2023 Summary & Trends - Mined Land Reclamation
Division of Mineral Resources Annual Report
The New York State Oil, Gas and Mineral Resources 2023 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.
2023 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 New York City, as shown on the map titled "Mines in New York State." The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) estimated the annual value of New York's mineral production in 2023 (the most recent year for which data is available) at $1.75 billion. The estimated economic impact from mining in New York in 2011 (the most recent year for which this data is available) is $4.9 billion.
Production of the state's major mined commodities remains relatively constant from year to year. Per USGS, New York State ranked 16th nationally in value of overall nonfuel mineral production. Nationally, New York ranked first in industrial garnet production and fourth in salt production. Typically, salt is 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) provides 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 (DMN) assessed $4.29 million in regulatory program fees in 2023, which is $46,467 more than the amount assessed in 2022.
Types of Mines and Mineral Usage
The most common mine types in 2023 were sand and gravel (1,356), bluestone (105), and limestone (88). In 2023, New York had 1,724 active mines, a decrease of 20 mines from 2022. 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 79% of DEC-regulated mines. Seventeen of the new mining permits issued in 2023, or 71%, were for sand and gravel.
There were 334 hardrock (consolidated material) mines producing material ranging from bluestone, limestone, sandstone, shale and salt, to less common products such as wollastonite and zinc. Most of New York State's hardrock mines are surface quarries, but there are several permitted underground mines.
The Mineral Information Institute reports that "every American born will consume 3.07 million pounds of minerals, metals and fuels in their 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 40,209 pounds of new minerals must be provided every year for the products that every person in the United States uses.
Permitting and Reclamation Statistics
The number of permitted mines has declined for 24 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 24 of the Mined Land Reclamation Permits issued in 2023 were for new facilities.
A total of 51,929 acres were affected by mining in 2023, out of a total approved life-of-mine area of 134,960 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. DMN continues to have success promoting concurrent reclamation with 323 acres reclaimed at 67 operating mines in 2023. Final reclamation of 339 acres occurred at 44 closed mines, bringing the 2023 total to 662 acres. Roughly 41,070 acres of land affected by mining have been reclaimed since 1975.
In 2020, DMN held $352.8 million in financial security instrucments to guarantee mine site reclamation.
Inspections
In 2023, Mined Land staff performed 1,663 mine inspections and traveled 91,164 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.
