Mining
 Industry
Overview
The United States has been endowed with a wealth of natural resources
that have fostered its growth and development. In the past, the
discovery of resources such as gold and oil has resulted in major
population shifts and rapid growth for formerly remote regions of the
country, such as California, Texas, and Alaska. Extraction of these
resources, and finding new deposits, is the work of the mining industry,
which continues to provide the foundation for local economies in some
regions.
Products
of the mining industry generate the majority of energy used in this
country, from electricity in homes to fuel in vehicles. Mined resources
also serve as inputs for consumer goods and the processes and services
provided by nearly all other industries, particularly in agriculture,
manufacturing, transportation, utilities, communication, and
construction. Uses of mined materials include coal, oil, and gas for
energy, copper for wiring, gold for satellites and sophisticated
electronic components, stone and gravel for construction of roads and
buildings, and a variety of other minerals as ingredients in medicines
and household products.
The mining industry contains five main industry segments, which are
defined by the resources they produce: oil and gas extraction, coal
mining, metal ore mining, nonmetallic mineral mining and quarrying, and
support activities for mining.
Oil and Gas Extraction
The
oil and gas extraction segment produces the petroleum and natural gas
that heat homes, fuel cars, and power factories. Petroleum products are
also the raw materials for plastics, chemicals, medicines, fertilizers,
and synthetic fibers. Petroleum, commonly called crude oil or just oil,
is a liquid formed under ground from the decay of plants and animals
over millions of years through extreme heat and pressure. Occasionally,
this decaying material becomes trapped under a layer of impermeable rock
that prevents it from dispersing and creates a pocket of oil. Similar
processes also produce natural gas, which can be found mixed with oil or
in separate deposits. Finding and extracting the oil and gas in these
pockets is the primary function of this industry segment.
Using a variety of methods, on land and at sea, small crews of
specialized workers search for geologic formations that are likely to
contain pockets of oil or gas. Sophisticated equipment and advances in
computer technology have increased the productivity of exploration. Maps
of potential deposits now are made using remote-sensing satellites.
Seismic prospecting -- a technique based on measuring the time it takes
sound waves to travel through underground formations and return to the
surface -- has revolutionized oil and gas exploration. Computers and
advanced software analyze seismic data to provide three-dimensional
models of subsurface rock formations. Another method of searching for
oil and gas is based on collecting and analyzing core samples of rock,
clay, and sand in the earth's layers.
After
scientific exploration studies indicate the possible presence of oil, a
well must be drilled to prove oil is there. An oil company selects a
well site and installs a derrick -- a tower-like steel structure -- to support
the drilling equipment. A hole is drilled deep into the earth until oil
or gas is found, or the company abandons the effort. Similar techniques
are employed in offshore drilling, except that the drilling equipment is
part of a steel platform that either sits on the ocean floor, or floats
on the surface and is anchored to the ocean floor. Advancements in
directional or horizontal drilling techniques, which allow increased
access to potential reserves, have had a significant impact on drilling
capabilities. Drilling begins vertically, but the drill bit can be
turned so that drilling can continue at an angle of up to 90 degrees.
This technique extends the drill's reach, enabling it to reach separate
pockets of oil or gas. Because constructing new platforms is costly,
this technique commonly is employed by offshore drilling operations.
Once the drilling reaches the oil or gas, extraction can begin as
natural pressure forces the oil or gas up through the drill hole to the
wellhead, where it enters separation and storage tanks. If natural
pressure is not great enough to force the oil to the surface, pumps may
be used. In some cases, water, steam, or gas may be injected into the
oil deposit to improve recovery. The recovered oil is transported to
refineries by pipeline, ship, barge, truck, or railroad. Natural gas
usually is transported to processing plants by pipeline. While oil
refineries may be many thousands of miles away from the producing
fields, gas processing plants typically are near the fields, so that
impurities -- water, sulfur, and natural gas liquids -- can be removed before
the gas is piped to customers. The oil refining industry is considered a
separate industry, and its activities are not covered here, even though
many oil companies both extract and refine oil.
Coal Mining
The
coal mining industry segment produces coal, a fossil fuel that is used
primarily for electric power generation and in the production of steel.
Like oil, coal is formed over millions of years from plant and animal
matter, but unlike oil, coal is a solid, and therefore miners must go
into the earth to recover it. Many coal seams are located close to the
surface, however, which makes the extraction of this resource easier.
Surface mining of coal typically uses the method known as strip mining,
which is usually more cost-effective than underground mining and
requires fewer workers to produce the same quantity of coal. In strip
mining, workers use huge earthmoving equipment, such as power shovels or
draglines, to scoop off the layers of soil and rock covering the coal
seam. Once the coal is exposed, it is broken up by using explosives, and
then smaller shovels lift it from the ground and load it into trucks.
Mining companies are required by Federal, State, and local laws to
restore the mined land after surface mining is completed; as a result,
the overburden and topsoil are stored after removal so that they can be
replaced and native vegetation replanted.
Underground
mining is used when the coal deposit lies deep below the surface of the
earth. When developing an underground mine, miners first must dig
tunnels deep into the earth near the place where the coal is located.
Depending on where the coal seam is in relation to the surface, tunnels
may be vertical, horizontal, or sloping. Entries are constructed so that
miners can get themselves and their equipment to the ore and carry it
out, while allowing fresh air to enter the mine. Once dug to the proper
depth, a mine's tunnels interconnect with a network of passageways going
in many directions. Using the room-and-pillar method, miners remove
sections of the coal as they work the coal seam from the tunnel entrance
to the edge of the mine property, leaving columns of coal in place to
help support the ceiling together with long steel bolts. This process is
then reversed, and the remainder of the ore is extracted, as the miners
work their way back out. In the case of longwall mining of coal,
self-advancing roof supports, made of hydraulic jacks and metal plates,
cover the area being mined. As coal is removed, the entire apparatus
advances, allowing the ceiling in the mined area to cave in as the
miners work back towards the tunnel entrance. Underground mining does
not require as extensive a reclamation process as surface mining;
however, mine operators and environmental engineers still must ensure
that ground water remains uncontaminated and that abandoned mines do not
collapse.
Metal Ore Mining
The metal ore mining industry segment covers the extraction of metal
ores, primarily gold, silver, iron, copper, lead, and zinc. These
naturally occurring minerals have a variety of industrial purposes: gold
and silver are primarily used in jewelry and high-end electronics, iron
is used to produce steel, copper is the main component of electrical
wiring, lead is used in batteries, and zinc is used to coat iron and
steel to reduce corrosion and as an alloy in the making of bronze and
brass.
Most metals do not exist in concentrated form but rather in small traces
in rock called "ore". Indistinguishable from regular rocks to the
untrained eye, some ores are currently mined that contain only a
fraction of a percent of metal. As a result, a massive amount of rock
must be extracted from the ground in order to obtain a useable amount of
metal. As a result of this, and because metal ores are less common than
coal, metal mines can be much larger than coal mines and operate in more
extreme environments -- while coal mines are rarely more than a few hundred
feet underground, gold mines can be over a mile below the surface.
Like coal mines, metal ore mines are found in both surface and
underground varieties, depending on where the ore deposit is located. In
addition to strip mining, surface ore mines also use the open-pit mining
technique. These mines are huge holes in the ground that are mined by
blasting rock from the sides and bottom with explosives, carrying out
the broken up material in trucks, and then repeating the process. Open
pit mines can grow to be hundreds of feet deep and several miles wide.
Underground mining of ore is less common, typically only occurring when
rich veins of ore are discovered or mineral prices are high enough to
justify the added expense.
A significant amount of processing is needed to convert ore into usable
metal. The mining industry includes initial mineral processing and
preparation activities that are located together with mines as part of
the extraction process. Further processing is classified under the
primary metal manufacturing industry.
Nonmetallic Mineral Mining and
Quarrying
The nonmetallic mineral mining and quarrying industry segment covers a
wide range of mineral extraction. The majority of the industry produces
crushed stone, sand, and gravel for use in construction of roads and
buildings. Other important minerals produced are clays, primarily for
ceramics, water filtration, and cement making; gypsum, the primary
material used in wallboard; salt, used in foodstuffs and as an ice
remover; phosphate, for use in fertilizers; and sulfur, the main
component of sulfuric acid, a major industrial input. Most of these
minerals are found in abundance close to the surface, so underground
mining is uncommon in this industry segment.
Surface mining for stone is also known as "quarrying". In quarrying
operations, workers use machines to extract the stone. Stone -- primarily
granite and limestone -- is quarried by using explosives to break material
off from a massive rock surface. The resulting rocks are crushed further
and shipped off for the production of asphalt or concrete. Some
high-quality stone, such as marble and certain types of granite, is
quarried in large blocks, known as dimension stone, and used as a
building material by itself.
Support Activities for Mining
The final industry segment is support activities for mining. The
activities of this industry are often the same as those of the other
industry segments, but the work is done by contract companies that
specialize in one aspect of resource extraction. For example, the
majority of drilling for new oil wells is done by specialty drilling
companies; other support companies specialize in exploration for new
resource deposits or operation of offshore oil rigs.
Recent
Developments
Many resources produced by the mining industry, particularly metals,
oil, and gas, are relatively rare and are part of a global market that
is highly sensitive to changes in prices. During the 1990s, commodity
prices were relatively stable at low levels, causing production to
stagnate and limiting the creation of new drilling and mining
operations. In recent years, prices have increased dramatically, and
exploration and production has likewise risen. Coal is less susceptible
to world market conditions, but it also has seen price increases in
recent years that have led to expanded production. Demand for
nonmetallic minerals is primarily affected by the level of activity in
the construction industry, particularly the building of new roads and
highways.
Employment
in the mining industry has been affected significantly by new technology
and more sophisticated mining techniques that increase productivity.
Most mining machines and control rooms are now automatic or
computer-controlled, requiring fewer, if any, human operators. Many
mines also operate with other sophisticated technology such as lasers
and robotics, which further increases the efficiency of resource
extraction. As a result, mine employment has been falling over time,
particularly of workers who are involved in the extraction process
itself. These new technologies and techniques have also increased
specialization in the industry and led to expanded use of contract
mining services companies for specific tasks. These companies also allow
mining firms to more easily adjust production levels in response to
changes in commodity prices.
Working
Environment
Work
schedules in the mining industry can vary widely. Some sites operate 24
hours a day, 7 days a week, particularly in oil and gas extraction and
underground mines. This creates the opportunity for some mining workers
to work long shifts several days in a row, and then have several days
off. The remote location of some sites, such as offshore oil rigs,
requires some workers to actually live onsite for weeks at a time, often
working 12 hour shifts, followed by an extended leave period onshore. As
a result of these conditions, part-time opportunities are rare in this
industry, but overtime is common; less than 3 percent of workers were
part-time employees in 2008, while almost half worked over 40 hours per
week, and 36 percent worked over 50 hours per week. The average work
week for a production worker in mining was 45.3 hours.
Work environments vary by occupation. Scientists and technicians work in
office buildings and laboratories, as do executives and administrative
and clerical workers. Engineers and managers usually split their time
between offices and the mine or well site, where construction and
extraction workers spend most of their time. Geologists who specialize
in the exploration of natural resources to locate resource deposits may
have to travel for extended periods to remote locations, in all types of
climates.
Mine safety is
regulated by the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 and
successive additional legislation, which has resulted in steadily
declining rates of mining injuries and illnesses. Increased automation
of mining and oil well operations has also reduced the number of workers
needed in some of the more dangerous activities. As a result, workers in
this industry do not experience more work-related injuries and illnesses
than average.
Employment
There
were approximately 717,000 wage and salary jobs in the mining industry
in 2008; around 161,600 were in oil and gas extraction, 80,600 in coal
mining, 39,900 in metal mining, and 107,200 in nonmetallic mineral
mining. Not included in these figures are the thousands of Americans who
work abroad for U.S. companies conducting mining or drilling operations
around the world. In addition to those employed directly by mining
companies, there were also 327,700 jobs in the support activities for
mining industry segment.
Mining jobs are heavily concentrated in the parts of the country
where large resource deposits exist. Three out of 4 jobs in the oil and
gas extraction industry are located in Texas, California, Oklahoma, and
Louisiana. Although there were almost 1,400 coal mining operations in 26
States in 2007, over two-thirds of all coal mines, and over half of all
mine employees, were located in just three States -- Kentucky,
Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, according to the Energy Information
Administration. Other States employing large numbers of coal miners are
Alabama, Illinois, Indiana, Virginia, and Wyoming. Metal mining is more
prevalent in the West and Southwest, particularly in Arizona, Nevada,
and Montana, and iron ore mining in Minnesota and Michigan. Nonmetallic
mineral mining is the most widespread, as quarrying of nonmetallic
minerals, such as stone, clay, sand, and gravel, is done in nearly every
State. In many rural areas, mining operations are the main employer.
About 79 percent of mining establishments employ fewer than 20 workers.
Degree
Paths into this Industry
The majority of jobs in the mining industry are in construction and
extraction occupations. Management, business, and financial and
professional and related occupations also are important to the mining
industry. Administrative workers include top executives, who are
responsible for making policy decisions. Staff specialists (such as
accountants, attorneys, and market researchers) provide information and
advice for policymakers.
Professional
and related workers in mining include engineering, scientific, and
technical personnel. Before any mining can actually begin, a deposit of
the resource needs to be found. This is the primary work of geologists
and geological and petroleum technicians, who travel around the world
using tools such as seismic data and core samples to locate deposits of
sufficient size and purity for extraction.
Petroleum engineers and mining and geological engineers then formulate
the general plan for how the mining operation will be undertaken. They
design, with drafters and engineering technicians, the general structure
of the well or mine, and the most efficient method of extraction. These
engineers generally supervise mine and well activities throughout the
entire lifecycle of the project, troubleshooting any problems and
ensuring smooth operations. They also work with environmental engineers,
who ensure that mine or well sites meet stringent Federal, State, and
local regulations.
Environmental regulations make obtaining permits for new projects
increasingly difficult and impose substantial penalties should projects
fail to meet standards, making proper environmental remediation a
necessity for any mining operation. Environmental engineers also plan
reclamation projects when product extraction is complete. Other
engineers who ensure smooth working operations include industrial
engineers, who manage the use of workers and equipment for optimum
productivity, and mechanical engineers, who ensure that complicated
systems for cooling and ventilation are designed and constructed
properly.
Exploration,
mine design, impact assessment, and restoration efforts can depend on
computer analysis. In addition, rapid technological advancements,
particularly in processing-plant operations, are the result of increased
computerization. This has led to a growing reliance on computer
professionals, such as systems analysts, computer software engineers,
and computer scientists.
Industry
Forecast
Employment in mining is projected to decrease. The growing U.S. and
world economies will continue to demand larger quantities of the raw
materials produced by mining, but the increased output will be able to
be met by new technologies and new extraction techniques that increase
productivity and require fewer workers.
Wage and salary
employment in mining is expected to decline by 14 percent through the
year 2018, compared with 11 percent growth projected for the entire
economy. Mining production is tied closely with prices and demand for
the raw materials produced, and as prices for oil, gas, and metals have
risen rapidly in recent years, production and employment in the industry
have also grown. In the short term, employment may fluctuate due to
changes in prices, but over the course of the projections period,
technological advances will increase productivity and cause employment
declines in the mining industry as a whole.
Petroleum and natural
gas exploration and development in the United States depends upon prices
for these resources and the size of accessible reserves. Stable and
favorable prices are needed to allow companies enough revenue to expand
exploration and production projects. Rising worldwide demand for oil and
gas -- particularly from developing countries such as India and China --
is likely to cause prices to remain elevated and generate the needed
incentive for oil and gas producers to continue exploring and developing
oil and gas reserves. U.S. reserves of oil and gas should remain
adequate to support continued production through 2018. However,
environmental concerns, accompanied by strict regulation and limited
access to protected Federal lands, also continue to have a major impact
on this industry. Restrictions on drilling in environmentally sensitive
areas and other environmental constraints should continue to limit
exploration and development, both onshore and offshore.
In addition to
resource availability, new production technologies also will impact
employment in the industry. New drilling and extraction techniques allow
for more efficient production from a reduced number of drill sites. As a
result, employment in oil and gas extraction is expected to decline by
16 percent through 2018. However, changes in policy could expand
exploration and drilling for oil and natural gas in currently protected
areas, potentially boosting employment.
Demand for coal will
increase as coal remains the primary fuel source for electricity
generation. Although environmental concerns exist regarding coal power
-- burning coal releases pollutants and carbon dioxide -- few
alternatives exist on a scale large enough to meet the fuel demand of
utilities. Natural gas burns cleaner than coal, but coal power plants
equipped with scrubbers reduce this disadvantage, and natural gas prices
have been more volatile than coal prices in recent years. Future
increased use of nuclear power or renewable energy sources, such as
solar or wind power, could reduce demand for coal, but over the
projection period neither is expected to increase rapidly enough to
contribute significantly to U.S. energy supplies.
Environmental concerns
will continue to affect mining operations. Increasingly, government
regulations are restricting access to land and restricting the type of
mining that is performed in order to protect native plants and animals
and decrease the amount of water and air pollution. As population growth
expands further into the countryside, new developments compete with mine
operators for land, and residents are increasing their opposition to
nearby mining activities. These concerns, together with depletion of the
most accessible coal deposits in the East, will result in a shift in
coal production. Coal mining will increase in the Central, and
particularly the Western, United States and decrease in the East.
Overall, coal mining employment is expected to grow by 4 percent as
rising demand for coal is coupled with limited productivity gains from
more efficient and automated production operations.
Employment in mining
for metal ores is expected to decline by 10 percent through 2018.
Because metals are used primarily as raw materials by other industries,
such as telecommunications, construction, steel, aerospace, and
automobile manufacturing, the strength of the metal ore mining industry
is greatly affected by the strength of these industries. Most metals are
sold and bought in a world market, so demand stems not only from
domestic industries but also from fast growing industries in developing
countries. Demand from these countries has caused prices for many metals
to increase substantially in recent years. This has caused U.S. mining
companies to expand production at existing mines and restart production
at some mines that were closed when low metal prices made them
unprofitable. However, in the long term the potential stabilization of
prices together with many of the same environmental concerns as in coal
mining will cause employment in metal ore mining to decline.
Nonmetallic mineral
mining should experience little change in employment. Although demand
will continue to increase for crushed stone, sand, and gravel used in
construction activities, advances in mining technology will require
fewer workers for operation and maintenance of new mining machines. Like
the metal ore mining industry, the nonmetallic mineral mining industry
is influenced by the strength of the industries that use its outputs in
the manufacture of their products. Nonmetallic minerals are used to make
concrete and asphalt for road construction and also as materials in
residential and nonresidential building construction.
Transportation costs
for stone, sand, and gravel are high, so mining of these materials is
spread across the country, making it not as susceptible to industry
consolidation. This geographical spread, together with the small size of
many mines, also causes some mines to operate only during warm months.
Many workers laid off during the winter find jobs in other industries
and must be replaced when the mines reopen. Jobs in nonmetallic mineral
mining attract many migrant workers and those looking for summer
employment.
Despite an overall
decline in mining industry employment, there will be job opportunities
in most occupations due to the need to replace workers who leave the
industry. A large number of workers, particularly in the professional
occupations, will become eligible for retirement in the coming years,
and some companies may have trouble coping with the loss of many
experienced workers to retirement at a time when the industry is
expanding production. At the same time, past declines in employment in
the industry have dissuaded potential workers from considering
employment in the industry, and many colleges and universities have shut
down programs designed to train professionals for work in mining.
Employment opportunities will be best for those with previous experience
and with technical skills, especially qualified professionals and
extraction workers who have experience in oil field operations and who
can work with new technology.
Related
Degree Fields
Professional
Associations/Resources
Note: Some resources in this section are provided by the US Department
of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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