Wanderlust World Wanderlust World Washington State's diverse geology—Cascade volcanics, Columbia River basalts, Okanogan Highlands, and sedimentary basins—supports a significant mining industry. While not a top metal producer nationally, it leads in several industrial minerals.
| Mineral | Key Locations / Uses |
|---|---|
| Coal | Centralia (Lewis Co.) — TransAlta surface mine (closed 2006; power plant converted to gas). John Henry No. 1 (Kittitas Co.) — small specialty. WA was never a major coal state. |
| Sand & Gravel (Aggregate) | #1 by volume/value. Glacial outwash (Puget Lowland), river terraces. Construction, concrete, asphalt. ~50M tons/yr. |
| Cement / Limestone | LafargeHolcim (Seattle, Raimond); Ash Grove (Seattle). Limestone from Metalines (Pend Oreille), Addy (Stevens). |
| Diatomite | EP Minerals (Vale, OR border? No—WA: Quincy, Grant Co.) — large deposit. Filtration, absorbents, cement additive. |
| Olivine | Twin Sisters (Whatcom Co.) — dunite/olivine. Foundry sand, refractory, CO₂ sequestration research. |
| Clay / Shale | Brick, tile, lightweight aggregate. Taylor (Pierce Co.), Renton. |
| Silica Sand | Glass, foundry, frac sand (limited). Byron (Okanogan). |
| Barite | Drilling mud weighting agent. Deep Creek (Pend Oreille). |
Washington hosts rare earth elements (REEs) in Bokan Mountain (AK? No—WA: Midnite Mine (Spokane Tribe, U), Sherman Creek (REEs in carbonatites)). DOE/USGS assessing cobalt, graphite, lithium potential in volcanic/sedimentary systems.
Washington mining today = aggregates & cement for infrastructure, with a legacy of metal mining and emerging critical-mineral exploration.