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The Montana Mining Association
Mining in Montana

Montana’s mining industry is critical for the state, the region, and the nation. The Treasure State was well named as it contains world class deposits of copper (wiring), molybdenum (steel), platinum group metals (catalytic converters), talc (plastics, paint, paper, and catalytic converters), bentonite (pet litter), limestone (cement, water and air purification), and coal (fuel, electricity generation). Smaller deposits of gold (circuitry, heat control on glass), lead (batteries), zinc (rust control on metal), silver (water purification and photography), garnets (abrasives and computer controlled cutting of metal), sand and gravel (roads and construction), and decorative stone (building construction) abound throughout large regions of the state.

Without our mining industry, these resources would have to be produced elsewhere and many would require us to be dependent on foreign sources such as we are for oil and gas.

The actual disturbance from currently permitted mining operations is less that .04% of Montana’s surface and substantially less area than that of highways, parking lots, or civil structures.

 
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Do We Take Minerals for Granted?
This information provided by USGS MRP Web site  

Traffic on a highwayDid you know that the average automobile contains more than a ton of iron and steel, 240 lbs of aluminum, 50 lbs of carbon, 42 lbs of copper, 41 lbs of silicon, 22 lbs of zinc, and more than thirty other mineral commodities, including titanium, platinum, and gold? Do you know the cost of a pound of copper or an ounce of platinum? Though you are constantly reminded of the importance of gasoline, and its cost, to keep the car running, do you ever think about the importance and cost of the mineral materials that make up the car? Do we take minerals for granted?
  Power lines
When the power goes out, few of us give a second thought about the copper and aluminum needed to carry electricity from the power plant to our homes or offices. When the battery dies, you do not automatically think about the lead, nickel, cadmium, or lithium used to make the batteries that store power for our cell phones, MP3 players, or hybrid cars, because you do not buy minerals, you buy products that have been manufactured using mineral materials. But without these nonfuel mineral commodities, many things that we take for granted would not work.

Minerals in the environment and products manufactured from mineral materials are all around us and we use and encounter them every day. They impact our way of life and the health of all that lives. Minerals are critical to the Nation’s economy and knowing where future mineral resources will come from is important for sustaining the Nation’s economy and national security.
 

Minerals—Want to Learn More?

The next time you pick up that stainless steel fork, use your cell phone, replace the batteries in your remote control, or use your keys to start the car or open a locked door, take a moment to think about how important minerals are to your way of life. Then visit the USGS MRP Web site to learn more about what our Federal government is doing to ensure we have the mineral resources we need. The USGS Mineral Resources Program provides objective science and unbiased information at local to global scales so that the general public, government agencies, and industry can make informed decisions on minerals issues in land-use planning, national security, and economic policy, because mineral resources are vital to our nation.