Construction aggregates (crushed rock, sand, and gravel) are variable trust resources hiding in plain sight on almost all Indian reservations.
Aggregates account for more than half of the non-fuel mining operations in the US. They are used in virtually all construction and make up 94% of asphalt and 80% of concrete. They command a strong market. Development and sale of US construction aggregates is a $36 billion industry (based on the 2023 revenues measured at quarry sites). In 2019, the value of crushed rock mined in the US alone far exceeded the value of mined gold in the US ($18.7 billion vs. $9 billion).
Between 2013 and 2023, consumption of crushed stone, sand, and gravel grew at cumulative average growth rates of 2.5% and 1.0% per year, respectively, from a combined 2.2 billion tons in 2013 to 2.8 billion tons in 2023.
When we last checked, the US Department of Interior’s Office of Natural Resources Revenue reported that it had only 19 aggregates leases on Indian lands producing over $200 million per year. Aggregate is the third most valuable trust resource produced on Indian lands. Yet it is largely under-reported and unregulated. Indian Country geologists are familiar with single reservations having more than 19 gravel pits.
Our firm has just entered into an agreement with a Sioux tribe to identify and assess the quantity and quality of its under-utilized aggregates resources.
We are available to perform the same service for other tribes desiring to properly account for and achieve the highest and best use of this important trust resource.
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