313The Mineral Industry of Iowa 
 
This chapter has been prepared under a cooperative agreement between the
Bureau of Mines, U.S. Department of the Interior, and the Geological Survey
of Iowa for collecting information on all minerals except fuels. 
 
 
By Ronald W. Michelson' 
 
 
 Iowa mineral production was valued at $113.2 million in 1967, a decrease
of more than 5 percent from the record high established in 1966. Decreases
in portland cement, sand and gravel, and stone production accounted for nearly
85 percent of the decline. Other decreases were recorded for masonry cement,
bituminous coal, gypsum, and lime. Gains in total value of production were
reported for clays and peat. Nonmetals, the major commodity group, accounted
for nearly 97 percent of the State total production. The remaining 3 percent
was supplied by mineral fuels. 
 Oil and gas exploration activities con- 
sisted of one shallow test hole drilled in Washington County; no production
was reported. No production of, nor exploration for, metallic minerals was
recorded during the year. 
 Mineral production was reported from 97 of the 99 counties in Iowa. Value
of mineral output increased in 43 counties and decreased in 54. The three
leading counties in State output values were Cerro Gordo with 23 percent,
Polk with 15 percent, and Scott with 12 percent. 
 
 
 1 Geologist, Bureau of Mines, Minneapolis, Minn. 
 
Table 1.—Mineral production in Iowa1 
Mineral 
1966 
 
 
Quantity Value (thousands) 
 
Quantity 
1967 
 
 
Value 
 
 
(thousands) 
Cement: 
 Portland thousand 376-pound barrels.. - 
 Masonry thousand 280-pound barrels - 
Clays thousandshorttons....Coal (bituminous) do......Gypsum do......Sand
and gravel do......Stone do...... 
Value of items that cannot be disclosed: 
14,058 
633 
1,130 
1,025 
1,285 
19,644 
27,729 
$46, 736 
1,890 
1,438 
3,783 
5,577 
18,213 
40,081 
13,712 
612 
1,208 
883 
1,219 
17,734 
26,133 
$45,394 
 1,853 
 1,643 
 3,227 
 5,186 
16,564 
37,912 
Other nonmetals and peat                       
XX 
1,595 
XX 
1,443 
Total                                   Total 1957—59 constant dollars
                 
XX 
XX 
119,313 
116,014 
XX 
XX 
113,222 
P 110,561 
 Preliminary. XX Not applicable. 
 1 Production as measured by mine shipments, sales, or marketable production
(including consumption by producers).