Mining accounted for 0.2% of GDP in 2001. The mining sector traditionally has been based on the economically significant exploitation of nonmetallic minerals for the construction, glass, and ceramics industries. The most important commodities were clay, bentonite, dolomite, feldspar, granite, gravel, gypsum, limestone, pebbles, quartz, sand, and talc. There was also minor production of semiprecious stones and ornamental rocks. Petroleum products and chemicals were among the country’s leading industries in 2002. Various types of clay were mined for producing brick, pipe, tile, and whiteware. Talc was mined for use in the paper industry and in ceramics, cosmetics, insecticides, and pharmaceuticals. more+

Rich in a variety of mineral resources, the United States was a world leader in the production of many important mineral commodities, such as aluminum, cement, copper, pig iron, lead, molybdenum, phosphates, potash, salt, sulfur, uranium, and zinc. more+

Trinidad and Tobago had the largest supply of natural asphalt, and became the second-largest exporter of ammonia, behind Russia. The island’s famous Pitch Lake, a 46-hectare deposit of oozing black asphalt, has been mined commercially since the 19th century. The annual yield has declined, from an average of 200,000 tons in the 1960s, to 18,100 in 1996 and 9,897 in 2000. more+

Suriname was one of the world’s 10 largest producers of bauxite, and alumina accounted for 70% ($342 million) of foreign exchange earnings in 2000. The mining of gold and bauxite was the country’s leading industry in 2002, and mining accounted for 4% of GDP. Alumina production and oil were the second- and third-ranking industries, and crude oil was the second-leading export commodity. Gold and crude petroleum production were growing. more+

St. Lucia’s manufacturing sector is the largest and most diversified in the Windward Islands, with many light manufacturing or assembly plants producing apparel, electronic components, plastic products, and paper and cardboard boxes. Agricultural manufacturing includes lime and coconut processing. more+

The mining of metals was Peru’s leading industry in 2002. Among export commodities, gold, copper, zinc, crude petroleum and byproducts, and lead ranked second through sixth, respectively. Peru was the second-largest producer of silver, after Mexico, the third-largest producer of zinc, after China and Australia, and the fourth-largest producer of lead, after Australia, China, and the United States. Peru’s zinc output represented 12% of world concentrate output, almost 62% of Latin America’s concentrate, and 29% of refined zinc. more+

Paraguay’s mining potential has been restricted by limited exploration, inadequate infrastructure, large fiscal and trade deficits, scarcity of foreign exchange, and limited private investment, and the reforms deemed necessary to alleviate the country’s economic stagnation were impeded by the political uncertainty. more+