Florida ranks first in the nation in the mining of phosphate for fertilizer and is among the most important in mining peat, also used in agriculture. Limestone, for agricultural lime and cement, as well as titanium, zircon, staurolite, thorium, and monazite are also mined in Florida.
Phosphate production began in the last century in the Peace River valley, east of Tampa, where large deposits of pebble phosphates were found. Throughout the twentieth century this area has continued to be the state's major source of phosphate. During the 1960s smaller pebble phosphate deposits were found in north Florida, near Jacksonville. In recent years Florida phosphate producers have faced fierce competition from producers in North Carolina, as well as Morocco and several Pacific islands. Pebble phosphate reserves in Florida are predicted to last several more decades. The much larger deposits of hard and soft rock phosphates are currently uneconomical to mine.
During the late 1970s and early 1980s the Jay Field, near Pensacola, was producing well over 25 million barrels of oil annually, as well as large quantities of natural gas. Since 1943 a small amount of oil and gas has come from the Everglades. Despite investment of billions of dollars on offshore oil exploration in the Gulf of Mexico, no well has ever yielded commercial quantities. Drilling in the Gulf has also been strongly opposed by environmental groups.
