Census of Mineral Industries =>General This report, from the 1992 Census of Mineral Industries, is one of a series of 12 industry reports; each provides statistics for individual industries or groups of related industries. Additional separate reports will be issued for each geographic division showing statistics by State and for special subjects, such as fuels and electric energy consumed. The introduction to the General Summary report discusses, at greater length, many of the subjects described in this introduction. For example, the General Summary text discusses the economic significance of the mining sector, the relation of value added by mining to value added by manufacture, some of the changes in statistical concepts over the history of the census, and the valuation problems arising from intracompany transfers between mining establishments, manufacturing plants, and sales offices and sales branches of a company. =>Scope of Census and Definition of Mineral Industries The 1992 Census of Mineral Industries covers all establishments with one paid employee or more primarily engaged in mining as defined in the 1987 Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Manual. This is the system of industrial classification developed by experts on classification in Government and private industry under the guidance of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget. This classification system is used by Government agencies as well as many organizations outside the Government. The SIC Manual defines mining in the broad sense to include the extraction of minerals occurring naturally: solids such as coal and ores, liquids such as crude petroleum, and gases such as natural gas. The term "mining" is used in the broad sense to include quarrying, well operation, milling (crushing, screening, washing, flotation, etc.), and other preparations needed to make minerals marketable. Exploration is included as is the development of mineral properties. Services performed on a contract, fee, or other basis in the exploration and development of mineral properties are classified separately but within this division. Mining operations are classified by industry on the basis of the principal mineral produced or, if there is no production, on the basis of the principal mineral for which exploration or development work is in progress. The recovery of material from culm banks, ore dumps, and other waste mineral piles is classified in the appropriate mining industry according to the mineral product recovered. The crushing, grinding, or other treatment of certain earths, rocks, and other nonmetallic minerals not in conjunction with mining activities is not included in this division but is classified as manufacturing. Hauling and other transportation beyond the mine property and contract hauling (except out of open pits in conjunction with mining) also are excluded. Mining operations carried on as secondary activities at manufacturing establishments (such as clay pits at clay products plants or sand and gravel operations at ready-mixed concrete plants) are not within the scope of this census. However, selected data (production workers' wages and hours; total cost of supplies, fuels, electric energy, and contract work; and quantity of production for mined products) on such mining activities have been obtained in the 1992 Census of Manufactures and are included in the mining reports. They are clearly specified wherever included. =>Establishment Basis of Reporting The Census of Mineral Industries covers each mining establishment of firms with one paid employee or more operating in the United States. A company operating more than one establishment is required to file a separate report for each location. A mineral establishment is defined as a single physical location where mineral operations are conducted. For oil and gas field operations and for contract services, the basis for reporting is different from the "establishment" basis used for other types of mining. Firms operating oil and gas wells, drilling wells, or exploring for oil and gas for their own account were required to submit a separate report for each State or offshore area adjacent to a State in which it conducted such activities. Firms that performed contract services for oil and gas field operations or for mining establishments were required to submit one report covering all such activities in the United States and to include information on receipts for services and production-worker wages and hours, by State. These consolidated reports were then allocated to State establishments based on the data reported at the State level. The 1992 figures for establishments include the summation of operations for each State allocated from these nationwide reports. =>Use of Administrative Records From a mailout universe of about 28,500 mining establishments, approximately 11,000 small single-establishment companies were not mailed a questionnaire. For these establishments, some employment, payroll, and receipts data were obtained from the administrative records of other agencies. Selection of the small establishment nonmail cases was done on an industry-by-industry basis, and a variable cutoff was used to determine those establishments for which administrative records were to be used in place of a census report. This information was then used in conjunction with industry averages and other information to estimate the statistics for administrative-record and nonresponse establishments. The first column in tables 2 and 4 provides an indication of the extent that these establishments account for the figures shown. The value of shipments and receipts and cost of supplies were generally not distributed among specific products and supplies for these establishments, but were included in the product and supply "not specified by kind" categories. Overall, establishments for which administrative-record data were used accounted for less than 2 percent of total value of shipments and receipts. The industry classification codes included in the administrative-record files were used for those establishments excused from filing census forms. Generally, these codes were assigned on the basis of brief descriptions of the general activity of the establishment. Where the description was incomplete, or where there were relatively fine lines of demarcation among industries or between mining and nonmining activities, the code assigned to an establishment could differ from that which would have been assigned on the basis of more complete product or activity information. Therefore, the total establishment count should be viewed as an approximate measure. The counts for establishments with 20 employees or more are far more reliable. In the 1992 census, as in the 1987, 1982, 1977, and 1972 censuses, data for single-unit firms without paid employees were excluded. This exclusion had only a slight effect on industry aggregates for most industries. Data for firms without employees were included in the 1963, 1958, and 1954 censuses if they reported more than $500 in (1) value of shipments and receipts, (2) cost of supplies and purchased machinery, or (3) capital expenditures. =>Auxiliaries Statistics for employment and payroll for individual industries and industry groups also include employment and payroll figures for administrative offices, warehouses, storage facilities, and other auxiliary establishments servicing mining establishments. As in previous censuses, respondents were asked to file separate reports (form ES-9200) for any separately operated auxiliary establishments. Classification of employment and payroll data at such auxiliary establishments was based on the mining establishments served. =>Industry Classification of Establishments Each of the establishments covered in the census was classified in 1 of 31 mineral industries in accordance with the industry definitions in the 1987 SIC Manual. An industry is generally defined as a group of establishments producing the same product or closely related group of products. The resulting group of establishments must be significant in terms of its number, value added by mining, value of shipments and receipts, number of employees, and payroll. Application of these criteria led to the formulation of 31 mining industries, each assigned a four-digit code. The classification system also provides broader groups of industries, with 20 three-digit groups and 4 two-digit groups. Within industries, the system provides for seven-digit products and five-digit product classes. Products are considered primary to an industry if the first four digits of the product codes are the same as the industry code. Products whose first four code numbers differ from the industry code are called secondary products. To determine the industry classification of an establishment, the seven- digit products are grouped together according to the first four digits of the product code. The first four digits of the group of products with the largest value of production become the industry code for the establishment. (For mineral service industries, the classification is on the basis of receipts for services performed.) In most industries, establishments making products falling into the same industry category use a variety of processes. Separate statistics are provided on the various types of operation. Whenever possible, separate figures are shown for establishments with mines only, mines with preparation plants, and preparation plants only. Separate figures are provided by type of mine (underground, open pit, and combination). Separate statistics also are provided on producing and nonproducing operations, an establishment being defined as nonproducing if no mineral products were shipped during the year. Statistics usually are provided on the production of minerals mined and used in the same establishment for producing prepared minerals or used at the producing establishment for fuel. Differences in the integration of production processes and types of operation should be considered when relating the general items (employment, payrolls, value added, etc.) to the product and material data. =>Value of Shipments for the Industry Compared With Value of Product Shipments This report shows value of shipments and receipt data for industries and products. In files NC92F1 through NC92F4, these data represent the total value of shipments and receipts of all establishments classified in a particular industry. The data include the shipments of the products classified in the industry (primary to the industry), products classified in other industries (secondary to the industry), and miscellaneous receipts (repair work, sale of scrap, research and development, installation receipts, and resales). Value of product shipments shown in files NC92F6A and NC92F6B represent the total value of all products shipped that are classified as primary to an industry and includes those that were shipped by all mining establishments regardless of their industry classification. Value of product shipments also may include some products shipped from mining operations associated with manufacturing establishments. =>CENSUS DISCLOSURE RULES In accordance with Federal law governing census reports, no data are published that would disclose the data for an individual establishment or company. However, the number of establishments classified in a specific industry is not considered a disclosure; this information may be released even though other information is withheld. The disclosure analysis for the industry statistics in files NC92F1 through NC92F4 of this report is based on the total value of shipments and receipts and capital expenditures. When the total value of shipments and receipts cannot be shown without disclosing information for individual companies, the complete line is suppressed. If capital expenditures alone is a disclosure, only total capital expenditures and cost of supplies statistics are suppressed. However, the suppressed data are included in higher level totals. =>SPECIAL TABULATIONS Special tabulations of data collected in the 1992 Census of Mineral Industries may be requested. The data will be in summary form and subject to the same rules prohibiting disclosure of confidential information (including name, address, kind of business, or other data for individual business establishments or companies) as are the regular publications. Special tabulations are prepared on a cost basis. A request for a cost estimate, as well as exact specifications on the type and format of the data to be provided, should be directed to the Chief, Manufacturing and Construction Division, Bureau of the Census, Washington, DC 20233-6901.