Note that a portion of these materials are divided into those things composed of metals and those that are not. We call them metals and nonmetals. A big dump truck load of these metals and industrial minerals would be delivered to every person in the country every year. The nonmetals stone, sand and gravel, and cement make up more than 80 percent of the total and are used mostly to make concrete for the construction of highways, driveways, sidewalks, dams, many buildings, and the foundations of most homes and offices. Next is clay, which has a variety of products, including bricks, many types of ceramic tile, porcelain fixtures, and even coating on this paper.
Most salt is used to remove ice from roadways and to make many chemicals.
Phosphate rock, through processing, becomes fertilizer and a part of many detergents. In the other nonmetals, we find many rocks and minerals with special or unique properties that make them invaluable. Last are the metals, which make up less than 10 percent of our total yearly usage, but are absolutely indispensable because of their large variety of uses. To simplify the calculations, we ignored bridges and access and exit ramps. Among the metals, steel is the most widely used.