TABLE 4 
 
SOUTH CAROLINA: CONSTRUCTION SAND AND GRAVEL SOLD OR 
USED IN 1992, BY MAJOR USE CATEGORY 
 
Use 
Quantity 
(thousand 
short tons) 
Value 
 
(thousands) 
Value 
per ton 
Concrete aggregates (including concrete sand) 
3,943 W 
$12,71 1 W 
$3.22 
6.00 
Plaster and gunite sands 
 
 
 
Concrete products (blocks, bricks, pipe, decorative, 
 
 
 
etc.) 
337 
923 
2.74 
Asphaltic concrete aggregates and other bituminous 
 
 
 
mixtures 
602 
186 
 
897 
 
64 
 
553 
 
314 
 
6,896 
 
6,256 
2,052 
 
494 
 
1,346 
170 
 
1,344 
 
883 
 
19,923 
 
19,923 
3.41 
 
2.66 
 
1.50 
2.66 
 
2.43 
 
2.81 
 
2.89 
 
3.18 
Road base and coverings' 
 
 
 
Fill 
 
 
 
Other miscellaneous uses~ 
 
 
 
Unspecified:' 
 
 
 
Actual 
 
 
 
Estimated 
 
 
 
Total 
 
 
 
Total4' 
 
 
 
w Withheld to avoid disclosing company pmprictaiydata; included with ' Other
miacellaneoua u.ee." ' Includes road and other stabilization (lime).

~Includea filtration. 
' Includes productionreported without a breakdownby end use and estimates
for nonrespondents. 
~One metric ton is equal to 1,000 kilograms or 2,204.62 pounds. To convert
shod tons into metric tons multiply short tons by 0.907185. 
' Total quantity and total value in thousand metric tons and thousand dollars.

486  SOUTH CAROLINA—1992obtained from FMC's lithium operations
near
Bessemer City, NC, for use by glass and whiteware manufacturers. 
 
Peat.—American Peat and Organics 
Co. remained South Carolina's only peat producer. The peat is mined for potting
soil and soil-conditioning additives from Snuggedy Swamp near the Edisto
River in Colleton County. Of 20 producing States, South Carolina ranked 13th
in the amount of peat mined in 1992 but only 19th in its attendant value.

 
Sand and Gmvel.—Construction.— Construction sand and
gravel production
is surveyed by the U.S. Bureau of Mines for even-numbered years only; data
for odd-numbered years are based on annual company estimates. This chapter
contains actual data for 1990 and 1992 and estimates for 1991. 
 South Carolina construction sand and gravel statistics are compiled by geographic
districts as depicted on the State map. These data are summarized 
by major-use category in table 4 and by district and use in table 5. 
Construction sand and gravel 
~ production increased by 4.5% from an 
~ estimated 6.6 million short tons in 1991 to 6.9 million short tons in 1992.
The attendant value increased 5.4% from $18.9 miffion to $19.9 million. Nationally,
South Carolina ranked 40th and 43d, respectively, in the quantity and value
of construction sand and gravel mined in 1992. 
 Construction sand and gravel production was reported from 53 pits operated
by 43 companies in 21 of South Carolina's 46 counties. The five largest companies
in order of quantity produced were Brewer Sand Co. Inc. with an operation
in Chesterfield County; Becker Minerals Inc. with operations in Colleton,
Marlboro, and Sumter Counties; Palmetto Sand Co. Inc. with two operations
in Dorchester County; and two companies with one operation each, B &
T Sand Co. in Lexington County and Pageland Sand Co. Inc. in Chesterfield
County. The leading counties were Chesterfield, 
Lexington, Sumter, Dorchester, and Aiken. 
 Most of the sand and gravel produced was shipped by truck, 57.3 % , and
railroad, 7.0% . Transportation for 16.6 % was not specified, and the remaining
19. 1 % was not transported. 
Major uses for construction sand and gravel were concrete aggregate, fill,
asphaltic concrete, concrete products, and road base or cover. 
 B & T Sand Co. received a permit in 
March from the SC Land Resources 
Commission to mine construction sand 
and gravel in the Red Bank area of 
Lexington County. 
 
 Industrial.—Although its production increased, South Carolina
dropped
from 1 lth to 12th nationally in the quantity and from 10th to 1 lth in the
attendant value of industrial sand and gravel produced in 1992. Industrial
sand was produced in 38 States and Puerto Rico. The volume mined in South
Carolina increased by 3.3 % to 849,000 short tons, and the value increased
5.9 % to $17.3 million. The unit value of industrial sand processed in the
State increased from $19.88 to $20.40 per ton and continued to be the highest
in the Nation, averaging almost 30 % more than the national average of $15.75.

 Five~ companies produced industrial sand and gravel in 1992. Listed in order
of declining production, the companies were U.S. Silica Co. , Whibco Inc.,
Unimin Corp. , Foster Dixiana Corp. , and Columbia Silica Sand Co. U.S. Silica
Co. mined from three pits in Lexington County. The other producers had one
industrial sand and gravel operation each: 
Whibco Inc. near Leesburg, Kershaw County; Uniinin Corp. in Kershaw County;
and both Columbia Silica Sand Co. and Foster Dixiana Corp. in Lexington County.

 U.S. Silica, located along SC 302 near the Columbia Metropolitan Airport,
was the largest producer of ground silica in the United States and possibly
the world, according to the company's plant manager.5 The ground silica is
used widely in the manufacture of fiberglass and similar products. U.S. Silica's