News Release

COLUMBUS, OH -- Ohio's mineral industries contribute more than $1.8 billion to the state's economy each year and directly employ more than 8,000 workers, according to a report published by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources' (ODNR) Division of Geological Survey.

The Survey's latest Report on Ohio Mineral Industries lists coal as Ohio's most valuable mineral resource, generating $743 million annually. The state's oil and gas industry has annual production valued at $465 million, whereas all other non-fuel minerals contribute $688 million each year. All figures in the report are based on 1997 statistics, the most recent year for which complete information is available.

"Ohio ranks among the top ten producing states in the nation for many of our nonfuel minerals," said Tom Berg, chief of the ODNR Division of Geological Survey. Minerals produced in Ohio include coal, oil and gas, limestone and dolomite, sand and gravel, salt, sandstone, clay, shale, gypsum and peat. "Ohio is a leader in the production of limestone and dolomite, sand and gravel, salt, clay and shale," he said.

According to Berg, the average person will use more than two million pounds of minerals in a lifetime -- including one million pounds of limestone, sand and gravel for buildings and roads; 500,000 pounds of coal for generating electricity; 91,000 pounds of iron for automobiles and buildings, and 26,000 pounds of salt for cooking and highway de-icing.

"Everyday products such as cough syrup, paint, pottery, cosmetics and glass bottles are all among those manufactured with minerals we have right in our own backyards," Berg said. "Nearly every Ohio county is a source for at least one of the state's industrial minerals," said Berg.

In 1997, more than 500 companies in Ohio were mining mineral resources from approximately 800 mines or quarries in Ohio.

According to the report, Ohio's coal industry produced more than 30 million tons of coal in 1997. Belmont, Meigs, Vinton, Monroe, and Harrison counties produced more than 65 percent of the state's total coal output. The total reported crude oil production in Ohio in 1997 was more than 8.5 million barrels, worth an estimated at $152 million. Natural gas production was nearly 117 billion cubic feet, at a value of $314 million. Annual production figures for Ohio's non-fuel mineral resources included 78 million tons of limestone and dolomite (valued at $322 million), 58 million tons of sand and gravel ($244 million), three million tons of sandstone and conglomerate ($39 million), two million tons of clay ($9 million), three million tons of shale ($5 million) and more than four million tons of salt ($67 million).

The 1997 Report on Ohio's Mineral Industries is available through the ODNR Division of Geological Survey, 4383 Fountain Square Drive, Columbus, Ohio, 43224-1362 for $9.93, shipping and handling included. The report provides production, sales, and employment statistics for all Ohio mineral industries. Thereport also includes a county-by-county directory of all Ohio coal and industrial-mineral mine operators. Telephone orders will also be accepted by calling (614) 265-6576.