(1) “Solid mineral” means all solid minerals, including, but not limited to, clay, gravel, phosphate rock, lime, shells (excluding live shellfish), stone, sand, heavy minerals, and any rare earths which have heretofore been discovered or may be discovered in the future, which are contained in the soils or waters of this state.

(2) “Severed” means the extraction or withdrawal from the soil or water of this state, either on or below the surface, of any solid minerals.

(3) “Producer” means any person severing solid minerals from the soils and waters of this state.

(4) “Production,” for measuring solid minerals, means the total gross amount severed from the soils and waters of this state from any type of production unit, including, but not limited to, mines, quarries, pits, or other sites of extraction.

(5) “Value” means the sales price or true market price of the solid mineral at the point of severance.

(6) “Point of severance” means that point at which the solid mineral being severed is identifiable as to kind and quality and is capable of being transported for use or further processing. For phosphate rock, “point of severance” is the wet rock bin. For heavy minerals, “point of severance” is the discharge pump of the production dredge.

(7) “Site of severance” means the mine, quarry, pit, or other geographical location at which a solid mineral is actually being severed from the soils and waters of this state.

(8) “Taxable year” means calendar year.

(9) “Phosphate rock” means a variable mixture of calcium phosphates and other minerals that have fluorapatite as the dominant phosphatic mineral, found in bedded deposits of marine origin. This term includes the forms of land-pebble and river-pebble phosphates and the phosphate concentrates derived from beneficiation of these forms. This term does not include colloidal phosphatic clays.

(10) “Heavy minerals” means those minerals found in conjunction with sand deposits which have a specific gravity of not less than 2.8. “Heavy minerals” is a term applied to an admixture of such minerals as zircon, staurolite, and titanium minerals as generally mined in Florida.

(11) “Producer price index” means:

(a) For phosphate rock, the unadjusted annual phosphate rock-primary products index as calculated and published by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.

(b) For heavy minerals, the unadjusted annual titanium dioxide index as calculated and published by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.

(12) “Five-year moving average” means a simple average which is recomputed for each period by eliminating the data for the fifth prior year for the previous period and adding the data for the first prior year of the current period.

(13) “Period” means the 5 calendar years immediately preceding the taxable year.

(14) “Previous period” means the period for the prior taxable year.

(15) “Base year” means the year used by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, in an index as the reference year on which all other index numbers are computed, or the year designated as “100” in an index.

(16) “Base period” means the 5 years immediately preceding the 1981 tax year, or the years 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, and 1980.

(17) “Bone dry” means a condition which indicates the substantial absence of water as determined by generally accepted measurements of water content used within the industry.

(18) “Colloidal phosphatic clay” means that material produced as a waste byproduct of hard rock phosphate mining and severed solely for direct application in agricultural uses.

(19) “Ton” means 2,000 pounds.

History.—s. 1, ch. 71-105; s. 1, ch. 75-40; s. 1, ch. 81-35; s. 5, ch. 87-96.