NAICS Code 21 — Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction

Sector in the official 2022 North American Industry Classification System (U.S. Census Bureau). It contains 3 direct sub-codes.

Code	21
Title	Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction
Level	Sector (2-digit)
Edition	NAICS 2022 edition

Official definition (2022 NAICS)

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 mapping) on a contract or fee basis and/or other mining services on a contract or fee basis (except mine site preparation, construction, and transportation activities).

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 and/or operate the mine site, extract the natural resources, beneficiate (i.e., prepare) the mineral mined, or provide mining support activities. 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.

Codes under 21

Code	Title
211	Oil and Gas Extraction
212	Mining (except Oil and Gas)
213	Support Activities for Mining

Related Sector codes

• 11 — Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting
• 22 — Utilities
• 23 — Construction
• 31-33 — Manufacturing
• 42 — Wholesale Trade
• 44-45 — Retail Trade
• 48-49 — Transportation and Warehousing
• 51 — Information
• 52 — Finance and Insurance
• 53 — Real Estate and Rental and Leasing
• 54 — Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
• 55 — Management of Companies and Enterprises
• 56 — Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services
• 61 — Educational Services
• 62 — Health Care and Social Assistance
• 71 — Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation
• 72 — Accommodation and Food Services
• 81 — Other Services (except Public Administration)
• 92 — Public Administration

Data: official 2022 NAICS structure, descriptions and Census concordances, U.S. Census Bureau — U.S. government works in the public domain (17 U.S.C. §105). Suggested reference, not an official determination.