Directory of Mines and Quarries, 2005. 7th edition

Britain* is fortunate in being relatively well endowed with a variety of mineral resources on which an extractive industry of considerable economic importance is based. The economic importance of individual industries, including the extractive industries, to the national economy is measured by their contribution of Gross Value Added (GVA). This is a key indicator of economic performance. The GVA of the minerals extractive industries as a whole is included in national accounts under the heading ‘Mining and quarrying’, which includes the extraction of oil and gas. The GVA for ‘Mining and quarrying’was £27 500 million in 2003, or 2.8 per cent of national GVA. The extraction of oil and gas accounted for £24 862 million of the total for the extractive industries, the mining of coal £479 million and other mining and quarrying £2 160 million.