Brick is the oldest manufactured building material. Sun dried brick was used in ancient Babylonia, Assyria and Egypt as early as 4000 B.C. Prior to the settling of Charleston in the 1670's, the Indians used molded brick in ovens and the foundations of dwellings.

Red clay, flood plain clay, kaolin and sericite are clays suitable for making brick. Brick can be made from clay alone, but is usually combined with other minerals, like shale, for stability and strength.

Our state's abundant clay resources reduce brick prices and transportation costs for the construction industry. The savings impact the consumer in the form of lower costs in the construction of homes and offices. The use factor of brick in South Carolina is the highest in the nation. Our citizens average 22 brick per person.

There are three basic types of brick made in South Carolina:

Face Brick -- used in exposed areas

Common Brick -- very sturdy and used in backwalls

Fire Brick -- especially made for fireplaces and similar installations

Most granites in the Piedmont produce a red clay upon decomposition. The red color of brick can vary from light red to purple by controlling the oxidation during the firing process.

The 25 active brick clay mines in the state can be found in Cherokee, York, Lancaster, Richland, Kershaw, Orangeburg, Dorchester, Berkeley, Saluda, Clarendon, Sumter, Marlboro, Marion, Horry and Lexington counties.

Our brick industry contributes an estimated $80 million annually to the state's economy.

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Gravel

Gravel is loose, rounded mineral and rock fragments mined from old flood plain deposits in the Coastal Plain of our state. Carolina gravel is used primarily as an aggregate in concrete and asphalt. It is heavily used in road construction.

Gravel is also used as a decorative stone in walkways, buildings, patios and around pools. This material is also sold to the metallurgical reduction industry which refines the gravel to produce ferro silicon, silicon metal and silicon carbide. Ferro silicon is used as a filler and extender in super plastics for the auto industry while some silicon metal is used to produce computer chips.

The extraction of sand and gravel accounts for more than ten percent of the state's total mineral production. Combined production values of sand and gravel are estimated to be more than $32 million annually.

There are presently 14 active sand and gravel mines in South Carolina. These mines are located in Aiken, Greenwood, Chesterfield, Marlboro and Sumter counties.

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Sand

The emergence of the new South in the past 20 years has highlighted the value of one of our most important natural resources, Carolina sand. Its main uses are as an aggregate and fill material for the construction industry.

Initially, the basic building sand for concrete and mortar occupied most of the volume. As equipment was developed for processing sand according to particle size and organic content, the unique quality of Carolina sand was quickly recognized.

The size and quality of the deposit has allowed South Carolina to ship specialty sands throughout the Southeast. The glass industry continues to locate plants in South Carolina because of the proximity to its most important ingredient, sand.