U.S. Mining Industry Sees a Resurgence, Citing First Profitable Quarter in Two Years

mining industry
AP/Paul Sancya

The U.S. mining industry is starting to see a resurgence.

According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau published last week, the mining industry made a profit for the first time in two years in the first quarter of 2017.

U.S. mining corporations with $50 million or more in assets reported $1.957 billion in combined profits after taxes from January to March 2017, according to a collection of quarterly financial reports about the mining industry from the Census Bureau.

The Census Bureau has been posting these quarterly reports about the mining industry in the U.S., including data about profits and losses after taxes, since the fourth quarter of 2000.

In the first quarter of 2016, U.S. mining corporations with $50 million or more in assets cited a collective $27.075 billion in losses.

The U.S. mining industry had not reported profits since the third quarter of 2014 when it cited profits of  $10.258 billion.

The most profitable quarter for the U.S. mining industry in the 16 years the U.S. Census tracked profits and losses for the mining industry was in the third quarter of 2008, when it cited $31.376 billion in profits.

There is more evidence of a resurgence in the mining industry than just the numbers. President Trump spoke about the opening of a new coal mine in the Pittsburgh area that expects to employ around 100 workers as an example of the industry’s comeback.

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