Subject: Metals & Minerals Commodities Statistics

Contents
 Sources for Commodity Statistics in Metals & Minerals
Title Date Coverage U.S. World Commodities Notes
Annual Statistical Report of the American Iron and Steel Institute Annual. Library has 1893, 1901-1907, 1913-2001.   X Iron and steel, raw and products, as well as scrap. Import and export data, production, and some industry data. Alternate titles: Statistics of the American and Foreign Iron Trades.
American Metal Market.com Current and historical, 1996-present.   X Metals, steel, scrap. Data generated by report; CSM subscription only. Web successor to Metal Statistics.
Colorado Geological Survey, Colorado Mineral and Mineral Fuel Activity Annual, with some historical data. Library has 1994-2003. X   Metals, industrial minerals, gems, coal, hydrocarbons, gases, uranium. Colorado only. Includes some data by region and by producing site.
Colorado Geological Survey, Mineral & Energy Resources Varies. X   Metals and industrial minerals, and energy resources. Colorado only. Includes downloadable data.
London Metal Exchange Daily, with some historical data. X Non-ferrous metals, including copper, aluminum (and alloys), zinc, lead, tin, nickel, and silver. Market data; subscription service, so some data not available for free.
MEPS (International) Ltd. Steel Market Information Rolling 1-2 years (selective). X Steels. Market data; as a subscription service some data are not available, and there is usually a blackout on current data.
Metal Bulletin's Prices and Data. Metal Bulletin PLC Daily; each volume covers one year of data. Library has scattered volumes from the 1970s-1993. X Metals and ores, including scrap and steel. Includes 2-5 years of production data by world and country; some consumption data. Compilation of data from Metal Bulletin.
Metal Statistics. American Metal Market Annual; varies by commodity from 5-10 years data. Library has 1921-2002. X Metals, including scrap and steel. Ceased publication in 2002; later years split into ferrous and non-ferrous editions. Continues as American Metal Market.com.
Metallstatistik. World Bureau of Metal Statistics Annual; each volume covers 11 years of data. Library has 1892-1901, 1938, 1946-53, 1960/69, 1965/75, 1970/80, 1975/85-present. X Selected metals. Import and export data by country; includes some world production and consumption data. Alternate title: Comparative Statistics of Lead, Copper, Spelter, Tin, Silver, Nickel, Aluminum, and Quicksilver.
MetalPrices.com Daily; provides today's and yesterday's prices for free. X Selected metals, including aluminum, copper, gold, iron, lead, molybdenum, platinum metals, silver, tin, tungsten and zinc. Market prices; subscription required for full access to data. Free LME and Comex price charts and tables in USD/LB.
Metals and Minerals Annual Review Annual. Library has 1990-1998. X Selected metals and minerals. Includes selected production and consumption data; published by Mining Journal (London).
Metals Analysis and Outlook Quarterly, with some historical data. Library has 1976-1996. X Selected metals. Includes production, consumption, and some price data, with graphs going back from 7 years to the 1970s.
Mineral Resources of Colorado. Vanderbilt, John W., 1947, Denver CO: State of Colorado Mineral Resources Board. Varies by available reports of annual production. X Primarily metals (gold, silver, copper, lead and zinc) with a few industrial minerals. Colorado only; by county and mining district; production in dollars and by weight for some metals.
Mining in Colorado. Henderson, Charles W. 1926. USGS Prof Paper 138 Selected historical data, 1858-1923. X Metals, primarily gold, silver, copper, lead and zinc. Colorado only; by county and region; production in dollars and by weight for some metals.
Non-Ferrous Metal Yearbook. American Bureau of Metal Statistics. Annual; each volume covers 5 years of data. Library has 1922-2001. X Selected non-ferrous metals. Includes production, trade, consumption and mining data. Alternate titles: Non-Ferrous Metal Data; Year Book of the American Bureau of Metal Statistics, with data to 1920. International by country, with some broad geographic divisions.
NYMX [COMEX]: New York Mercantile Exchange Short-term (often daily) data, with little historical data available. X Energy and selected metals, including gold, silver, copper, aluminum, platinum and palladium. Market overview data, including futures and options data.
Platt's Metals Week Price Handbook Daily; each volume covers one year of data. Library has 1978, 1982-98. X Major metals, ferroalloys, precious metals, selected minor and light metals. World market prices. Alternate title: Metals Price Handbook.
Precious Metal Digest Library has 1983/84. X Gold and silver, and some base metals like copper, lead, zinc. Covers US gold and silver production (1850-1982); world gold and silver production (1870-1981); commercial value ratio of silver to gold (1700-1983); price averages of silver, copper, lead and zinc (1850-1983) and gold (1870-1983).
Roskill reports [by commodity] Varies. Library has selected editions for some commodities. X Metals and industrial minerals. International by country, may include US regional and state data. Ask at the Library Reference Desk.
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), Economic Indicators.Gov Current, monthly or quarterly. X Selected metals. Economic reports, such as "U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services," include commodities data.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Producer Price Index Commodity and Industry Data Annual, selectively by commodity but some data from 1947-present. X Selected metal ores and concentrates, worked metals, steel and scrap. Reports available by both commodity and industry.
U.S. Census Bureau, Manufacturing and Mineral Industries Publications Data from latest census. X NA  Reports covering industry data in metal and industrial mineral mining, oil and gas; by industry and state.
U.S. Department of Commerce, Metals Division, Metals Statistics Annual, 2000-present. X Selected metals, steel. Foreign trade data; figures in dollars and by weight.
U.S. Geological Survey, Minerals Information U.S. data in Minerals Yearbooks (1932-present); international data in Mineral Commodity Summaries  (1996-present, with selective data back to 1994). X Selected metals and industrial minerals. U.S. data by state; international data by country; including output, consumption, recycling; international summaries by global region/continent. Alternate titles: Minerals Yearbook; Mineral Resources of the United States; Mineral Commodity Summaries; Commodity Data Summaries.
U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries Annual. Library has 1964-2004. X Selected metals and industrial minerals. Alternate title: Commodity Data Summaries; continued on USGS Minerals Information website.
U.S. Geological Survey, Minerals Yearbook Annual. Library has 1882-1893, 1900-2003. X Selected metals and industrial minerals. Continued on USGS Minerals Information website.
U.S. Geological Survey, Historical Statistics for Mineral Commodities in the United States 1900-2004. X Wide selection of minerals. U.S. and world production in table format; including selective import/export, consumption, unit value data.
World Metal Statistics Yearbook, World Bureau of Metal Statistics Annual, includes 10 years' historical data. X Selected metals. Includes production, consumption data, and some mine and smelter production data.
World Mineral Statistics, British Geological Survey, Minerals Programme Annual; each volume covers 5 years of data. Library has 1970/74-1996/2000. X Metals and minerals; includes coal, hydrocarbons, uranium. International by country; covers production, export, import. World Mineral Production, a data subset, is available online from the BGS at Minerals UK http://www.bgs.ac.uk/mineralsuk/#. Alternate title: Statistical Summary of the Minerals Industry, with data to 1913.
Worldwide Mining on disc 1981-1998. X

 

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 Help Finding Commodities Information

General research tips:

Identify possible data sources--Check government agency websites at state, national and international levels. Look for links on professional society websites, publishers that serve the minerals industries, etc.

Check with your librarian about new resources and electronic databases. If you are not on campus, try the online Ask A Librarian form.

Look for library guides in related disciplines, for example economics, metallurgy, mining, business.

Know your library’s classification system. The CSM Library uses Library of Congress (LC). Use it to browse for information. In our Library, most engineering materials are located in the T’s. Commodities statistics are generally located in the HD's, mining production figures in the TN's. Become familiar with core works in your field. Use these as a base to start your search.

Evaluate your sources--especially Internet sources. Check for updating, type and date of coverage, sponsoring agency, data source.

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 Books & Journals

Books with Commodities Statistics, especially historical statistics, are available from agencies and commercial publishers. Search for a known title or agency, or search by keyword for "statistics" and your commodity.

  • Catalyst - to find CSM materials
    • CSM's Library has a good collection of materials containing mineral and metal production data. Much of this data is within publications on mining activity--check publications by region, state and country for production and refining statistics.
  • Prospector - to find materials at Colorado libraries.
  • To find materials elsewhere:

Journals with Commodities Information

  • Industry journals in mining, industrial minerals, or metals. Use keyword searching in databases to identify specific articles and search for annual summaries, overviews, indicators, or forecasts
  • Statistical journals in the industries and in business, including:
    • Chemical Marketing Reporter
    • E&MJ Metal and Mineral Markets
    • Metal Bulletin
    • Platt's Metals Week
    • Wall Street Journal

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Databases & Miscellaneous Websites
(Subscription-only databases are available via the CSM network, from the Library's Databases page).