U.S. mining metals and materials produced $1.8 trillion in products in 2007

A report distributed by the National Mining Association Thursday found that U.S...

A report distributed by the National Mining Association Thursday found that U.S. mining transformed metals and minerals into $98.4 billion of finished mineral, metal and fuel resources, which were used to produced $1.8 trillion of value-added products in 2007.The Economic Contributions of U.S. Mining in 2007, by Moore Economics found U.S. mining payroll totaled more than $22 billion in 2007, generating total payroll of $64.6 billion and $21.6 billion in personal income and payroll taxes through the economy.U.S. mines produced $25 billion worth of metal ores in 2008. Domestic mining exported $11.4 billion worth of minerals to other nations.An estimated 376,310 workers were employed at U.S. mines in 2007 of which contract employees represented 28.2%, the study found. The annual wage in U.S. mining averaged nearly $59,000 in 2007, which was 33% higher than the combined average annual wage for all industrial categories. Total compensation including benefits averaged $72,300 per worker.Following a trend of slow decline, mining employment has been on the increase since 2005, the survey found.The study found 1.5 million jobs were generated by U.S. miners. Each mining job creates an additional 2.9 jobs in other sectors of the U.S. economy. The top 10 states in terms of mining employment were West Virginia, Kentucky, Texas, Pennsylvania, Arizona, California, Virginia, Wyoming, Nevada and Colorado.U.S. Metal mining employed more than 49,000 miners, including contractors, in 2007. The top 10 states for metal mining jobs were Arizona, Nevada, Minnesota, Montana, Utah, Texas, Colorado, New Mexico, Alaska and Michigan, the study fund.According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, taxes on production and imports-including severance taxes, royalties, fees, property taxes and gross receipt taxes--were $4.4 billion in 2006, which was the latest available data.Meanwhile the domestic mining industry paid $1.2 billion in federal royalties and other mineral revenues in 2007, and contributed $304.9 million and $643.4 million respectively to the Abandoned Mine Lands and Black Lung funds. An additional $1.2 billion was paid in federal corporate income taxes in 2005, which was the latest data available from the Internal Revenue Service.The IRS also reported that the mining industry made charitable contributions totaling $73.2 million, excluding volunteer hours, in 2005."With more than 375,000 direct jobs that pay wages one-third higher than the U.S. industrial average and the ability to generate as many as four additional jobs elsewhere in the economy, U.S. mining provides more than vital resources for America-it can help rebuild America," National Mining Association President and CEO Hal Quinn said Thursday."Policymakers need to look no further than American coal, minerals and metals mining to find jobs that support families and their dreams for home ownership and a good education for their children," Quinn added.