“While not as shiny, the produced value of industrial minerals far outweighs that of metallic minerals. While $34.7 billion worth of metals were produced in 2022, industrial mineral production value was nearly double at $63.5 billion.” Mapped: US Mineral Production
While the glitzy green “magnet metals” tend to dominate both industry and public headlines, (and even here at our own Resource Erectors blog) when it comes to the industrial minerals sector and real-world of production, metallic minerals just aren’t in the same weight class as the always-in-demand construction aggregates.
With production numbers like we’re seeing in the recent 2022 USGS report, it’s no wonder that industrial mineral careers have dominated the Resource Erectors job board in the Turbulent 2020s. In 2023, we’ve got industry-leading clients with locations across the US, all high on the list of the top mineral-producing states. Rounding out the board, the concrete sector, an end user of those heavy-weight aggregate minerals, is keeping pace in both production and salary gains.
With no end in sight to increasing demand, our industrial mineral company clients are offering lucrative six-figure salaries and competitive benefits to attract the top talent for a demanding, economically resilient mineral sector.
Bear in mind that even “too big to fail” Big Tech had to deal with Hiring Priorities and Wage Inflation Amidst Global Economic Uncertainty in Q3 2022, US employers in general, for the first turbulent years of the 2020s were faced with the human resource workforce shuffle, and record-setting quit rates that some were calling “The Great Resignation”, as we reported in the first quarter of 2022 last spring.
Conversely, over that same perilous period of time for the US economy, US mines and the men and women who keep them up and running in the nonfuel minerals sector certainly had their priorities in order.
Resilient US Industrial Minerals Buck the Global Trends
How have US mines performed amidst the recent covid-induced supply chain kinks and workforce disruptions of the 2020s? Despite gloomy forecasts about the high cost of construction materials putting a damper on the residential and civil construction booms, and the obsessive MSM focus on the ubiquitous if inevitably unsustainable “all-electric” transition, US mines bucked the downward curves. The mining sector piled up some impressive gains such as these reported by the United States Geological Service.
- US mines produced $98.2 billion in nonfuel mineral commodities in 2022.
- Construction sand, gravel, and crushed stone combined made up nearly half of industrial minerals production at $31.4 billion.
- Crushed stone weighed in as the leading mineral commodity overall, at a whopping $21 billion of US mine production value.
- Industrial minerals registered a gain of $3.6 billion, a significant increase over the 2021 revised total of $94.6 billion
So where are all these nonfuel minerals ending up?
“Industries that use nonfuel mineral materials created an estimated $3.64 trillion in value-added products in 2022, which represents a 9% increase from 2021,” – Steven M. Fortier, USGS National Minerals Information Center director.
Mapping Out Your Career in Industrial Minerals
Ranking US states by their nonfuel mineral production
If industrial mineral production is the benchmark, the South has risen again, and opportunities abound for those hearing the call to “Go west, young man!” (Or young woman!) At $13.2 billion the Southern region was the top industrial mineral producer, with Florida at #7, and Texas at #3.
For those ready to go west in pursuit of lucrative, secure, industrial mineral careers Arizona is #1, Nevada ranks at #2, and California makes the top 5 producers list at #4, followed by far north Minnesota at #5.
“States in the Western region of the U.S. dominate the ranking of top mineral-producing states, holding the top two spots and making up half of the top 10 when it comes to total mineral production value.”- Mapped: US Mineral Production Value by State in 2022
| Rank | State | Mineral Production Value (2022) | Share of U.S. total |
| 1 | Arizona | $10.1B | 10.3% |
| 2 | Nevada | $8.9B | 9.1% |
| 3 | Texas | $8.0B | 8.2% |
| 4 | California | $5.6B | 5.7% |
| 5 | Minnesota* | $4.8B | 4.9% |
| 6 | Alaska | $4.5B | 4.6% |
| 7 | Florida* | $2.8B | 2.9% |
| 8 | Utah | $3.6B | 3.7% |
| 9 | Michigan | $3.4B | 3.4% |
| 10 | Missouri | $3.2B | 3.2% |
Industrial Mineral Salaries Rise With the Production High Tide in 2023
As production doubles down in industrial minerals, our industry-leading company clients haven’t neglected to double down on compensation to attract and retain the top professional-level talent in engineering, sales, safety, quality control, and industrial mineral processing.
We’ve got lucrative, career-enhancing opportunities in the top industrial mineral-producing states and most of the states in between all across the US. In 2023 we’re now seeing six-figures as the standard for impressive salary packages ranging from a minimum of $100,000 up to $180,000.
And those opportunities aren’t restricted to the industrial minerals sector alone, as we take a look at the #2 career opportunity contender on the Resource Erectors job board this May of 2023.
Concrete Careers and Competitive Compensation Rise With the Industrial Mineral Tide
As economists are fond of reminding us, “A rising tide raises all ships.”, and we’re seeing that swell in the concrete and ready mix sectors on the May 2023 job board. An experienced operations manager for a ready mix plant at the top of their game can expect offers between $120k and $140k with reasonable qualifications such as those listed below:
- Ability to provide leadership to all employees in a professional manner.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
- Must have the ability to work with customers, suppliers, and employees.
- Mechanical aptitude and troubleshooting skills.
- Must be able to speak, write, and read English and be computer literate.
- Calculate figures and amounts such as discounts, interest, percentages, area, circumference, and volume.
- Must have a valid driver’s license.
- Ready Mix Concrete industry or related operations management experience is preferred.
About Resource Erectors
When you’re ready to rise with the tide of heavy industry you’re ready for Resource Erectors. For heavy industry companies we provide access to recruit from the deep Resource Erectors’ talent pool of experienced professional candidates in sales, safety, quality control, processing, construction, bulk materials, logistics, aggregates, concrete, mining, and engineering in every way, shape, and form.
For heavy industry professionals, whether you’re looking for a higher salary and benefits more conducive to your experience and responsibilities, or you’re looking for a geographic career move, we’ve got the inside scoop on the industry-leading companies all across North America who are looking for you, so don’t hesitate to contact Dan today so we can all get to work.
