440 
MINERALS YEARBOOK, 1967 
 
the sand and gravel produced in Minnesota. About 94 percent of the commercial
production was transported by truck, 4 percent by river barge, and 2 percent
by rail. Minnesota supplied about 4.6 percent of the national sand and gravel
output. 
 
 Stone.—Stone production, consisting of basalt, granite, limestone,
marl, and quartzite decreased 15 percent in quantity and 2 percent in value,
chiefly because of a 15percent decline in tonnage of crushed and broken stone.
An increase of 16 percent in value of dimension stone moderated the drop
in total value of stone production. 
 Limestone was produced from deposits in 15 south-central and southeastern
counties. Major producing counties, in descending order of value, were Blue
Earth, Washington, Le Sueur, Scott, and Winona, collectively representing
58 percent of the State limestone value. Limestone accounted for 88 percent
of the quantity and 58 percent of the value of stone production in Minnesota.
Crushed and broken limestone decreased 16 percent in quantity and in value
mainly because of a 737,000-ton decline in the amount of stone used for roadstone
and concrete aggregate. Production of limestone for riprap and railroad ballast
decreased about 47,000 and 30,000 tons, respectively. Output of agricultural
limestone increased approximately 42 percent in quantity and 49 percent in
value. About 85 percent of the crushed and broken limestone was transported
by truck, 13 percent by water, and 2 percent by rail. 
 Production of dimension limestone increased substantially. The largest increases
were recorded for sales of rough architectural stone and house stone veneer.
Nearly all Minnesota dimension limestone production was from Blue Earth,
Le Sueur, and Winona Counties. 
 Granite production decreased 1 percent in quantity and increased 13 percent
in value owing to a decline in crushed and broken granite output and greater
sales of dimension granite. Eight companies produced granite in seven west-central
and central Minnesota counties. Counties with the largest production, in
descending order of value, were Stearns, Lac qul Parle, and Big Stone, collectively
representing 87 percent in value of all granite produced in Minnesota. Granite
accounted for 39 percent of the total value of all stone produced in the
State. Dimension granite increased 10 percent in quantity and 16 percent
in value, primarily because of increased sales of stone for architectural
purposes. Plants in Cold Spring, Delano, and St. Cloud produced finished
stone for monuments and architectural purposes. 
 Production of crushed and broken granite declined 1 percent in quantity
and value because of decreased sales of stone for railroad ballast. Crushed
granite used for roadstone and concrete aggregate increased substantially
both in quantity and value. Other uses for crushed and broken granite were
riprap, poultry grit, traction grit, and stone sand. 
 
Table 14.—Granite sold or used by produc 
ers, by uses 
 
 
Use 
1966 
1967 
 
 
Quan- Value tity (thou- 
sands) 
Quan- 
tity 
Value 
(thou 
sands) 
Dimension: 
 
 
 
Roughmonumental thousandcubicfeet~ 
 Dressed architectural do~. 
 Dressed monumental do 
 Total approximate short tons ' ... 
 
Crushed and broken: 
 21 $73 150 2,102 74 1,089 
24 
177 
70 
$71 
2,665 
1,059 
 
 20 3,264 
22 
3,795 
 
 
 
 
Concrete aggregate and roadstone thousand short tons -Railroad ballast do~~

 86 166 233 346 
121 
194 
238 
271 
Riprap do. 
Other 2 do.._. 
 Total do.~. Grand total do~~ 
 W W 26 170 
6 
19 
9 
159 
 
 345 682 
340 
~678 
 
 365 3,946 
3363 
' 4,472 
W Withheld to avoid disclosing individual company confidential data; included
with "Other." 
1 Average weight of 166 pounds per cubic foot used to convert cubic feet
to short tons. 
2 Includes granite for riprap (1966), grit, and stone sand. 
Data do not add to total shown because of independent rounding.