A List Of Natural Resources Produced In The United States And Their Uses

The US is home to many natural resources. A wide pool of natural resources can be found in many parts of the United States and account for the country’s ability to lead the list of the world’s market driven economies of the world. Since time immemorial, the country’s industries have thrived on the natural resources which the country boasts of. Today, the story is the same owing to the continued expansion of the country’s industrial sector which includes manufacturing companies, processing plants and recycling plants. The country is undoubtedly a viable destination for investors who want to tap into the potential weave in the fibres of its vast reserves of natural resources.

• Natural gas: this is mainly used to power appliances which use natural gas rather than electricity.
• Crude oil: this is used to come up with a number of petroleum products including kerosene, diesel and petrol which are used to power vehicles and machines.
• Bauxite: bauxite is the ore from which aluminium is extracted. It is important based on the many uses that are associated with aluminium. The element is often purified and used to make parts of aeroplanes and ships.
• Zinc: this is an important metallic element which is used in manufacturing of collapsible tubes and for the sacrificial protection of iron. The element is also used to make electrodes.
• Rare earth elements: these are used in the electronics industry to make important parts of electronic devices. They are used in all electronics products including television sets, tablets and mobile phones.
• Coal: the coal is mainly used to heat up steam in coal powered plants around the US.
• Uranium: this is used to power up nuclear power plants, as it is one of the main reactors in such plants. It is also used to create nuclear weapons.
• Copper: copper is used to make electric cables, sockets and even electrodes.
• Silver: silver is often used to make jewellery, although it may also be used to come up with electric cables in special cases.

 

These are the major natural resources that can be found in the US. There are others which are present in minute concentrations and are thus left out of the list. For example, some parts of the US are actually in possession of rare earth metals. The state of California is one state where such mineral resources can be found but they do not fare well when compared with other natural resources which the country boasts of. Further, there are also some natural resources which used to be in existence in the past but have been depleted owing to their diminishing nature. This mainly applies to mineral resources including some rare earth elements which are no longer available following their depletion. For example, the Mountain Pass Rare Earth Mine in California was a source of certain rare earth elements but ran out of some of them prior to its closure.