2020 Summary & Trends - Mined Land Reclamation
Division of Mineral Resources Annual Report
The New York State Oil, Gas and Mineral Resources 2020 Annual Report (PDF) provides an overview of the mining industry and mined land reclamation in NY, including mine types and permits, geographic occurrence, owner types, trends, acreage statistics, reclamation, financial security, and enforcement. It also provides an overview of the oil and gas industry in NY, including permits and completions, production, state land leasing, underground gas storage, solution mining, and well plugging activities.
2020 Mineral Fact Sheets (PDF) - a set of colorful fact sheets on New York's major mined commodities; suitable for classroom use.
Mineral Production, Market Value and Economic Impact
Mining occurs in every region of New York State, except the New York City area, as shown on the map entitled "Mines in New York." The U.S. Geological Survey estimated the annual value of New York's mineral production in 2020 at $1.87 billion. The estimated economic impact from mining in New York in 2011 (the most recent year for which this data is available) is $4.98 billion.
Production of the state's major mined commodities remains relatively constant from year to year. In 2020, New York ranked sixteenth nationally in terms of the value of overall nonfuel mineral production. Nationally, New York ranked first in industrial garnet production and third in salt. Salt was the leading mineral commodity based on production value, followed by crushed stone and construction sand and gravel. New York remains the sole domestic producer of wollastonite. New York is also a significant producer of masonry cement and portland cement.
The Center for Governmental Research, Inc. (CGR) document entitled "The Economic Impact of the New York State Mining and Construction Materials Industry, October 2011" prepared for the New York State Geological Survey/New York State Museum states that the majority of mining in New York is for construction materials used to build and maintain the state's infrastructure. The mined commodities, in addition to the hot mixed asphalt, ready mix concrete and cement industries, were responsible for generating $1.2 to $1.3 billion in wages and 28,000 to 30,000 jobs in New York State. CGR estimates the mining and construction materials industry contributes about $100 million in public sector revenues (sales tax, personal income tax, motor fuel tax, corporate franchise tax and Mined Land Reclamation Law fees). The Division of Mineral Resources assessed $4.16 million in regulatory program fees in 2020, which is $30,377 more than the amount assessed in 2019.
Types of Mines and Mineral Usage
The most common mine types in 2020 were sand and gravel (1,432), bluestone (97), and limestone (88). In 2020, New York had 1,801 active mines, a decrease of 20 mines from 2019. Most of New York's permitted mines produced sand and gravel or other surficial deposits such as glacial till, clay or topsoil. Sand and gravel mines account for nearly 80% of DEC-regulated mines. Nine of the new mining permits issued in 2020, or 60%, were for sand and gravel.
There were 330 hardrock mines producing material ranging from bluestone, limestone, sandstone, shale and salt, to less common products such as wollastonite and zinc. Most of New York's hardrock mines are surface quarries, but there are several permitted underground mines.
The Mineral Information Institute reports that "every American born will consume 3.19 million pounds of minerals, metals and fuels in his or her lifetime." In other words, minerals, metals and fuels are critical to the existence and prosperity of everyone in the United States. In addition to recycled materials, nearly 40,663 pounds of new minerals must be provided every year for the things that every person in the United States uses.
Permitting and Reclamation Statistics
The number of permitted mines has declined for 21 consecutive years. Mine operators continued to replace production by expanding current mines, rather than opening new ones. This downward trend held true for sand and gravel mines, while the total number of permitted hardrock quarries remained nearly the same. Only 30 of the Mined Land Reclamation Permits issued in 2020 were for new facilities.
A total of 50,201 acres were affected by mining in 2020, out of a total approved life-of-mine area of 132,140 acres. All affected acreage must be reclaimed at the conclusion of mining operations. Concurrent reclamation can be accomplished immediately upon completion of a portion or phase of a mine while mining occurs elsewhere within the life-of-mine area, or reclamation of the entire affected area can occur when mining has stopped, known as final reclamation. The Division of Mineral Resources continues to have success promoting concurrent reclamation with 621 acres reclaimed at 69 operating mines in 2020. Final reclamation of 290 acres occurred at 45 closed mines, bringing the 2020 total to 911 acres. Roughly 39,605 acres of land affected by mining have been reclaimed since 1975.
In 2020, DMN held $315.2 million in financial security to guarantee mine site reclamation.
Inspections
In 2020, Mined Land staff performed 1,330 mine inspections and traveled 55,098 miles. Staff inspect mine sites:
- during permit application review;
- during operation for general compliance;
- to ensure that violations are remediated;
- to ensure that reclamation meets requirements; and
- to investigate complaints.
