Gross output of total U.S. mining industry 2000-2021

In 2021, the gross output of the United States mining industry amounted to 628.5 billion U.S. dollars. That was an increase of more than 212 billion U.S. dollars compared to the previous year.

U.S. mining industry: an economic overview of the past two decades

The mining industry in the United States is a huge sector – especially when oil and gas extraction is included. In 2021, the industry generated a gross output of nearly 629 billion U.S. dollars. In 2000, this figure stood at just 218 billion. The value added of the U.S. mining industry was 333.9 billion U.S. dollars in 2021, while this figure was around 81 billion in 1998. In 2000, U.S. mining employment stood at 521,000. It has remained relatively stable since 2000, having grown to a peak of 842,000 in 2014, before decreasing gradually to 539,000 mine employees as of 2020.

U.S. mining companies in a global context

Although the United States has an active and diverse mining industry, U.S. mining companies are not among the top ten mining companies worldwide based on revenue. Rather, the U.S.-based Freeport McMoRan, ranked 12th among the world's largest mining companies based on revenue as of 2022. Freeport McMoRan was the second leading U.S. mining company based on revenue in 2022 with a revenue of over 24 billion U.S. dollars.