World Resources:
Domestic resources are adequate but unevenly distributed. Large imports from *Canada augment domestic supplies for wallboard manufacturing on the eastern seaboard of the United States, where there are no significant gypsum deposits.*Large imports from Mexico augment domestic supplies for wallboard manufacturing on the U.S. western seaboard. Large deposits occur in the Great Lakes region, mid-continent region, and California Foreign resources are large and widely distributed; more than 90 countries produce gypsum.

Import Sources (1998-2001):

Canada       67%
Mexico         23%
Spain             9%
Other             1%

Tariff: Item Number Normal Trade Relations 12/31/02

Gypsum; anhydrite 2520.10.0000 Free

Depletion Allowance: 14% (Domestic and foreign)

Government Stockpile: None

Prepared by Donald W. Olson [(703) 648-7721, dolson@usgs.gov, fax: (703) 648-7722]

Salient Statistics- United States: 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002

Production:

Crude 19,000 22,400 19,500 16,300 16,100
Synthetic 2 3,000 5,200 4,950 6,820 7,700
Calcined 19,400 22,300 21,000 19,100 21,100
Wallboard products (million square feet1) 26,900 28,700 26,100 29,500 30,500
Imports, crude, including anhydrite 8,680 9,340 9,210 8,270 8,330
Exports, crude, not ground or calcined 166 112 161 295 380
Consumption, apparent  4 30,500 36,800 33,700 31,100 31,800

Crude gypsum was mined by 22 companies in the United States at 45 mines in 17 States. More than 77% of the gypsum produced was mined by 5 companies at 29 mines. The top gypsum producing States in 2003, in descending order, were Oklahoma, Iowa, Nevada, Colorado, Texas, California, and Indiana. These 7 States, with 30 mines, each produced more than 1 Mt and together accounted for 12.8 Mt or 77% of the total domestic output of gypsum (table 2).

The U.S. gypsum industry consisted primarily of a few large, vertically integrated companies that mined gypsum and manufactured wallboard, plaster, and other gypsum products. Companies with the most mines were U.S. Gypsum Corporation with nine mines; National Gypsum Company, six mines; Georgia-Pacific Corporation, six mines; BPB America Inc., five mines; and American Gypsum Company with three mines. These companies produced almost 77% of the total U.S. crude gypsum. The 10 largest gypsum mines in the United States accounted for almost 65% of domestic output in 2003. These 10 mines were owned by 6 companies, and their average output was 841,000 t.

Price:
Average crude, f.o.b. mine, dollars per ton 6.92 6.99 8.44 7.31 7.33
Average calcied, f.o.b. plant, dollars per ton 17.02 17.07 16.81 18.42 18.39
Stocks, producer, crude, yearend 1,500 1,500 1,500 1,500 1,500
Employment, mine and calcining plant, number 6,000 6,000 6,000 5,900 5,900
Net import reliance as a percentage of apparent consumption 28 25 27 26 25

U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries, January 2003

Consumption United States:

Current uses:

Gypsum is used to manufacture wallboard and plaster for homes, offices, and commercial buildings. An average new American home contains more than 7.31 metric tons (t) of gypsum or, in other terms, more than 571 square meters (6,144 square feet) of gypsum wallboard (Mineral Information Institute, 2001).

Worldwide, gypsum is used in Portland cement, which is used in concrete for bridges, buildings, highways, and many other structures that are part of our everyday life.