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The Mineral Industry of Montana

By National Minerals Information Center

Statistics and information on the nonfuel mineral commodities produced in Montana

Minerals Yearbook Vol. II - Domestic

Montana mineral commodity producing areas map from 2014 Minerals Yearbook

2018-2019 data for Montana are summarized in the table on this web page. The 2015 chapter data tables (XLS) and 2014 chapter containing text and data tables in PDF and XLS formats, and other years, are available through the links below.

Sources of information

Montana is the only producer of palladium & platinum. Leads in talc production & is a major producer of copper/molybdenum, garnets, silver. It produces bentonite, common clays, construction sand/gravel, crushed/dimension stone, gold, lime, gemstones.

The following data table gives nonfuel mineral commodity production data for Montana extracted from Table 5 in the 2019 Minerals Yearbook Statistical Summary.

Nonfuel Mineral Commodity Production in Montana1,2,3
Mineral Commodity Units 2018 Qty 2018 Value

($ 1000)		 2019 Qty 2019 Value

($ 1000)
Garnet, industial metric tons (4) W 52,400e 11,600e
Gemstones, naturale   NA 774 NA 648
Palladium5 kilograms

(kg)		 14,300 475,000r 14,300 711,000
Platinum5 kg 4,160r 118,000 4,150 116,000

Sand and gravel,

construction

 1000

metric tons

(1000 t)		 10,800 88,000 10,300 92,200
Stone, crushed 1000 t 2,750r 23,200r 2,890 24,400

Combined values of

cement, clay (bentonite

and common clay),

copper, gold, lime,

molybdenum mineral

concentrates, rhenium,

silver, stone (dimension),

talc (crude)

   XX 500,000 XX 457,000
Total   XX 1,210,000r XX 1,410,000

eEstimated. rRevised. NA Not available. XX Not applicable. W Withheld to avoid disclosing company proprietary data. -- Zero.

1Includes data from the commodity chapters published in the Minerals Yearbook as they were completed and released through January 2023.

2Production as measured by mine shipments, sales, or marketable production (including consumption by producers).

3Data are rounded to no more than three significant digits; may not add to totals shown. Mine output measured as sold or used by producers is primarily shown in the tables, because values can be assigned. Where sold or used data are not available, actual mine output is used as the production measurement and value is estimated average price of the mineral commodity for that year. Data are reported in gross weight unless otherwise specified.

4Withheld to avoid disclosing company proprietary data.

5Recoverable content of ores and concentrates.

Minerals Yearbook Volume II Montana chapters:

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