Sector Description
The Sector as a Whole
The Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction sector comprises establishments that extract naturally occurring mineral solids, such as coal and ores; liquid minerals, such as crude petroleum; and gases, such as natural gas. The term mining is used in the broad sense to include quarrying, well operations, beneficiating (e.g., crushing, screening, washing, and flotation), and other preparation customarily performed at the mine site, or as a part of mining activity.
The Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction sector distinguishes two basic activities: mine operation and mining support activities. Mine operation includes establishments operating mines, quarries, or oil and gas wells on their own account or for others on a contract or fee basis. Mining support activities include establishments that perform exploration (except geophysical surveying) and/or other mining services on a contract or fee basis (except mine site preparation and construction of oil/gas pipelines).
Establishments in the Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction sector are grouped and classified according to the natural resource mined or to be mined. Industries include establishments that develop the mine site, extract the natural resources, and/or those that beneficiate (i.e., prepare) the mineral mined. Beneficiation is the process whereby the extracted material is reduced to particles that can be separated into mineral and waste, the former suitable for further processing or direct use. The operations that take place in beneficiation are primarily mechanical, such as grinding, washing, magnetic separation, and centrifugal separation. In contrast, manufacturing operations primarily use chemical and electrochemical processes, such as electrolysis and distillation. However, some treatments, such as heat treatments, take place in both the beneficiation and the manufacturing (i.e., smelting/refining) stages. The range of preparation activities varies by mineral and the purity of any given ore deposit. While some minerals, such as petroleum and natural gas, require little or no preparation, others are washed and screened, while yet others, such as gold and silver, can be transformed into bullion before leaving the mine site.
Mining, beneficiating, and manufacturing activities often occur in a single location. Separate receipts will be collected for these activities whenever possible. When receipts cannot be broken out between mining and manufacturing, establishments that mine or quarry nonmetallic minerals, and then beneficiate the nonmetallic minerals into more finished manufactured products are classified based on the primary activity of the establishment. A mine that manufactures a small amount of finished products will be classified in Sector 21, Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction. An establishment that mines whose primary output is a more finished manufactured product will be classified in Sector 31-33, Manufacturing.
IBISWorld Industry Research Report
Mining in the US (21)
Revenue 2025
$736.9bn
Growth 2025
1.97%
Key Trends
Growing demand for industry goods has led to a resurgence in industry selling prices
Rising production from OPEC and Russia ultimately subdued oil and gas prices and weighed on revenue
Price and output movements will likely continue playing a key role in determining sector revenue growth
Products and Services
NAICS Hierarchy 21 - Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction
NAICS Code 21 - Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction sits in the 2-digit Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction sector. NAICS codes can be 2- to 6-digits and the further along the hierarchy, the more detailed and specific the category will be. Learn more about the structure of NAICS codes
2 Digits: 21
Sector Title: Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction
3 Digits 4 Digits 5 Digits 6 Digits
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2111 Oil and Gas Extraction
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21112 Crude Petroleum Extraction
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21113 Natural Gas Extraction
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2121 Coal Mining
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2122 Metal Ore Mining
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21221 Iron Ore Mining
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21222 Gold Ore and Silver Ore Mining
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21223 Copper, Nickel, Lead, and Zinc Mining
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21229 Other Metal Ore Mining
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2123 Nonmetallic Mineral Mining and Quarrying
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21231 Stone Mining and Quarrying
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21232 Sand, Gravel, Clay, and Ceramic and Refractory Minerals Mining and Quarrying
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21239 Other Nonmetallic Mineral Mining and Quarrying
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2131 Support Activities for Mining
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NAICS Resources
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NAICS Code Directory
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