+ %/8.498 48/)+ !@ @ < < < < < Win a prize! Send your completed puzzle to: WWDR PO Box 660 Bonifay, FL 32425 or fax to: 850-547-0329 Congratulat ions to: Ed I ls ley Ed Thet ford Ct r , VT Winner for November! Time for a Little Fun! November Puzzle Solution: BOOTS CAGE GLOVES GOGGLES HAT LOCK MASK Match the three-letter words on the right to complete the seven-letter words on the left. ACHI _ _ _ DAY BACK_ _ _ BOW HOLI _ _ _ EVE MAIL_ _ _ LOG RAIN_ _ _ PET TRUM_ _ _ BOX TEXAS