June 5 -- The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) invites comments to OMB by July 5, 2023 regarding the continuation of Industrial Minerals Surveys with a revision to add a new `Rare Gases' canvass.
The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) has policy responsibility for the Nation’s mineral resources and their derived industries. The National Mining and Minerals Policy Act of 1970 (30 U.S.C. 21(a)) and the National Materials and Minerals Policy, Research and Development Act of 1980 (30 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) mandate that the Secretary of the Interior collect, evaluate, and analyze information concerning mineral occurrence, production, and use and to inform the Congress of important mining and minerals industry developments, including crisis. Many of the responsibilities regarding mineral resources are delegated to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) by Secretarial Order No. 3193, where they are discharged through a staff of mineral commodity specialists and statistical assistants that includes chemists, economists, engineers, geologists, and physicists.
Two fundamental activities—mining and agriculture—form the basis of the Nation’s wealth because they furnish all the raw materials and most of the energy that are used in all other industries. Additionally, the mining industry supplies the raw materials to make fertilizers, pesticides, and soil conditioners that significantly enhance the performance of the agricultural sector. For those raw materials not produced domestically in sufficient quantities, supplies must be imported. This adversely affects the U.S. balance of trade and, for some materials, puts U.S. industries at risk of supply disruptions because of global political developments. Imports may also compete with domestic production, consequently jeopardizing U.S. jobs. Accordingly, the Government requires accurate, timely data on raw materials production and related industries to formulate policies that ensure national security and economic well-being. The USGS canvass forms are the fundamental means by which data on nonfuel minerals, mining, and related materials production are obtained.
Industrial minerals are widely used and are essential materials in such sectors as agriculture, manufacturing, and construction. About 50 compounds, minerals, and rocks are classified as industrial minerals. Crushed stone and sand and gravel account for the largest tonnage of industrial minerals in use and in terms of industry size. Production of several industrial minerals, such as glauconite and wollastonite, are low in quantity, but are critical for some important applications. Other higher-value materials, such as iodine, iron oxide pigments, quartz crystal, and specialized zeolite forms are classified as industrial minerals. Some industrial minerals, such as iodine and boron, are extracted and (or) mined in only a few locations worldwide, and a few, such as crushed stone and sand and gravel, are mined nationwide and globally.
In general, industrial minerals are lower valued materials than metals, and fewer organizations track their production and consumption. Consequently, USGS publications are important sources for industrial minerals data. Production of industrial minerals, such as aggregates, cement, and gypsum, are factors used in gauging the state of the economy; others, such as nitrogen, phosphate rock, and potash, are critical to agricultural industries; and industrial minerals, such as bromine, fluorspar, salt, soda ash, and sulfur, are critical to chemical manufacturing. The gathering and publication of statistics on industrial minerals is critical to evaluating the availability of these materials for these, and many other applications, and highlights the need to continue canvasses of these industries.
The construction aggregates quarterly (Mineral Industry Surveys) is a periodic on-line statistical and economic publication designed to provide timely statistical data on production-for-consumption of construction sand and gravel and crushed stone. The information produced by the USGS quarterly canvass (USGS Form 9-9142-Q) on these important mineral commodities has become a significant indicator of construction activity at the national as well as State level. It is sent every quarter to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System along with other commodity data; other commodity data are sent monthly. This canvass generates production-for-consumption estimates by quarters for each State, except Alaska and Hawaii, and each U.S. Census Bureau region, based on information reported voluntarily by producing companies. This report is published at the end of the following quarter after the reporting quarter. The latest release of the quarterly Mineral Industry Surveys contains the most recent estimated totals and percentage changes and updates previously published similar information. This quarterly canvass and the affiliated report help fill the gap for current production data until the annual Minerals Yearbook chapters are published about 12 months after the end of the reporting year.
The USGS Mineral Resources Program is submitting this revision to add a new “Rare Gases Sold or Used” annual canvass (USGS Form 9-4146-A) to this Information Collection (IC). Based on technology advances, rare gases have become an important component of the U.S. supply chain with few suppliers and functional substitutes, a high risk of supply-chain-disruption, and fluctuation-sensitive markets. This canvass form was created to collect production and consumption data of rare gases which are critical to the manufacture of semiconductors, electronics, lighting and optics, magnetic resonance imaging, medical, aerospace, welding, and other scientific purposes. In many of these end uses, there are no functional substitutes for these commodities.
There are very few global suppliers of the rare gases and the risk of disruption to the U.S. manufacturing sector is large. The conflict between Russia and Ukraine highlighted the vulnerability to the United States since these two countries supply 90 percent of imports. There have been limited supply of these commodities and prices for rare gases are reported by some stakeholders to have increased by 500 percent – 1,000 percent since the beginning of the conflict.
Industries that produce and consume industrial minerals use the 40 forms to report production, consumption, stocks, and receipts of industrial mineral commodities (including phosphate rock, sulfur, cement, stone, sand and gravel, etc.). Respondents to these forms supply the USGS with domestic production- and consumption data for industrial mineral commodities, some of which are considered strategic and critical, to assist in determining National Defense Stockpile goals. We compile these data into tables, which are published monthly, quarterly, semiannually, and annually. These data and derived information will be published as chapters in Mineral Yearbooks, monthly Mineral Industry Surveys, annual Mineral Commodity Summaries, and special publications for use by Government agencies, Congressional offices, educational institutions, research organizations, financial institutions, consulting firms, industry, academia, and the general public. The data collected is used for military and civilian planning, and Federal policy and economic decisions related to the commodities covered.
Industrial Minerals Surveys:
https://www.usgs.gov/centers/national-minerals-information-center/mineral-industry-surveys
USGS submission to OMB:
https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAViewICR?ref_nbr=202302-1028-002 Click IC List for information collection instrument, View Supporting Statement for technical documentation. Submit comments through this webpage.
FRN:
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2023-11849
For AEA members wishing to submit comments, "A Primer on How to Respond to Calls for Comment on Federal Data Collections" is available at
https://www.aeaweb.org/content/file?id=5806