It is estimated that every job in metal mining generates 2.5 additional jobs elsewhere in the economy, and every nonmetal mining job generates 1.8 additional jobs. With 416,000 Americans directly employed through minerals mining today and another 798,000 indirectly employed, a total of 1,214,000 jobs are supported through minerals mining.

In addition to jobs, raw materials provided by U.S. mines also boost the economy. In 2011, U.S. mines produced mineral raw materials worth $74 billion—a 12 percent increase from 2010. These domestic raw materials—plus recycled materials—were used to process mineral materials such as aluminum, copper and steel worth $633 billion. Industries including technology, manufacturing, construction and automotive transform these minerals into the infrastructure and products we use every day, and added more than $2 trillion to the U.S. economy—more than 15 percent of GDP in 2011.

By creating jobs and providing essential materials, mining is emerging as an important partner in stimulating economic recovery.