1E: Balancing Utah’s extractive industries

Oil, gas, and mining in Utah produced approximately $7.8 billion in mineral products during 2021 (Figure 1E.1). The industry in the state is receiving renewed attention due to the large amount of strategically important minerals found here necessary for the production of modern digital technologies and green energy.

Utah is actively producing seven critical minerals from the U.S. Geological Survey’s list of 50, including beryllium, lithium, magnesium, platinum, palladium, fluorspar, and tellurium. With global demand for rechargeable batteries increasing, several companies in the state are seeking to expand production of some of these products, especially lithium from brines of the Great Salt Lake. Deposits of another six critical minerals are found in the state: aluminum, indium, gallium, germanium, vanadium, and zinc. Indium, used for touch screens and windshields, is found only in Utah. Other strategically important minerals in Utah include helium, potassium, rhenium, and uranium.

Due to the interest in these and other minerals, Utah experienced a significant expansion of applications for new mines in 2021. The State Institutional Trust Lands Administration, which manages more than 3.4 million acres of state-owned land, issued 68 new mineral leases in 2021, compared to 38 in 2020. Mining claims also increased significantly on federal lands with 5,100 new mining claims filed in 2021, a 41-percent increase over the previous year.