Political and commercial geology and the world's mineral resources

By Various

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Title: Political and commercial geology and the world's mineral
resources

Author: Various

Editor: J. E. Spurr

Release Date: July 1, 2023 [eBook #71082]

Language: English

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GEOLOGY AND THE WORLD'S MINERAL RESOURCES ***

Transcriber’s Notes

Texts between _underscores_ and =equal signs= represent texts
printed in italics and bold face, respectively. Small capitals are
transcribed as ALL CAPITALS. ~U~ stands for a U-shaped symbol rather
than for the letter U.

More Transcriber’s Notes may be found at the end of this text.

POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL
GEOLOGY

AND THE

WORLD’S MINERAL RESOURCES

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POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL
GEOLOGY

AND THE

WORLD’S MINERAL RESOURCES

A SERIES OF STUDIES BY SPECIALISTS

J. E. SPURR, EDITOR

FIRST EDITION
SECOND IMPRESSION

Royalties received from the sale of this book will be
assigned to an institution of learning to finance
further studies along the lines followed in the volume.

McGRAW-HILL BOOK COMPANY, INC.
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1920

THE MAPLE PRESS YORK PA.

PREFACE

The purpose of the accompanying series of studies is to shed light
upon the vast importance of commercial control of raw materials by
different powers, or by the citizens of those powers, through invested
capital. The question of domestic and foreign governmental policies
of the United States is closely involved. It appeared to many of us
who were engaged (as all the authors of these papers were) in studying
the mineral problems during the war, that our Government had never
grasped the vast political significance of commercial domination,
and especially of the control of mineral wealth; and that other more
seasoned nations had done so, and thereby affected the interests of
America and her policy very deeply, without her being aware of the
circumstance.

With the rapid increase of the world’s population and the exploring and
exploiting of the hitherto undeveloped natural resources, competition
for this wealth has become and will still become keener. In past ages
war, pestilence, and starvation held down the earth’s population; and
in the last few years all these grim spectres have returned in force,
suggesting the possibility of a permanent return of the old primitive
days. Nevertheless, modern science and organization, if not quenched
by vast social disorders, will so safeguard life, as in recent times,
that the world is in a fair way to become crowded. All of us, like
Germany, yearn for our “place in the sun,” and our share of comfort
and power. Of all the fundamental necessities for this, nothing is so
much in the nature of a fixed and unmultipliable quality as the metals;
they constitute the basis and foundation of our modern civilization
and power over man and natural forces. Other raw materials are of
vegetable or animal origin; they propagate and duplicate themselves in
successive incarnations according to the law of life; they are born in
some magical fashion of air and water, with a minimum of the earth,
and they return their loans faithfully to air and water and earth with
the passing of each generation and the dawning of a new. There is the
hint of such a law of growth in the mineral kingdom, but it is so
vastly slow that the evanescent animal man has no personal interest
in it; for all his purposes and by all his standards of measurement
it is inert, and these riches, once dug and used, will never again be
available. The treasures of commercially valuable ore-deposits have
been hid by nature whimsically throughout the earth, here and there,
by no rule of geography or latitude, and with a great disregard of
equality. A nation’s needs or desires for mineral wealth have no stated
relation to its actual mineral possessions; what it needs is often in
the territory of another nation which does not need it. Commerce is
thus born, and the nation which must have the metal or ore in question
backs up its commerce and helps it to fasten its claims for permanent
control of the deposits in question, by legislation, by diplomacy, and,
if need be, by war. In the case of war, the metallic prize falls to the
strongest--usually the nation which before, through its necessities,
exercised only commercial control, but which, as the result of the
trial of strength, now frankly asserts its sovereignty.

Have we as Americans realized these forces? Absolutely not, I should
say. How many realize that the Alsace-Lorraine question is and was
not a sentimental one, but a struggle for the greatest iron deposits
of Europe and the second largest in the world, which gave Germany her
immense growth and power, and may now transfer that wealth and power
to France? That the dispute between Poland and Germany as to Upper
Silesia is not a question of nationality, sentiment, or even territory,
but concerns the greatest coal field of Europe as well as great
deposits of lead and zinc? If Poland gets this, she may rival Germany
in wealth and importance; if Germany loses it, she may drop into the
position of a second-rate power, now that she has also had to give up
Alsace-Lorraine. To submit such a question to the vote of the native
population is of the same order of fitness as tossing a coin for it;
but how many of us have understood this? Population shifts and changes,
swells or shrinks, may be at one time predominantly Polish and at
another time mainly German; but the coal deposits are fixed. To clarify
these things we should in place of Silesia say Coal, in the place of
Alsace-Lorraine, Iron, and so on.

The reason we have not realized these facts is on account of our own
vast mineral wealth, so abundant that not till recently has American
capital and enterprise found it necessary to adventure into the outside
world, as the European nations had long ago done. Their natural wealth
was limited so that they have become familiar with those fundamental
principles and laws of which we have been unconscious. From this has
arisen European foreign policies, the protection of their national
commerce and national capital in foreign enterprises and consequently
at home; governmental participation in business combinations, as in
Germany, England, France, and Italy; while the United States has
been engaged in “trust-busting” and has neglected the protection of
its investors in foreign countries. This illustrates the difference
between European diplomacy and American guilelessness. How well this
played into the hands of foreign powers it is unnecessary to explain.
The spectacle of the United States maintaining a Monroe Doctrine of
protection over Latin-American republics which she took no vigorous
steps to unite with her by the powerful bonds of commerce, must well
have excited the amusement of those European commercial nations like
Germany who have been strengthening themselves in those countries by
the closest commercial, and hence political, ties.

This volume simply takes up the study of the actual situation, as to
the distribution and ownership of mineral supplies in the world, and
the author of each chapter is a well-known specialist.

First is considered the question of petroleum, source of power and
light, the key to the mastery of the air, and, on account of its fluid
and easily transportable condition, of extraordinary future importance.
Next are taken up the great fuel mineral, coal, and its ally, the great
metallic mineral, iron, which must go together for the manufacture of
iron and steel, the backbone of all our mechanical achievements. Next
come those metals indispensable in steel making and in the manufacture
of specially hard or tough steels. These are of great importance, and
include manganese, chromium, nickel, tungsten, vanadium, antimony,
molybdenum, uranium, and zirconium. Radium is closely associated with
uranium and is considered with it. Closely allied with zirconium are
thorium and mesothorium, and their treatment therefore closely follows
that of zirconium.

The next great group is that of the major metals, other than iron
and the ferro-alloy metals: copper, lead, zinc, tin and mercury, and
aluminum. Aluminum ores are used not only as sources of the metal,
but for the manufacture of refractories and abrasives. Therefore they
are classed partly with the metallic and partly with the non-metallic
minerals; and the other non-metallic minerals, used likewise for
abrasives, refractories, and other uses--such minerals as emery and
corundum, magnesite, graphite, mica, and asbestos--follow.

The next great group is that of the fertilizer minerals--phosphate
rock, potash, nitrates and nitrogen, and pyrite and sulphur, all
essential for agriculture.

The last group is that of the precious metals, gold, silver, and
platinum, essential for coinage and in the arts.

These various studies are essentially both inclusive and elementary:
together they form almost the first contribution to the branch of
investigation--that of the relation of geology to industry, commerce,
and political economy--which they cover; and it is natural that
beginnings should be rather crude. Moreover, many of the chapters were
written a year or more previous to the publication of the volume,
and although brought to date to the extent possible in the brief
time available, are considered inadequate by the authors themselves.
Apologies for shortcomings and possible inaccuracies are therefore
very much in order. Nevertheless, it is felt that the volume merits
publication, and that the beginning here made is far better than no
start at all.

JOSIAH EDWARD SPURR.

CONTENTS

PAGE

PREFACE v

CHAPTER

I. PETROLEUM, BY JOHN D. NORTHROP 1

II. COAL, BY GEORGE S. RICE AND FRANK F. GROUT 22

III. IRON, BY E. C. HARDER AND F. T. EDDINGFIELD 55

IV. MANGANESE, BY D. F. HEWETT 90

V. CHROMIUM, BY E. C. HARDER 109

VI. NICKEL, BY C. S. CORBETT 129

VII. TUNGSTEN, BY FRANK L. HESS 142

VIII. VANADIUM, BY R. B. MOORE 163

IX. ANTIMONY, BY H. G. FERGUSON AND D. A. HALL 172

X. MOLYBDENUM, BY R. B. MOORE 191

XI. RADIUM AND URANIUM, BY R. A. F. PENROSE, JR. 201

XII. ZIRCONIUM, BY H. C. MORRIS 209

XIII. MONAZITE, THORIUM, AND MESOTHORIUM, BY R. B. MOORE 216

XIV. COPPER, BY F. W. PAINE 223

XV. LEAD, BY FREDERICK B. HYDER 261

XVI. ZINC, BY FREDERICK B. HYDER 294

XVII. TIN, BY JAMES M. HILL 317

XVIII. MERCURY, BY F. L. RANSOME 337

XIX. BAUXITE AND ALUMINUM, BY JAMES M. HILL 349

XX. EMERY AND CORUNDUM, BY FRANK J. KATZ 356

XXI. MAGNESITE, BY R. W. STONE 363

XXII. GRAPHITE, BY H. G. FERGUSON, FRANK F. GROUT, AND GEORGE
D. DUB 372

XXIII. MICA, BY DURAND A. HALL 380

XXIV. ASBESTOS, BY OLIVER BOWLES 388

XXV. PHOSPHATE ROCK, BY R. W. STONE 402

XXVI. POTASH, BY HOYT S. GALE AND A. W. STOCKETT 411

XXVII. NITROGEN, BY CHESTER G. GILBERT 421

XXVIII. PYRITE AND SULPHUR, BY A. G. WHITE 447

XXIX. GOLD, BY JOHN E. ORCHARD 462

XXX. SILVER, BY F. W. PAINE 495

XXXI. PLATINUM, BY JAMES M. HILL 506

XXXII. WHO OWNS THE EARTH? BY J. E. SPURR 522

POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL GEOLOGY

AND THE

WORLD’S MINERAL RESOURCES

CHAPTER I

PETROLEUM

BY JOHN D. NORTHROP[1]

[1] In this article, prepared in June, 1918, by Mr. Northrop, have
been incorporated certain notes and additions; as, for example,
information furnished by E. Russell Lloyd, of the United States
Geological Survey; A. G. White and W. E. Perdue, of the Bureau of
Mines, and others. (J. E. S.)

INTRODUCTION

BY J. E. SPURR

Coal and iron are the backbone of industrial civilization, and should
be considered first in any attempt to analyze the ownership and
control, as between nations, of the world’s mineral resources. Kin to
coal in growing importance, however, is the lighter, fluid and volatile
mineral substance, petroleum, whose significance is vast and as yet
not wholly defined. More easily transportable than coal, and yielding
refined products whose explosive action in internal-combustion engines
furnishes greater power in proportion to weight than was once deemed
possible, petroleum and its products, apart from their immense direct
economic importance, may, in the automobile, the submarine, and the air
plane, and through numerous other applications, control strategically,
from a nationalistic standpoint, the more inert foundations of
civilization. Moreover, the use of crude petroleum as fuel, especially
for ships, is of the most vital importance in these days of greater
competitive plans for expanding world-wide commerce, and establishing
the strength and ready efficiency of navies. Great maritime nations
must have, for their oil-burning ships, oil-bunkering stations under
their own control in all parts of the world where they wish their
commerce to dominate, and their navies to protect their interests
efficiently.

The recognition by certain strong and aggressive nationalities of
this critical factor has brought about a situation that is perhaps
unparalleled in the mineral history of the world. Coal and iron
have always been decidedly static as to control--they have remained
largely under the supervision and direction of the countries in which
they occur. Transportation costs, the conjunction of iron and coal
deposits, and other factors have prevented these minerals, in spite
of their vast importance, from being fully used as a world commodity.
By contrast, petroleum is coming to be universal, like gold, in its
acceptance and applicability; but, unlike gold, it is essential in the
highest degree to the advance of modern civilization. The fluidity
of this mineral, its consequent amazingly cheap transportation and
handling by pipe lines, the completeness with which it can be utilized,
all combine toward making it in the future the crucial factor of
commercial and of political control. Moreover, this fluidity of form
and ease of application facilitate the control of petroleum by vast
commercial organizations, like the Standard Oil of America, and
others in various parts of the world; and even make its world control
feasible and probable. Recognizing this tendency, many nations, like
England, France, Holland, Argentina, and Mexico, have taken steps
looking toward a partial nationalization of their petroleum resources,
in order to protect themselves against foreign commercial aggression
in this particular. England has gone farthest in this direction, and
has reached and is reaching out aggressively into other countries to
secure, through commercial control, backed where necessary by political
pressure, a world empire of petroleum to serve her world-wide colonial
empire. The United States, on the other hand, has dominated the world’s
petroleum industry through her own vast resources, worked by interests
which have grown without conscious governmental help or even in spite
of governmental and popular opposition, and have reached out and
secured footholds in other countries.

In the past the mineral development of the world has led to great
changes in political sovereignty. Important as these have been, the
events that may result from the nationalistic competitive exploitation
and control of the world’s petroleum supply bid fair to exceed in
importance all similar changes of the past. The perception of the
problem and of the necessity, and the advantage of the initiative,
naturally belongs to those nations with restricted area and resources,
that have grown great by trading and by exploiting the resources of
other countries. Such a nation, for example, is England, a country
that is fortunately the natural ally of the United States. By
contrast, in the United States, a nation concerned hitherto only with
the development of its own vast resources, commercial enterprise in
foreign countries has been backed by no fixed national policy, and
indeed has often been treated as unworthy. In the new international era
that was initiated by the World War, however, this policy of Chinese
self-sufficiency and exclusion can not be safely continued, and the
United States must not only perceive clearly the tendencies and
movements of other nationalities, but consider how best to direct its
own commercial and political plans so as to uphold its independence and
power. Such a policy would naturally lead to international agreements
as to the distribution and division of petroleum lands, resources, and
production, and probably no one thing would contribute more to the
promotion of frank understanding between nations and the removal of
obstacles to permanent peace.

Mr. Northrop’s paper follows:

USES OF PETROLEUM

In its crude or semi-refined state, petroleum is extensively utilized
as fuel under locomotive and marine boilers and to a small extent in
internal-combustion engines of the Diesel type. Certain grades of
petroleum are utilized in the crude state as lubricants.

The principal use of petroleum is for the manufacture of refined
products, of which the number and uses are legion. The lightest
gravity, etherial products are employed as anaesthetics in surgery.
The gasolines are the universal fuels of internal-combustion engines,
and the naphthas are widely used as solvents and for blending with
raw casinghead gasoline in the manufacture of commercial gasoline.
The kerosene group includes a variety of products utilized primarily
as illuminants, but in annually increasing quantities as fuel in farm
tractors. The lubricating oils and the greases derived from petroleum
are indispensable to the operation of all types of machinery. The
waxes derived from petroleum of paraffin base are utilized in many
forms as preservatives and as sources of illumination, and in the
last three years have become indispensable constituents of surgical
dressings in the treatment of burns. Petroleum coke, because of its
purity, is in demand for use in certain metallurgical processes and for
the manufacture of battery carbons and arc-light pencils. Fuel oils
obtained as by-products of petroleum refining satisfy the fuel needs of
many industrial plants, railroads and ocean steamers. Road oils, as the
name implies, are employed for minimizing dust on streets and highways;
and artificial asphalt, a product of certain types of petroleum, has in
many localities superseded the use of other forms of asphalt for paving
purposes.

=Substitutes.=--For petroleum as a fuel under boilers in the generation
of steam there are numerous substitutes, including wood, charcoal,
coal, peat, natural gas, artificial gas, and electricity; as a fuel in
internal-combustion engines some demonstrated substitutes are natural
gas, artificial gas, benzol, and alcohol, and in the Diesel type of
engine certain vegetable and fish oils can be utilized.

For illuminating purposes, animal fats, oils distilled from coal,
natural gas, artificial gas, acetylene gas and electricity may be
substituted for kerosene.

For certain types of lubrication carefully refined vegetable and
mineral oils are acceptable, but for lubricating high-speed bearings
and for all lubrication in the presence of high temperature and of
steam no satisfactory substitutes for mineral lubricants derived from
petroleum are known.

Substitutes for petroleum asphalt are available in the form of native
asphalts, bituminous rocks, and coal-tar residues. For petrolatum,
animal fats and vegetable oils can be substituted, and for paraffin
wax, ozokerite might be made to satisfy such essential requirements as
could not be met by refrigeration or by vegetable and animal oils.

CHANGES IN PRACTICE

Probable changes in practice that may be expected to affect the
petroleum industry within the next ten years include an increased
dependence by oil producers on geologic investigations in advance of
drilling, the development of methods for deeper drilling than is now
practicable, and the more efficient handling of individual wells and
of entire properties, with a view to the ultimate recovery, at minimum
cost, of a higher percentage of the oil originally present.

The tendency toward amalgamation of individual producing, transporting,
refining and marketing interests into strong units capable of
competition in domestic and foreign markets on relatively equal terms
with each other and with pre-existing combinations of equivalent
strength will doubtless increase, and with the growing strength of the
several units will come an efficient and thorough quest for petroleum
in all parts of the world.

In the refining of petroleum it is probable that methods will be
devised and perfected for recovering more of the light-gravity products
from low-grade petroleum and for the conversion of the less-salable
products of petroleum into products of greatest current demand.
Moreover, it is believed that internal-combustion engines will be
so modified as to run successfully on petroleum products of lower
volatility than gasoline. The use of petroleum as railroad, marine, and
industrial fuel is destined to increase enormously in the next decade.

Although an important contributor to the oil-supply of Great Britain,
the shale-oil industry has received little attention in recent years
outside of Scotland. Investigations by the United States Geological
Survey have demonstrated that the United States contains vast deposits
of oil shale in Utah, Colorado, Wyoming and Nevada, much of which will
average higher in oil content than the Scottish shale. Efforts already
begun to develop methods for the recovery of shale oil on a commercial
scale in the United States will undoubtedly result in the establishment
of a shale-oil industry in this country within the next two or three
years. The future growth of this industry will depend largely on the
rapidity of the decline in the domestic production of petroleum.

GEOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION

Commercial accumulations of petroleum are everywhere restricted
to strata of sedimentary origin. In the United States petroleum
is produced commercially from strata of all periods from Cambrian
to Quaternary, the most prolific sources being in strata of the
Carboniferous and Tertiary systems. The geological age of the chief
sources of petroleum production in each of the other oil-producing
countries of the world is indicated in the table following:

TABLE 1.--GEOLOGIC AGE OF PETROLEUM-BEARING FORMATIONS

Country System
_North America_
Canada Silurian and Devonian
Mexico Cretaceous and basal Tertiary
Alaska Tertiary (?)
_West Indies_
Trinidad Tertiary
Cuba Cretaceous and pre-Cretaceous
_South America_
Colombia Cretaceous and Tertiary
Venezuela Cretaceous and Tertiary
Peru Tertiary
Argentina Jurassic, Cretaceous and Tertiary
_Europe_
Russia Tertiary
Roumania Tertiary
Galicia Tertiary
Italy Tertiary
Germany (Alsace) Tertiary and pre-Tertiary
_Asia_
India Tertiary
Turkestan Tertiary
Persia Tertiary
_Africa_
Algeria Tertiary
Egypt Tertiary
_Oceania_
Japan Tertiary
Dutch East Indies Tertiary
New Zealand Cretaceous and Tertiary

From the foregoing table one might conclude that a direct relation
exists between the distribution of Tertiary rocks and the supply of
petroleum, but in the United States, which produces two-thirds of the
world’s current supply, the quest for petroleum has, under scientific
direction, included the entire range of the stratigraphic column, and
has found petroleum in considerable quantities in the rocks of each
geologic system younger than the Cambrian.

The fact that seeps and other surface indications of petroleum are
generally more pronounced in the relatively younger Mesozoic strata
than in the older Paleozoic formations, and the further fact that
geologic exploration for oil and gas in countries other than the
United States has been restricted in the main to areas containing the
most pronounced indications of petroleum, tend to account for the
predominance of the Tertiary system in the foregoing table and to
indicate the fallacy of attempts to estimate the world’s reserves of
petroleum on stratigraphic evidence alone.

Despite the broad geologic range of petroleum, its occurrence in
specific members, formations, groups, series or systems is by no means
universal. On the contrary, its occurrence is restricted to specific
localities in which are fulfilled certain variable relations, as yet
but little understood, that involve (1) the constitution, sequence
and content of organic matter of the sediments; (2) the nature and
degree of metamorphism they have undergone; (3) their structure; and
(4) their degree of saturation with salt water. Because the most
detailed geologic work is insufficient to provide a basis for the
appropriate evaluation of the numerous factors involved, and because
only a relatively small percentage of the areas of sedimentary rocks in
the world have been examined geologically in appreciable detail, any
estimate of the future supply of petroleum in the world is peculiarly
hazardous.

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION

The geographical distribution of petroleum is as wide relatively as
its geologic range. The oil fields of present commercial significance
are situated, in the order of their importance as contributors to the
world’s production of petroleum in 1917, in the United States, Russia,
Galicia, Mexico, Dutch East Indies, India, Persia, Japan and Formosa,
Roumania, Peru, Trinidad, Argentina, Egypt, Germany, Canada, Venezuela
and Italy. Small quantities of petroleum have also been reported from
Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama, Haiti, Porto Rico, Bolivia,
Chile, Spain, Arabia, China, Australia, Papua, Philippine Islands,
Nigeria, Belgian Congo, Gold Coast, Madagascar, and elsewhere. The
geographical distribution of petroleum in the world is shown on the
accompanying map. (Plate I.)

[Illustration: PLATE I.--Geographical distribution of the producing
petroleum fields of the world. By John D. Northrop.]

In the opinion of the author the most conspicuous developments of the
world’s supply of petroleum in the next decade will take place in the
countries that border the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. The
trend in this direction is unmistakable. From 1913 to 1917, the annual
production of petroleum in Mexico increased from 21,000,000 barrels to
56,000,000 barrels, and the potentialities of future production in that
country have been demonstrated to be almost beyond comprehension. The
output, originally considered valuable only as a source of fuel oil,
is now yielding, by modern refining methods, increasingly important
percentages of illuminating oils and gasoline. The only obstacles to
enormously increased production are unsettled political conditions and
inadequate facilities for marine transportation. These obstacles will
doubtless be overcome within the next few years, and barring unforeseen
contingencies Mexico will soon rank second among the oil-producing
countries of the world.[2] Judged by the results of exploratory work
already done in Venezuela and Colombia, both of those countries are
destined to contribute appreciably to the world’s supply of petroleum
within the next decade. Recently Colombia has given enough evidence of
ability to furnish high-grade petroleum from wells of large individual
capacity to warrant the large interests holding concessions there to
exert every effort to overcome the adverse natural conditions that
have so long barred the way to exploitation. Enough drilling has
already been done in Venezuela to demonstrate that the resources of
heavy-gravity asphalt-base petroleum in that country are large, and the
recent installation of a modern petroleum refinery for the treatment
of these oils on the island of Curacao, off the Venezuelan coast, has
provided the market necessary to active field development.

[2] Mexico ranked second in 1918 and 1919.

In Trinidad the production of petroleum exceeds 1,500,000 barrels
a year and has doubled in the last few years. With the increased
facilities for ocean transport of petroleum that are becoming
available, a large output is assured.

Cuba is not expected to become an important producer of petroleum, and
present knowledge concerning the petroleum resources of the Central
American countries is not such as to warrant the belief that oil fields
of material consequence will be developed in any of them.

Petroleum production in the United States is expected to reach its
maximum within the next two or three years and to decline steadily
thereafter, although this country is expected to remain the leading
oil-producing country of the world for the greater part, if not all, of
the coming decade.

As regards those oil-producing countries of North and South America
that have not been already mentioned, no significant changes in their
present status are anticipated.

The petroleum resources of Russia (including Asiatic Russia) are
believed sufficient to assure that country retaining its position
as the leading producer of petroleum in the Eastern Hemisphere far
beyond the next decade. During the last few years the output has
been obtained under increasing difficulties, and as a consequence
there has been no measure either of present productive capacity or
of potentialities. Concerning the future of Russia as a source of
petroleum Arnold[3] says: “Such large areas, both in European and
Asiatic Russia, yield unmistakable evidence of the presence of oil in
large quantities that it is to this country, among those of Europe and
Asia, to which the future must look for a supply.”

[3] ARNOLD, RALPH: “The World’s Oil Supply”: Report Am. Min. Cong.,
19th annual session, 1917, pp. 485-486.

Russia being endowed with petroleum reserves, both proved and
prospective, of great magnitude, the ultimate position of that country
as the leading oil-producer of the world seems reasonably assured.
Its immediate future is too intimately dependent on the progress from
political turmoil to warrant a forecast.

The oil fields of both Roumania and Galicia are believed to have passed
their maximum yield, and the possibilities of opening new fields of
consequence in those countries are not considered large enough to
justify a forecast of anything but a moderate decline of production in
future years. No material change in the status of the negligible oil
fields of Italy or of Alsace is anticipated at any time in the future.

With regard to the situation in Asia, the writer believes that the next
decade will witness a steady increase in the output of petroleum in
India, and the probable development of one or more important oil fields
in Persia and possibly of fields in Asia Minor, Turkestan and China.
In Oceania the same period will doubtless witness a material increase
in the production of petroleum in Japan and Formosa and in the Dutch
East Indies, together with the possible opening of new fields in Papua.
Africa will doubtless receive considerable attention from oil operators
in the next ten years, but on the basis of available evidence the
results obtained in that period will probably not be large enough to
affect the petroleum situation of the world.

POLITICAL CONTROL OF PRODUCTION

The status of the political control of the world’s output of petroleum
in 1917, as determined by the best data now available, is indicated in
the table following.

The accompanying diagram (Figure 1) shows the proportion of the world’s
production of petroleum contributed annually by each of the principal
producing countries in each of the last ten years.

TABLE 2.--POLITICAL CONTROL OF THE WORLD’S PRODUCTION OF PETROLEUM IN
1917

-----------------+-----------+----------+-------------
Source of | | |Country
production |Quantity of| |exercising
| production|Percentage|political
| (barrels)| of total |control
-----------------+-----------+----------+-------------
United States |335,315,601| 66.17 |United States
Russia | 69,000,000| 13.62 |Russia
Mexico | 55,292,770| 10.91 |Mexico
Dutch East Indies| 12,928,955| 2.55 |Holland
India | 8,078,843| 1.59 |Great Britain
Persia | 6,856,063| 1.36 |Persia
Galicia | 5,965,447| 1.18 |Poland (?)
Japan and Formosa| 2,898,654| 0.57 |Japan
Roumania | 2,681,870| 0.55 |Roumania
Peru | 2,533,417| 0.50 |Peru
Trinidad | 1,599,455| 0.32 |Great Britain
Argentina | 1,144,737| 0.23 |Argentina
Egypt | 1,008,750| 0.20 |Great Britain
Germany | 995,764| 0.20 |Germany
Canada | 205,332| 0.04 |Great Britain
Venezuela | 127,743| 0.03 |Venezuela
Italy | 50,334| 0.01 |Italy
Cuba | 19,167| |Cuba
+-----------+----------+
|506,702,902| 100.00 |
-----------------+-----------+----------+-------------

[Illustration: FIG. 1.--Proportion of the world’s output of petroleum
contributed annually by each of the chief producing countries,
1908-1917.]

Aside from the control exercised by Great Britain through its
protectorate relation over the petroleum resources of Egypt, control
of the petroleum resources of the various countries is mainly by
virtue of state sovereignty. This political control is in proportion
to the strength of the government in the country exercising it. Recent
developments whereby the British government becomes the majority
stockholder of a corporation controlling the oil resources of Persia,
practically transfer the political control, as well as the commercial
control, of Persian petroleum from Persia to England. Mexico’s recently
attempted firm political control of her vast petroleum resources
depends for its success upon her diplomatic ability in dealing with the
stronger governments of England and the United States, whose nationals
have acquired a commercial control that is threatened by Mexico’s new
and decided nationalistic policy.

COMMERCIAL CONTROL OF PRODUCTION

The commercial control of the world’s production of petroleum, as far
as nations are involved, is determined in the main through direct
ownership, of lands, leases and concessions, or by the control, through
holding corporations, of subsidiary companies holding fee, leases,
mineral rights or concessions of petroleum land. Except in Argentina,
where the domestic petroleum industry is owned and operated by the
state; in Germany, where the government participates directly in the
financing of petroleum enterprises through the Deutsche Bank; and in
Persia, where the British government owns a substantial interest in
a company owning and operating extensive concessions, the commercial
control of the petroleum industry is determined almost wholly by
aggregations of private capital acting in their own interests.

TABLE 3.--NATIONALITY AND EXTENT OF CONTROL OF DOMINANT INTEREST

[4] By control of refining facilities.

So far as the author is aware, Canada is the only country in which the
petroleum industry may be said to be controlled by foreign (United
States) interests, this control being by virtue of an essential
monopoly of pipe-line and refining facilities.

The preceding table shows, according to the best information available,
the nationality and approximate extent of control exercised by the
dominant interest in each of the principal oil-producing countries of
the world in 1917.

POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL CONTROL OF RESOURCES

The accompanying diagram (Figure 2) shows graphically the approximate
commercial control of the world’s production of petroleum in 1917.

[Illustration: FIG. 2.--Approximate commercial control of the world’s
production of petroleum in 1917.]

Commercial control of the petroleum industry in the _United States_
is in the hands of the so-called “Standard Oil Group” of companies,
through their control of most of the great pipe-line systems of the
country, of probably 75 per cent. of the refining facilities and of a
substantial part of the actual production. Other domestic interests
having important shares in the control of the petroleum industry in
the United States include the Southern Pacific Railroad Co., Cities
Service Co. (Doherty interests), General Petroleum Corporation, Gulf
Oil Corporation, Ohio Cities Gas Co., Cosden & Co., Sinclair Oil &
Refining Corporation, The Sun Co., the Texas Co., the Tide Water Oil
Co., and the Union Oil Co. Foreign interests in the United States
include purely British companies, which control a production of
about 2,000,000 barrels a year; British-Dutch companies represented
by the Royal Dutch-Shell Syndicate, which control a production of
about 9,000,000 barrels a year, together with refining and marketing
facilities; and Franco-Belgian companies controlling a yearly
production of about 1,000,000 barrels. Aside from the very probable
holdings by individual Germans of shares in companies engaged in one or
more phases of the petroleum industry of the United States, the author
is aware of no organized German interest in any phase of the domestic
industry.

Commercial control of the petroleum industry of _Russia_ is, under the
political conditions now existing in central Europe, largely a matter
of speculation. As nearly as can be ascertained, the dominant control
is in the hands of purely British, Franco-British, and British-Dutch
(Royal Dutch-Shell Syndicate) interests. Certain of the second-named
interests are allied closely with an additional group of capitalists
represented by the firm Nobel Bros., of much importance, the present
control of which is by no means clear, from the literature available
on the subject. Though originally Swedish, the financial interests now
involved in Nobel Bros. are believed to include representatives of
financial groups in England, France, and Germany as well, with control
probably lying with the Anglo-Swedish interests. Before the war, direct
German interest in Russian petroleum included control by the Deutsche
Bank through a Belgian company (the Petrole de Grosny) of the important
producing and refining company, A. I. Akverdoff & Co., control of which
is now in British or British-Dutch hands. As in the United States,
a considerable part of the actual production of petroleum in Russia
is distributed among a large number of individually weak companies,
dominated, through the control of pipe-line or refining facilities, by
one or another of the principal groups.

Of considerable importance in Russian petroleum affairs at one time was
the European Petroleum Union, organized for combat in the world markets
with the Standard Oil trust. This union included among others such
important petroleum operators as Nobel Bros., the Rothschild interests
(now Dutch-Shell), Mantaschoff (now Russian General Oil Corporation)
(British), and the Deutsche Bank, the latter controlling Akverdoff and
Spies in Russia, together with important companies in Roumania and
Galicia. How far this union controlled the affairs of its constituent
companies is not evident from available data, and its present influence
on companies now operating in Russia is uncertain.

Conditions in Russia make impossible any definite statement on the
petroleum situation. A decree of the Bolsheviki government, dated June
20, 1918, on the nationalization of the petroleum industry, declared as
the property of the state all movable and immovable property employed
in and belonging to that industry. Trading in oil was declared a state
monopoly and was delegated to the chief petroleum committee of the fuel
department of the supreme Council of National Economy. As the chief
producing areas are now under British military control, this decree is
ineffective.

Commercial control of petroleum in _Mexico_ is divided among United
States, British, and British-Dutch interests, which controlled about
65, 30 and 2 per cent., respectively, of the production in 1917. The
interests of the United States include the Doheny group, operating
principally as the Huasteca and Mexican Petroleum companies; the
Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey, operating as the Penn-Mex Fuel Co.;
the Sinclair interests, operating as the Freeport and Mexican Fuel Oil
Co.; the Texas Co.; Gulf Co.; Southern Pacific Railroad; and others.
The British interests are represented by the Pearsons, operating as
the Mexican Eagle Oil Co.; and the British-Dutch interests by La
Corona Petroleum Co., and Chijoles Oil, Ltd., controlled by the Royal
Dutch-Shell Syndicate. No exclusively German interests are known to
hold a substantial portion of any important company operating in Mexico.

Formerly concessions were freely granted to foreign individuals and
companies for the exploitation of mineral deposits, and oil lands were
sold by the native owners to foreigners. Article 27 of the constitution
of 1917 expressly forbids any but Mexican companies acquiring directly
or operating directly petroleum lands in Mexico.

All recent concessions for the exploitation of oil properties contain a
provision stating that the concession will be declared null if any of
the rights are transferred to any foreign government. The provisions
and the intent of a series of presidential decrees issued on February
19, 1918, July 8, 1918, July 31, 1918, and August 1, 1918, are to
nationalize all petroleum lands and to permit them to be worked only
by Mexican citizens or by companies that agree to consider themselves
Mexican and further agree not to invoke the protection of their
governments. A bill was presented in December, 1918, to carry out
Article 27 of the new constitution, but thus far no action has been
taken in the matter. The decrees and legislation growing out of Article
27 have been protested by the chief petroleum companies operating in
Mexico and by their respective governments.

Commercial control of the petroleum resources of the _Dutch East
Indies_ is in the hands of the Royal Dutch-Shell Syndicate and is
essentially absolute by reason of the restrictions contained in the
Netherlands East India Mining Act and subsequent supplements on foreign
acquisition of mining rights in the East Indian Archipelago. Actual
control is in the hands of the Bataafsche Petroleum Maatschappij,
which has a capital of $56,000,000 divided into five shares, three of
which are owned by the Royal Dutch Petroleum Co., and two by the Shell
Transport Trading Co. (British). Purely British interests control an
inconsequential production of petroleum in British North Borneo and in
Sarawak.

Prospecting licenses and concessions are granted only to Dutch subjects
and to Dutch companies. It is officially stated that the object of
these restrictions is not to exclude foreign capital; this is precisely
their effect, and on account of the economic monopoly which the Royal
Dutch-Shell now has of the petroleum industry of the Dutch East Indies,
it would be very difficult for any new enterprise to gain a foothold.

Commercial control of the petroleum resources of _India_ is exercised
by the Burma Oil Co. through its dominance of production, refineries,
and pipe-line facilities, and by reason of agreements as to marketing
with its principal competitor, the British Burma Petroleum Co., both
controlled by British capital. The Burma Oil Co. is allied with, if not
directly controlled by, a group of British financiers, one or more of
whom is interested in companies in Trinidad and in Persia.

During the war the petroleum industry of _Roumania_ was temporarily
wholly in control of German and Austrian interests. The advanced stage
of development of the oil fields prior to the war and the intentional
damage, much of which is irreparable, wrought in the fields by British
detachments in 1916, when capture of the fields by Austro-German forces
became inevitable, are believed, however, to have deprived Germany of a
large part of the fruits of her conquest, as it is considered doubtful
if the Roumanian fields can ever again be made to yield petroleum at
the pre-war rate of 12,000,000 barrels per annum.

The American Petroleum Institute states that “Roumania is considering
the erection of a state monopoly of both production and distribution on
the ruins of the monopoly which Germany sought to establish there but
was compelled by the armistice to renounce.”

Prior to the war Dutch or rather British-Dutch (Dutch-Shell) interests
controlled about 30 per cent. of the annual production of petroleum in
Roumania, German interests about 26 per cent., United States interests
(Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey) about 18 per cent., French interests
about 16 per cent., purely British interests about 6 per cent., and
Belgian and Roumanian interests the remainder.

Through the Austrian “Society Gaz” and the German “Deutsche Erdoel
Aktien-gesellschaft,” German interests have dominated the petroleum
industry of _Galicia_ for years through the direct control of the
larger producing and refining interests and by reason of the fact
that the smaller scattered interests were dependent almost entirely
on the two leading companies, the Galizische Karpathen Petroleum A.
G. (controlled by Society Gaz), and the Premier Oil & Pipe Line Co.
(controlled by the Deutsche Erdoel A. G., which is in turn controlled
by the Diskonto und Bleichroeder, a branch of the Deutche Bank) for
their transportation and refining facilities. British and Dutch capital
were involved in the Galician fields prior to the war, but not, it is
believed, to a controlling extent in either of the dominant companies.

The petroleum industry of _Japan_ is controlled wholly by Japanese
interests and to a preponderant extent by a single company, the Nippon
Oil Co. So far as the author is aware, no foreign interests share
in any way in the development or control of the Japanese petroleum
industry.

Commercial control of the petroleum industry of _Peru_ is exercised by
the Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey through its subsidiary, the Imperial
Oil Co. of Canada. This control involves about 70 per cent. of the
annual production, the remaining 30 per cent. being divided in the
ratio of 27 to 3 between British and Italian interests respectively. So
far as is known no other interests are involved.

The interests engaged in the petroleum industry of _Trinidad_ include
financial groups purely British, controlling about 57 per cent. of
the production; British-Dutch interests (Dutch-Shell) controlling
about 23 per cent., and United States interests (General Asphalt Co.),
controlling the remainder. The leading operator in Trinidad is the
Trinidad Leaseholds, Ltd., a British company that in 1917 produced
about 42 per cent. of the petroleum output credited to Trinidad that
year.

Commercial control of the petroleum resources of lower _Alsace_
has been in the hands of the Vereinigte Pechelbronner Oelbergwerke
Gesellschaft and the Deutsche Tiefbohr A. G. Both of these companies
are believed to be controlled by the Deutsche Bank through the Deutsche
Erdoel A. G., and the Diskonto und Bleichroeder. The negligible
production of petroleum in _Hanover_ is doubtless under the same
financial control, although data that would warrant a positive
statement to that effect are not at hand.

The petroleum reserves of _Argentina_, which comprise the only areas
from which petroleum is being commercially produced in that country,
are operated by the state through the Comodora Rivadavia Petroleum
Commission. German interests are thought to have been involved in two
or three unsuccessful efforts in the last decade to obtain petroleum on
tracts adjacent to the government reserves in the Comodora Rivadavia
district.

The petroleum industry in _Egypt_ is controlled wholly by British-Dutch
capital operating as the Anglo-Egyptian Oilfields, Ltd., a subsidiary
of the Royal Dutch-Shell Syndicate, through the Anglo-Saxon Petroleum
Co., the last-named company being predominantly British.

Commercial control of the petroleum industry in _Canada_ is exercised
in effect by the Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey, through its subsidiary
the Imperial Oil Co. of Canada. This control is exercised through a
virtual monopoly of pipe-line and refining facilities, and by the
producing interests, though British and Canadian, being individually
small and unorganized.

The production of petroleum in _Italy_, which is small, represents the
output of two companies, the Petroli d’Italia, in which French capital
is predominant, and the Petrolifera Italiana, which is believed to be
essentially Italian.

Financial groups interested in petroleum in _Venezuela_ include the
Royal Dutch-Shell Syndicate (British-Dutch), the General Asphalt
Co., (United States), and a group of British financiers who control
properties in Trinidad as well as the most important group of
companies, other than Nobels and the Dutch-Shell, in Russia.

United States interests, including the Standard Oil Co., the Doherty
interests, the Texas Co., the Gulf Corporation, and the Island Oil
Transport Corporation, are predominant in the quest for petroleum in
_Colombia_. The Venezuelan Oil Concessions, Ltd., an English company
operating in Venezuela, is reported to have obtained a concession to
explore for oil in the northwest district of _British Guiana_.

The Sinclair interests (United States) are particularly active in
the search for petroleum in _Costa Rica_ and _Panama_; and the Sun
Co. (United States) is understood to be investigating petroleum
possibilities in other Central American republics.

The Pearson interests (British) have expended considerable effort in
the quest of petroleum in _Algeria_ and _Morocco_, and in the former
country American interests (E. E. Smith) are reported to have recently
sought petroleum concessions from the French government.

British interests, including the British government, control extensive
petroleum concessions in _Persia_, from which oil in unreported
quantities is now being produced.

The most promising oil territory of Persia has recently been closed
to American activity through the granting of a concession aggregating
approximately 500,000 square miles to a British concern, the
Anglo-Persian Oil Co., a majority of whose voting stock is owned by the
British government. This concession runs until 1961. The importance of
the oil territory is indicated by its reported potential capacity of
30,000,000 barrels yearly, with tremendous reserves undeveloped.

United States interests (Standard Oil Co. of New York) are understood
to still retain control over the petroleum rights in certain provinces
in _China_, where active prospecting in two or three localities a few
years ago was reported to have yielded unfavorable results.

Petroleum in small quantities is produced in _New Zealand_ by purely
British interests.

POSITION OF THE LEADING POWERS

=United States.=--As regards probable developments in the petroleum
industry within the next decade, the United States, thanks to the
enterprise and foresightedness of financial interests of domestic
origin, seems to have a strong position. United States interests
are practically supreme in the commercial control of the petroleum
resources of the Western Hemisphere, dominating the petroleum
industry in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Peru, holding
substantial interests in Trinidad and Venezuela and in the prospective
petroliferous areas in Central America and Colombia. Its only
competitors are British and British-Dutch interests, which control the
petroleum situation in Trinidad and are not only strongly intrenched in
the United States, Mexico, and Venezuela, but are aggressively seeking
to enlarge their holdings in those countries and to gain footholds
elsewhere. Unless the United States adopts measures, such as Federal
operation of the trunk pipe-lines, to limit the aggressions of foreign
capital in this country, and erects a firm forward-looking governmental
policy toward the protection of investments of its citizens in
petroleum properties in other countries, particularly Latin-American
countries, it may witness its commercial supremacy in petroleum affairs
wane and disappear, while it is yet the largest political contributor
to the world’s supply of petroleum.

As contrasted with the strongly nationalistic and deliberately
aggressive governmental policy adopted by Great Britain, France,
Holland and some other nations, the United States has never adopted
any policy founded on recognition of the importance of political and
commercial control of petroleum. American companies may not own and
operate oil lands in the British Empire, in the French possessions,
or the Dutch colonies, but the only American restrictions on foreign
activity in the petroleum industry are those which cover all minerals
contained in public lands. Only American citizens, or those who have
declared their intention of becoming American citizens, can apply for
patents to such land. However, after the application is made, there is
no restriction on transfer of the mineral rights thus secured.

=Great Britain.=--British and British-Dutch interests easily dominate
the petroleum situation in the Eastern Hemisphere by supremacy in the
petroleum industries of Russia, Persia, India, and the Netherlands
East Indies. Domination of the petroleum situation in Russia alone
is believed tantamount to dominion of the petroleum situation in the
entire Eastern Hemisphere for the greater part of the next century. The
strength of Great Britain’s present position in the world’s petroleum
affairs lies in a strong governmental policy and in the wide scope of
British petroleum investments, embracing practically every country
where petroleum is an important product and nearly every country where
it is a product of potential importance. The general policy of the
British Empire seems to be to control all oil development and restrict
operations by foreign capital. In Australia licenses are required for
the exploitation of oil lands, and only companies incorporated in the
United Kingdom or a British possession may receive such licenses. The
Governor General has the right of pre-emption of all oil produced
and in case of war may take control of all oil properties. In Canada,
in those western provinces where minerals are the property of the
Crown, petroleum and natural gas lands may be leased only to British
companies. A similar restriction exists in Burma. In Burma a monopoly
of the petroleum industry for 99 years was granted to the Burma Oil Co.
in 1865. This grant seems to have been inspired by fear of the Standard
Oil Co. of the United States, for the agreement between the company
and the government stipulates that the former shall not amalgamate
with other oil companies. Regulations of like effect exist in other
British colonies where oil exists; in Barbados the British government
has the right of pre-emption of all oil residues; in British Guiana,
non-British companies can only hold lands by special license of the
Governor; in British Honduras all mineral oil is reserved to the Crown;
in southern Nigeria, the Gold Coast, Trinidad, and Tobago the British
government has the right of pre-emption over all petroleum.

The recent granting of a concession amounting to a monopoly in the
most promising oil district of Persia (a region that many oil experts
believe likely to become one of the most important in the world) to a
British company controlled directly (by stock ownership) by the British
government, signifies an aggressive policy of England, outside of her
own dominions, to secure and hold, under government control, oil lands
in all parts of the globe.

It is understood that the best-known oil territories in Venezuela are
already covered by concessions that are practically all controlled
either directly or indirectly by British interests, chiefly the
Dutch-Shell Syndicate.

So far as observed, German interests actually dominate the petroleum
industry in Galicia and at home. Whether forced back on its own
petroleum resources or on these reinforced by those of Galicia, Germany
will obviously have an inadequate supply, and in consequence German
interests are likely to be particularly aggressive in seeking petroleum
in Mesopotamia, Africa and South America.

=France.=--Since control of the petroleum interests of the
Rothschilds passed into the hands of the Royal Dutch-Shell Syndicate
(British-Dutch), the influence of French finances in petroleum affairs
has been negligible, outside Galicia and Italy, where its potency was
not great. French capital will undoubtedly participate in efforts
to determine the petroleum reserve of the Barbary States, French
dependencies, but it will hardly be much involved in organized efforts
to control the world situation with respect to petroleum.

The French mining law holds that oil and gas belong to the state, and
may be exploited under concessions, the area and time limit of which
are matters of negotiations between the applicant and the authorities.
It is understood that the French government is unwilling to grant oil
concessions except to companies the majority of whose stock is held by
French citizens. A company incorporated recently to work the Algerian
oil fields contains in its articles of incorporation the provision that
60 per cent. of its stock must be held by French citizens.

=Japan.=--Japanese investments in the world’s petroleum industry have
not yet attained significant proportions outside Japan itself, though
the Japanese government is officially alive to the importance of
Japanese investments in petroleum properties in Mexico, particularly
Lower California and Sonora; China; and undoubtedly Russia. Hence large
investments of Japanese capital in the petroleum industry in one or all
of those countries may be expected in the near future.

SUMMARY

Petroleum in its crude or semi-refined state is used as fuel under
locomotive and marine boilers and as a lubricant. The principal use
of petroleum, however, is in the manufacture of numerous refined
products. Some of the more important products and their uses are
as follows: ether, as an anæsthetic in surgery; gasoline, as fuel
in internal-combustion engines; naphthas, as solvents and in the
manufacture of commercial gasoline; kerosene, as an illuminant and as
a fuel for farm tractors; lubricating oils; waxes, as preservatives,
illuminants, and surgical dressings in treatment of burns; petroleum
coke, in metallurgical processes and in the manufacture of battery
carbons and arc-light pencils; heavy fuel oils; road oils; artificial
asphalts, for pavements. The use of petroleum and its products as fuel,
as a lubricant, and for illumination may be considered essential.
Substitutes for most of these uses are known, but they are either
inefficient or not readily available.

The most prolific sources of petroleum are in sedimentary strata of the
Carboniferous and Tertiary periods. Because the most detailed geologic
work is insufficient to provide for the appropriate evaluation of the
numerous factors involved in the occurrence of petroleum, and because
only a relatively small percentage of the areas of sedimentary rocks
throughout the world have been examined geologically in any appreciable
detail, it is difficult to estimate the future supply of petroleum
or to predict that large accumulations will be discovered in any
particular region.

The principal countries contributing to the world’s production of
petroleum rank as follows in general order of importance: United
States, Russia, Mexico, Dutch East Indies, Roumania, India, Persia and
Galicia. Other countries produce less than 2 per cent. of the annual
total. The greatest change that is likely to come in the geographical
distribution of production is a larger output from the countries
bordering the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, and from the
Persian and Mesopotamian fields. Mexico now ranks second to the United
States, and South American countries promise to become more important
contributors to the world’s production than they now are. Russia is
expected to become ultimately one of the chief producers of petroleum.

Within the next decade, through improved methods of production and
through the further amalgamation of producing, transporting, refining,
and marketing companies into strong units, the output will undoubtedly
be larger and will be more economically produced. In the refining of
petroleum it is probable that improved methods will make possible the
recovery of a larger percentage of lighter products from low-grade
petroleum. Internal-combustion engines are being modified so as to
run on petroleum products of lower volatility than gasoline. The use
of petroleum as fuel under railroad and marine boilers is expected to
increase enormously in the next decade. As the output of the producing
fields declines, the vast deposits of oil shale in the western United
States will be developed as a source of oil.

So far as is known, political control of the petroleum resources of
the world is determined by state sovereignty (see Plate I, page 7).
In normal times, the United States controls politically over 66 per
cent. of the present output of petroleum. Russia and Mexico ranked
second and third in 1917, controlling 13.6 per cent. and 10.9 per
cent., respectively. The remaining 9 per cent. was controlled by
Great Britain, Holland, Persia (British government owned), Roumania,
Austria-Hungary, Japan, Peru, Germany, Argentina and Italy in the order
named.

The table showing the nationality and the approximate extent of the
commercial control exercised by the dominant interests in each of
the principal oil-producing countries, and Fig. 2 (page 12) are the
best possible summaries of commercial control. United States capital
is supreme in the commercial control of the petroleum industry of
the Western Hemisphere. British and British-Dutch interests easily
dominate the petroleum situation in the Eastern Hemisphere. France no
longer exercises control over any important fields. Japanese interests,
controlling at present all the oil fields of Japan, may be expected to
make large investments in the petroleum fields of Mexico, China and
Russia.

CHAPTER II

COAL

BY GEORGE S. RICE AND FRANK F. GROUT

USES OF COAL

Coal is among the most important of all minerals. It furnishes power
and heat, and its distillation yields a great number of useful
materials, such as gas for lighting and fuel, explosives, ammonia,
aniline dyes, etc. Coke, which is bituminous coal with the more
volatile constituents removed by distillation, is used for smelting
metallic ores; and thus the contiguity of fields of high-grade coking
coal and of iron ore determined the location of the centers of steel
industry, which are the very main-springs of our modern machine-made
civilization. Near such coal districts, other manufactures of all kinds
naturally developed, the coal being cheaply available for power and
constituting practically the only source of power in regions where
cheap hydro-electric power is not available. About 66 per cent. of the
coal mined goes to the production of power, including transportation;
about 12 per cent. to coking and the by-products; and about 22 per
cent. to the heating of buildings.

Commercial coal is of three varieties: (1) anthracite (Pennsylvania
anthracite is popularly termed hard coal), and semi-anthracite
containing a high percentage of fixed carbon and a relatively low
percentage of the volatile constituents (3 to 12 per cent.); (2)
bituminous (ambiguously termed “soft coal” in the United States),
containing less fixed carbon and more volatile matter (12 to 40 per
cent.); and (3) lignite, containing a still smaller proportion of
fixed carbon and a large proportion of water. Of the bituminous coals,
some coke satisfactorily, but many do not, so that good coking coals
are highly prized. Anthracite, because it makes no smoke, is in great
demand for house heating; whereas bituminous coal is chiefly used for
power production, including locomotive and steamship firing. Lignites
as a rule are used only where the better grades of coal are not
available.

Coal was first used for heating before steam power came into use, and
iron was smelted with charcoal instead of with coke as at present.

Ship bunkering calls for the best grades of bituminous coal, low in
ash and preferably high in fixed carbon, because the use of low-grade
coals would require carrying larger amounts, leaving less space for
cargo. However, no country that has enough coal to bunker ships, need
be dependent on foreign supplies; the low grade of coal would simply
reduce efficiency and thus increase expense.

=Substitutes.=--The proportion of coal used for power, as distinct
from that used for heat and coal products, is increasing, and is now
two-thirds of the total. As a source of power there is really no
complete substitute for coal. All the great industrial nations, like
England, Germany and the United States, have developed their industries
on the basis of large coal supplies. Some countries make large use of
hydro-electric power, but for most it is an insufficient substitute.
Wood and other fuels are rarely sufficient to maintain an industry
built up on a supply of coal. Oil is being successfully substituted in
some industries, notably in shipping, but the importance of coaling
stations will no doubt persist.

CHANGES IN PRACTICE

The technique of coal mining in many districts, and the development of
heat, power and coal products are not far advanced. Wasteful methods
are used, mostly as a result of competition and lack of co-operation
and organization among producers. Economies are being advocated,
however. Labor-saving machinery has been installed in many mines. A
number of power plants have been erected near the mine mouth and the
power distributed electrically, thus eliminating freight charges on
coal. Central heating and power plants that can burn coal efficiently
will no doubt be more popular and numerous in a few years. Government
control and legislation may be expected to hasten the changes. In
Europe the technique of coal mining, except in undercutting machinery,
is further advanced than in the United States, as regards mining _all_
the coal and in supporting the surface.

Improvements in coking ovens may soon make possible the manufacture
of some sort of coke from almost any bituminous coal. While all coke
may not be satisfactory for modern blast-furnace practice, any future
lack of coke will probably be offset by the development of electric
smelting, so the seriousness of the metallurgical need is doubtful. The
proportion of by-product coke ovens, which make for cheaper coke by
providing for other marketable products, is increasing.

GEOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION

Coals are found in the sedimentary deposits of several geological eras:
Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Tertiary. The Paleozoic era, embracing the
Carboniferous period, is by far the most important as regards quality
and availability of its coal resources; but the lower-grade and chiefly
lignitic coals of the Mesozoic and Tertiary are of great importance
locally, and there are enormous reserves that exceed in quantity the
generally higher-grade coals of the earlier periods.

The geologic distribution of coal is described in “The Coal Resources
of the World,” the most important and comprehensive compilation on coal
reserves ever made, which was undertaken by the Executive Committee of
the Twelfth International Geologic Congress, held in Canada in 1913. As
the compilation was made with the assistance of geological surveys and
mining geologists of the several countries of the world, it is cited in
this paper as authoritative on geologic distribution and resources.

The geographic distribution of the chief coal fields of the world is
shown in Plate II.

In _North America_ the most important coals in the Central and Eastern
part are of Paleozoic age, but in the Rocky Mountain region vast
quantities of coal occur in the Cretaceous (Mesozoic) strata. In the
Gulf province and in the Northern Great Plains province of the United
States, which extends into Canada, are coals of Triassic (Mesozoic) age
that are relatively unimportant at present.

In beds of the Eocene period of the Tertiary era are large deposits
of brown lignite locally converted by mountain-building forces into
bituminous and semi-bituminous coal, and also a little anthracite under
difficult mining conditions. Such locally altered beds are found in the
State of Washington, in British Columbia, and in Alaska.

The limited coal resources of _South America_, in those deposits east
of the Andes and in southern and eastern Brazil, are of Paleozoic age.
Small areas of Tertiary coals are found in southern Argentina and in
Chile.

Key to Plate II.

World’s Coal Reserves as of 1916--Coal Fields in Solid Black.

1. Countries possessing coal reserves of the first magnitude
(4,000,000 million to 1,000,000 million tons): The United States
(3,527,000 million), Canada (1,234,000 million), and China (1,500,000
million).

2. Countries possessing coal reserves of the second degree of
magnitude (500,000 million to 100,000 million): The British Isles
(189,533 million), Germany (before the war) (423,356 million),
Siberia (173,879 million), and Australia (165,572 million).

3. Countries possessing coal reserves of the third degree of
magnitude (80,000 million to 16,000 million tons): France (before
the war) (17,583 million), Alaska (16,293 million), Colombia (27,000
million), Austria-Hungary (before the war) (55,553 million), Russia
in Europe (before the war) (60,106 million), India (79,001 million),
Indo-China (20,000 million) and South Africa (56,200 million).

4. Countries possessing coal reserves of the fourth degree of
magnitude (16,000 million to 6,000 million tons): Spain (8,768
million), Japan (7,970 million), Belgium (11,000 million),
Spitzbergen (8,750 million).

5. Countries possessing coal reserves, but of inferior magnitude
(less than 4,000 million tons): Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru,
Ecuador, Venezuela, Greenland, Holland, Denmark, Sweden, Italy,
Bulgaria, Turkey, Greece, Roumania, Asia Minor, Persia, Arabia,
various islands of Malaysia and various countries in Africa. Coal
fields shown in black--country not shaded.

[Illustration: PLATE II.--Geographical distribution of the coal
deposits of the world, and relative reserves. By F. F. Grout.]

In _Europe_ the principal coal deposits occur in the Carboniferous
system, either in the upper or the lower part. The Lower Carboniferous
is the principal series in which coals occur in Scotland, whereas the
most important coals in England and in Wales lie in Upper Carboniferous
rocks. In northern France, in Belgium, and in Westphalia, Germany, the
middle Carboniferous measures contain the most important reserves.
Mesozoic coals are found in northern Australia and in central France.
The lignites or brown coals of middle Europe are locally very important
in Germany; those of Austria are found in numerous small but thick
deposits of the Tertiary age.

[Illustration: FIG. 3.--Coal output of the chief coal-producing
countries, 1880-1916.]

The principal coal resources of _Africa_ are in the southern part
of the continent and are chiefly in deposits whose ages range from
Carboniferous to Triassic.

In _Asia_ the coal fields are not well defined. There are coal basins
of note in India and China. In China important coals are found in the
Upper Carboniferous. Coals of the Lower Carboniferous are found east
of the Urals and also in Turkestan. In Japan the Mesozoic coals are
important. Tertiary coals are widely distributed in Asia but are not
high-grade nor of importance.

It may be safely stated that geological reconnoissance has covered
the world so well that further development is not likely to disclose
coal resources of great magnitude not now known with more or less
exactitude. Estimates of resources of some regions will undoubtedly be
revised many times, especially those of reserves in the middle portion
of Africa, in South America, and China.

COAL PRODUCTION OF THE WORLD IN 1913

As the great World War began on July 31, 1914, the last normal
production figures were for 1913. The following table of the world’s
production of coal for the years 1911-1914 is from “Mineral Resources”
of the U. S. Geological Survey, the compilation being credited by Mr.
Lesher, of the Survey, to Mr. Wm. G. Gray, statistician of the American
Iron and Steel Institute, and Prof. G. A. Roush, editor of “Mineral
Industry.”

The output (1880-1916) of the chief coal-producing countries of the
world is shown graphically in Figure 3.

TABLE 4.--THE WORLD’S PRODUCTION OF COAL (IN SHORT TONS)

-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------
Country | 1911 | 1912 | 1913 | 1914
-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------
United States| 496,371,126| 534,466,580| 569,960,219| 513,525,477
Great Britain| 304,518,927| 291,666,299| 321,922,130| 297,698,617
Germany | 259,223,763| 281,979,467| 305,714,664| 270,594,952
Austria- | | | |
Hungary | 54,960,298| 56,954,579| 59,647,957|
France | 43,242,778| 45,534,448| 45,108,544|
Russia | 29,361,764| 33,775,754| 35,500,674|
Belgium | 25,411,917| 25,322,851| 25,196,869|
Japan | 19,436,536| 21,648,902| 23,988,292| 21,700,572
India | 13,494,573| 16,471,100| 18,163,856|
China | 16,534,500| 16,534,500|[5]15,432,200|
Canada | 11,323,388| 14,512,829| 15,115,089| 13,597,982
New South | | | |
Wales | 9,374,596| 10,897,134| 11,663,865| 11,644,476
Transvaal | 4,343,680| [6]8,119,288| 5,225,036|
Spain | 4,316,245| 4,559,453| 4,731,647|
Natal | 2,679,551| See note 6| 2,898,726|
New Zealand | 2,315,390| 2,438,929| 2,115,834|
Holland | 1,628,097| 1,901,902| 2,064,608|
Chile | 1,277,191| 1,470,917| 1,362,334|
Queensland | 998,556| 1,010,426| 1,162,497| 1,180,825
Mexico | [5]1,400,000| 982,396| |
Bosnia and | | | |
Herzegovina | 848,510| 940,174| 927,244|
Turkey | 799,168| 909,293| |
Italy | 614,132| 731,720| 772,802|
Victoria | 732,328| 664,334| 668,524|
Orange Free | | | |
State (Orange| | | |
River Colony)| 482,690| | 609,973|
Dutch East | | | |
Indies | [5]600,000| 622,669| 453,136|
Indo-China | [5]460,000| 471,259| |
Serbia | 335,495| 335,000| |
Sweden | 343,707| 397,149| 401,199|
Western | | | |
Australia | [5]300,000| 330,488| 351,687|
Peru | [5]300,000| 307,461| 301,970|
Formosa | 280,999| 306,941| |
Bulgaria | 270,410| 324,511| |
Rhodesia | 212,529| 216,140| 237,728|
Roumania | 266,784| | |
Cape Colony | | | |
(Cape of Good| | | |
Hope) | 89,023| See note 6| 67,481|
Korea | 138,508| | |
Tasmania | [5]70,000| 59,987| 61,648| 68,130
British | | | |
Borneo | [5]100,000| | 49,762|
Spitzbergen | 44,092| | |
Brazil | 16,535| | |
Portugal | [5]10,000| 16,938| 27,053|
Venezuela | [5]10,000| [5]12,000| 13,355|
Switzerland | 8,267| | |
Philippine | | | |
Islands | [5]2,000| 2,998| |
Unspecified | [5]1,016,947| | |
-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------
Total |1,309,565,000|1,377,000,000|1,478,000,000|1,346,000,000
| [7] | [7] | [7] |
-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------

[5] Estimated.

[6] Transvaal included Natal and Cape of Good Hope.

[7] Approximate.

TABLE 5.--RESERVES

Total coal reserves in millions of metric tons have been estimated, by
continents, as follows:

Continent Millions of tons
North America 5,073,000
Asia 1,280,000
Europe 784,000
Australia and Oceania 170,000
Africa 58,000
South America 32,000

The countries on pre-war basis having the greatest reserves are as
follows:

Country Millions of tons
United States (half lignite) 3,527,000
Canada (three-fourths lignite) 1,234,000
China 996,000 to 1,500,000
British Isles 190,000
Siberia (largely lignite) 173,000
Germany (including Upper Silesia and the Saar) 423,000
New South Wales 118,000
India 79,000
Russia including Dombrova field (Poland) 60,000
Austria (chiefly in Bohemia, Silesia and Galicia) 54,000
France 17,600

[Illustration: FIG. 4.--Coal reserves of chief producing countries,
according to “Coal Resources of the World,” in millions of metric tons.
Squares are to scale: lines showing relative production are not on same
scale as squares.]

The reserves of the principal productive coal fields are graphically
shown in Figure 4.

The distribution of the coal deposits of the world and the estimated
reserves in these deposits are shown in Plate II.

GENERAL WORLD SITUATION

The districts with coal for export have been chiefly the British Isles,
United States and Germany; there might be included also New South
Wales, British South Africa, Japan, French Indo-China, Canada, New
Zealand and Spitzbergen. China, with her large reserves, may become an
exporter in the future; or, if her industries develop, may find use for
her coal at home.

Anthracite of good grade is found in large amounts in Pennsylvania and
South Wales only. Poorer supplies are known in Germany, France, Italy,
Indo-China, and also in the states of Colorado and New Mexico.

Coking coals in large amounts are found in the eastern United States,
Germany and the United Kingdom and are coked extensively. Smaller
amounts of coke are made in France, Belgium and old Austria. Relatively
very small amounts are made in Canada, Chile, New South Wales, Japan
and Spain.

The coal reserve of a country bears no direct relation to its present
production, for the latter, which has to be developed in competition
with other countries, depends upon relative facility of transportation
and proximity of iron-ore deposits, which render steel making and other
industries economically feasible.

_Great Britain_ is particularly favored through the possession of
high-grade coal immediately adjacent to coast ports, as in the North
of England, Scotland and Wales. Hence Great Britain became a great
exporter of coal. First, coal for heating purposes traveled by sea
from Newcastle to London; next coal was carried to European ports, and
finally to all parts of the world. The possession of easily worked iron
deposits in the north of England and the discovery that iron could
be smelted with coke rapidly accelerated the development of the coal
industry in Great Britain, so that by the middle of the nineteenth
century Great Britain had a commanding lead.

No other country possesses high-grade coal in such quantity immediately
adjacent to the coast, and this fact has enabled Great Britain to
remain the great exporter. The average length of haul of export coal,
from mine to ship, is less than 20 miles. In Germany coal for ocean
export must be hauled 118 miles to 168 miles; in the United States
from 150 to 375 miles, except for Washington coals, which are within
40 miles of tidewater, but are small in quantity and of indifferent
quality.

After the war with France in 1871, when _Germany_ annexed Alsace
and Lorraine, the coal industry of the German Empire developed
with tremendous rapidity, largely through the discovery--from the
investigations of Thomas, of Great Britain--of a method of utilizing
the high-phosphorus iron ores of German and French Lorraine, and the
nearness of these iron-ore deposits to the high-grade bituminous coals
of Westphalia. The coal industry was also developed by fostering the
export trade with adjacent countries, which have small coal resources
or none, this trade nearly all going by rail.

However, the long rail haul and the correspondingly high cost of mining
have retarded the ocean export business of Germany, in spite of the
fostering care of the government. With the transfer of practically all
its iron deposits and its important Lorraine potash deposits, as well
as the ownership of its Saar coal mines, to France, and the possible
loss of its Upper Silesian coal and zinc deposits to Poland, the
balance of commercial prosperity, as well, may be handed over.

No other countries except the United States, Canada, Australia and
China have reserves for extensive export trade. In _Canada_ the coals
are mostly inland, and those near the coast, as on Vancouver Island and
in Nova Scotia, are limited in quantity and difficult to mine, so that
export business is perforce restricted.

One change that seems likely is a rapid increase in output of coal
in _China_. The resources are enormous, the reserves of the higher
classes of coal being surpassed by those of no country but the United
States. The ambitious and aggressive Japanese, with their strategic
neighboring location, have given every indication that they will take
advantage of an opportunity to develop such a resource. It may be a
question how soon Chinese coal will be developed, but great changes are
inevitable when development begins. Some of the coal fields are so near
the coast and have coals of such good quality as to permit an extensive
development of export business in the Orient.

_Australia_, particularly in Queensland and New South Wales, has coal
resources that are considerable, in comparison with the needs of the
small population. In New South Wales the coals are excellent and are
adjacent or close to harbors, so that the coal is extensively supplied
for bunkerage and export trade to the South Pacific and has become a
large factor in the ocean trade of that part of the world.

A large factor in the coal trade of the Pacific Ocean is the carrying
of coal as return cargo. This is also important in South American
trade. South Africa during the war sent considerable coal to the
western Mediterranean, but its coal cannot be a large factor in ocean
trade in normal times.

Of all the continents South America is the poorest in coal resources.
There is coal in _Brazil_ and _Chile_ and other South American
countries, but it is difficult to reach and the fields so far known
do not give promise of being able to take care of the needs of the
countries in which they occur. The total annual production of South
America is less than two million tons, mostly from Chile. It is
probable that for the next generation South America will continue to
import coal as it has in the past, to the extent of 15 million tons or
more per annum, although developments in Brazil are now promising for
that country’s future supply. For estimates of reserves, see Table 5.

=Summary.=--By way of summary, it may be said that the United States
leads the world in coal resources; moreover, its resources are most
immediately available, because of their shallow depth and general
undisturbed (geologic) condition and their accessibility through
railway systems. This is particularly true in the Appalachian region,
which contains by far the best coal, is the nearest to the coast, and
hence is the most available for ocean trade. On the other hand, the
average haul to export points, as already noted, is far greater than
that of Great Britain and greater than that of Westphalia; but to
offset this the coal has been and can be mined more cheaply than in
either Westphalia or Great Britain. The resources of Upper Silesia are
large, and the coal is easily mined, but the output will all be needed
for central Europe. As regards both quality and quantity, Pennsylvania
anthracite is unique; nevertheless, the home needs will continue to
be a brake on extensive exports. United States steam and coking coals
available for shipment average a little poorer than the corresponding
coals of Great Britain, but are superior to the German coals.

The total resources of Great Britain, possible, actual, and probable,
are only 190,000 million tons, as contrasted with 423,000 million tons
in the old German Empire and 3,838,000 million tons in the United
States.

=Probable Future Production.=--The possible depletion of coal resources
is of course important in considering the future, but it can be safely
stated that in none of the principal fields now being mined are the
resources so depleted that the output therefrom will be reduced for
another generation at least.

Of the great coal-producing countries, Great Britain, with its
increasing rate of production, most nearly approaches the point of
ultimate depletion, but that point has been variously placed at one
hundred to several hundred years in the future, much depending upon
whether with better methods of use the output will continue to increase
at the same rate as in the past. Meantime, certain areas in Great
Britain with shallower coal beds will be depleted much sooner and the
remaining coal will become more and more difficult to get, because of
the increasing depth of mining, which in turn will cause a continually
increasing cost.

Although the exhaustion of coal is a distant prospect, there are clear
signs of the approaching exhaustion of certain grades of coal. It has
been estimated that the output of American anthracite will seriously
decline in 60 to 100 years. Probably this will result in a change in
practice, the use of coke, and other methods of house heating. If the
rate of production continues to increase, high-grade American steam
coal, New River and similar grades, will probably be exhausted in a
little over 150 years. American coking coal of the best Connellsville
quality is of equally short duration. British coal of similar high
grade may last longer than American, as the production rate is less
rapid, even though the total American coal should last much longer than
the British.

POLITICAL CONTROL

In several countries state ownership of coal mines is established;
as, for example, in parts of Prussia, Australia, Chile and Bulgaria.
In others the undeveloped coal lands are still largely owned by the
government, as in Alaska and the western United States. In some
countries the government retains control of all mineral rights, simply
leasing the property and granting a mining concession. Many governments
have a department or administration of mines. In every country, of
course, in an emergency, the sovereign state would exercise control of
coal resources as fully as was necessary. Where the state owns mines,
and favors organization, as in Germany, the more drastic regulation of
war time is easily effected. It is quite possible that coal may in time
be generally considered a public utility.

In England a movement toward nationalization of mines, with miners as
well as the government having a hand in the control, seems to be making
progress.

England’s colonies excel all others in extent of coal resources.
There is coal in Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, South Africa,
Rhodesia, Newfoundland, South Nigeria and British North Borneo--the
total being many times greater than that in the British Isles. The
colonies and possessions of France, Denmark, Portugal, United States
and Japan have relatively small amounts of coal.

Coal resources, along with other raw materials, have been influenced by
some trade treaties. However, no permanent advantage in commerce has
been secured to any nation by a trade treaty. Nearly all such treaties
are made for short periods and renewed. If not satisfactory to one
party they are soon corrected. Various informal or tacit agreements
might be mentioned. When shipping was scarce during the war, England
and the United States divided the coal business of South America
according to the requirements of ship economy. Germany made agreements
to send coal to Austria-Hungary and Switzerland during the period of
the war. England had agreements with France, Spain, Portugal and Italy,
these agreements changing with conditions, about supplies of English
coal.

COMMERCIAL CONTROL

Although the ownership of mines in most countries is nominally open to
citizens and aliens alike, exceptions and restrictions tend to keep
the control in the hands of citizens. For example, it is impossible
for foreigners to control any mining company in Japan. Concessions
in Holland and the Dutch colonies are limited to Dutch subjects and
in Bolivia to Bolivian citizens. The legislation suggested since the
outbreak of the World War may develop a similar condition in the
possessions of Great Britain and those of her allies.

In peace the relations of two countries may be largely determined by
the ownership of property; owners of property in a foreign country may
strongly influence the policy of the two governments toward each other.
In emergencies, the political and the commercial control are put to the
test, and there results either a deadlock or the victory of one over
the other.

An important commercial relation exercising political influence is
the incorporation of companies under the laws of different countries.
Mining companies in China, like the Kailan Mining Administration,
organize at Hong Kong to obtain British protection and are thus subject
to British control, in spite of the fact that Belgian money finances
the company. Some companies organized in Japan may also own Chinese
coal mines.

As relatively few regions of the world have coal in excess of their
own needs, the larger number are dependent on imports. If a country
with coal controls also steamship lines, it may completely control the
coal situation in the importing country. England, with about half the
total world’s shipping and a good supply of seaport coal, has been in a
position to dominate coal exports, even to handling the excess American
coal. During the last three or four years the scarcity of shipping
has given increased importance to American and Japanese shipping, but
the English still exert a strong influence. Their docks and storage
facilities are the best, and their ships are still numerous.

Railroad shipping rights over the National Lines in _Mexico_ give a
certain amount of control over the coal industry. The National Lines
are state owned and have a special agreement giving trackage rights to
two companies, the American Smelting and Refining Co., and the Peñoles
Company, of German ownership. Since the Mexican railway service has
been disturbed, the German company has been operating with cars and
engines of its own. It has many coke ovens and large coal reserves,
and has been the chief competitor of the American company in Mexican
metallurgy.

No patent is likely to limit coal industries, except as regards the
by-products of coke. Before the war, coal-tar products were largely
developed by Germans, who patented their processes in many countries,
but offered no such protection to foreign inventions by patents in
Germany. They limited production chiefly to their German plants, and
exported about $50,000,000 worth a year.

During the war, these patents in the United States were taken over by
the Alien Property Custodian, and the American industries that sprung
up in consequence may be permanently protected. Other allied countries
took the same steps to free themselves from German control, which has
retarded the development of the by-product coke industry in non-German
countries.

In _Germany_ the large mining companies generally own the coal rights.
The only government that has mined coal on a commercial scale and
for commercial purposes is Germany, and even there the government
production covered only a small part of the total output of the German
Empire. Mines of the Saar coal field and a group of mines in the Upper
Silesian field owned by the Prussian government have been the only
extensive state-operated mines of the world, and now, under the terms
of the Treaty of Peace, the ownership of the Saar mines will pass to
France. (The details are given on p. 39).

On the other hand, the government exercised a quiet but real control
over the whole German coal industry. Through its ownership of the
Koenigen Louise mines it acted as a member of the Upper Silesian coal
syndicate. Formerly, through its ownership of the Saar mines, it was
also a member of the Westphalian coal syndicate, but whether a member
or not it practically approved the syndicate operations and the fixing
of prices in advance; also, it co-operated with the syndicate in
hauling the latter’s coal over state-owned railway systems. In certain
undeveloped coal fields in Germany, the northern extension of the
Westphalian field, the Prussian government retains most of the coal
rights.

The Rhenish Westphalian coal syndicate is a classic example of a great
interlocking trade combination. Capitalized at $571,000, it covered an
enormous capitalization of individual members. The mines have votes in
proportion to production, which in turn is limited for certain periods.
Prices are fixed and coal is marketed for the syndicate as a unit, but
other affairs are left to the companies. The syndicate as a whole is
a member of a transporting and exporting combine, and disposes of its
product through a combine of coal dealers. The several minor combines
interlock and are practically merged in a larger organization, the
Kohlen Kontor. Thus the combination had exceptional power to study
the various problems of the industry, and became very powerful. It
maintains a research department and an explosion testing gallery near
Dortmund. In several countries German companies through the control of
advertising contracts have been able to influence the editorial policy
of the leading newspapers, even during the war. Over half of the German
coal mined before and during the war was syndicate coal. All of the
600 other German cartels have not been as moderate in their action and
regulations as the coal syndicate. When the coal syndicate, however,
at one time, found it could not supply its German market with coal, it
is reported to have bought inferior British coal for its customers,
so that they would not themselves get good British coal and refuse to
return to the German supply.

Efforts were made by the cartel to absorb and control foreign coal
trade, where political and financial reasons served to render this
advisable, and therefore these efforts were out of all proportion to
the intrinsic value of the trade. When it was planned to capture such
a trade, the German-invented “dumping” system was used, coal being
sold cheaper abroad than it could be sold or produced at home, the
difference being met by export bonuses. This German dumping became so
serious in some countries, as Canada, New Zealand and South Africa,
that special import duties were imposed to counteract it. When
desirable, the syndicate purchased collieries abroad, including even a
South Yorkshire plant in England, the Heraclea collieries, in Turkey,
and many mines in Australia.

In _Great Britain_ is a powerful coal combine, the Cambria, closely
allied with great shipping concerns. An important trade asset in this
organization, like that in the German cartel, is a banking connection
by which the combine can offer long-term credit.

Coal syndicates are mentioned in Belgium. Some sort of central
organization interested in coal is known in Italy, Russia,
Austria-Hungary, Sweden, Greece, Argentina, Chile, and Ecuador.

THE SITUATION IN FRANCE, ENGLAND, AND THE UNITED STATES

_France_ has a modified form of ownership of coal resources: this was
vested formerly in the Crown and now in the Republic. The government
gives concessions for mining the mineral and charges a royalty. The
mineral is not considered to be owned by the surface owner or by
the original surface owner, as is the case in all other important
countries. The concessions granted are liberal and for large areas.
The royalty or rental is small and is now paid on the basis of so much
per superficial unit of area (hectare) in the concession, but the
chief returns received by the public are through a percentage of the
net earnings, that is, earnings available for dividends. Under the
conditions prevailing in France the system seems eminently fair, and
the undertakings have been profitable both to the operators and to the
country. The books of the company are open to inspection by government
officials, and the annual reports are published in detail. The system
virtually makes the government a partner in the business.

In _Great Britain_ most of the coal ownership is vested in entailed
estates, and the royalties are a shilling a ton and upwards.

Both private and government ownership exist in the _United States_.
Throughout the greater part of the country the large operating
companies own the coal rights, although in the anthracite district of
Pennsylvania the fortunate owners of the surface, or their assigns,
receive large royalties, 25 to 50 cents a ton. In the Middle West most
of the operators have bought the coal rights from the surface owners.
When leased, the royalty is relatively small, 2 to 6¹⁄₄ cents a ton.
Operators in the Rocky Mountains generally own the coal they mine.
The government has sold the coal rights, but the state school lands
of Colorado and Wyoming have generally been leased at royalties of
about 10 cents a ton. In Oklahoma the Five Civilized Tribes have until
recently, under government control, leased their lands and coal rights
at about 10 cents per ton, but these rights are now being sold.

In the State of Washington a considerable amount of the bituminous coal
district now opened is owned by the Northern Pacific Railway, which
secured these lands as grants when the railroad was constructed. The
royalty is about 15 to 25 cents a ton.

In Alaska in the Matanuska and Bering River bituminous fields, and
in the Nenana lignite field, the government has offered the coal
for leasing purposes at 2 cents a ton for the first period, under
restrictions providing for conservation of coal and reasonable prices
to consumers. Some units have been taken up in the Matanuska and Bering
River fields, but, as the measures are badly contorted and the coal
beds difficult to trace, progress has been slow and production has
scarcely begun. Temporarily, the Alaskan Railway Commission is working
some mines at Chickaloon and Eska Creek, to obtain a supply of coal
pending the development of other mines by lessees. Congress, in opening
the coal lands in the Matanuska and Bering River fields for leasing,
has reserved tracts of not exceeding 7,680 acres and 5,120 acres
respectively for the use of the Navy.

The United States still owns large areas of coal and lignite lands in
the western states. Most of these lands are remote from railroads and
difficult of access, but they contain enormous reserves. At present,
outside of Alaska, only one mine, the Gebo mine, Gebo, Wyoming, is
leased by the government, but extension of a leasing system similar to
that of Alaska has been recently effected.

In the United States the anthracite industry is well organized, and its
railroad connections make it notably efficient and powerful. Bituminous
coal, on the other hand, is so widely distributed on both public and
private lands that no private organization has attempted to control
the industry. Such control has always been opposed by Congress and the
general public.

Except during the war, neither Great Britain nor the United States has
attempted any control over commercial mining and the sale of coal.
Each country created a fuel administration, and the coal was shipped
under government instructions and paid for at prices fixed by the
fuel administration. In the United States this government control has
practically disappeared with the war, but in England the Coal Control
has so far been continued, and the tendency is for the government to
retain for the present a strong guiding hand on the various “key”
industries. Certainly, in the final analysis, coal mining is a public
utility and should be supervised and adjusted by the government
accordingly, allowing free latitude for private initiative.

Of the important coal-producing countries, only the German Empire,
more or less openly, has fostered in peace times the coal industry and
to some extent controlled it. In France there was only an indirect
control, through the control by the government of the concessions and
taxation of revenues and through tacit knowledge of the operations
of the French coal syndicate, which ostensibly at least obtains and
disseminates information and conducts mine safety investigations. In
the United States, Great Britain, and other countries free competition
has been permitted. Free competition does not seem serious in countries
like France, where the supply of coal is limited, but it has had more
or less serious financial effects where the supply of coal has been
very large. In Germany before the formation of the syndicates the coal
mining industry had periods of overproduction and serious financial
depression; and at other, rarer, periods there was great prosperity.
In Great Britain there have been similar times of depression and
prosperity, but generally the business has been profitable.

In the United States, except in the anthracite district, where for
more than twenty years the operations have been in the hands of
comparatively few companies, depression and prosperity have alternated
rapidly. The statistics obtained by the census show that the average
profits of the bituminous industry prior to 1917 were smaller than
those of any other great industry, and this has had an unfortunate
effect on the best development of the coal resources. The companies
generally have had little or no surplus to develop properly in the
lean years; hence they have mined only the best or thickest coal, and
in short periods of great prosperity many mines not directly owned by
the railroads and steel companies have been worked so as to lead to
“squeezes” and great loss of coal. Moreover, these conditions have
also been unfortunate for labor; in times of prosperity too many new
mines were opened, because of the tremendous and easily accessible
resources, and in times of depression the number of days the miners
worked has been so reduced that their monthly or yearly earnings have
been low enough to make their living a hard one. The average number of
days worked per year from 1901 to 1915 was 213. Some system of limited
control of trade combinations by the government would appear to be
highly advantageous for both the operators and the miners, and should
insure a steady supply of coal to the consumers and steady prices with
reasonable profits.

As regards trade relations between the United States and other
countries concerning fuel supplies, except for a possible agreement on
non-subsidy of the coal-carrying shipping, any attempt at a general
agreement on so vital a necessity as coal seems unwise, except for
non-duplication of elaborate coal storage and rehandling plants in
ports requiring small tonnages, and preventing ruinous competition
by systematic “dumping” of surplus coal to drive a competitor out of
business.

Of all the continents, South America has the smallest coal resources.
Although there is coal in _Brazil_ and _Chile_ and other South American
countries, it is difficult to reach, and the fields so far known do not
give promise of being able to take care of the needs of the countries
in which they occur.

=The Coal Situation as Affected by the War.=--Immediately after the
opening of the war in Europe, July 31, 1914, the German military forces
attacked and advanced in the east through Russian Poland, promptly
securing the important Dombrova field, which is an extension of the
Upper Silesian coal fields. The German forces also advanced in the west
through the Belgian coal fields and thence through the extension of
these fields in northern France, at the same time seizing the important
Briey iron-ore deposits north of Verdun.

The economic effect of these advances was of enormous importance in
securing all the productive coal mines of Belgium, the most productive
coal mines of Russia, and most of the coal fields of northern France.
The French coal and iron mines seized produced one-half of the coal
output of France (20 million tons out of 40 million tons), and 95 per
cent. (20 million tons) of the output of iron ore. Necessarily under
these conditions France had to rely upon England and the United States
to meet the military and economic need for iron, leaning chiefly upon
Great Britain for the necessary supply of coal. Great Britain during
the war continued to supply coal to Italy; also to Spain and other
neutral nations.

The armistice ended Germany’s occupation of the coal fields of Belgium
and northern France. On the other hand, the French took charge of the
important Saar coal field, and the Allies occupied German territory
reaching to the Rhine and beyond the Rhine at certain bridgeheads, this
occupation including the supervision of the mines in the coal and brown
lignite basins near Aix-la-Chapelle and Cologne and the western margin
of the Westphalian basin on the left bank of the Rhine.

The treaty of peace gives to the French the important iron resources
of former German Lorraine, which together with imports from French
Lorraine were the chief sources of iron ore for German iron works, and
the ownership of the Saar coal mines.

The terms under which the Saar mines are transferred, and the future
government of the district, are indicated in the following extracts
from the treaty:

“As compensation for the destruction of the coal mines in the north
of France, and as part payment towards the total reparation due from
Germany for the damages resulting from the war, Germany cedes to France
in full and absolute possession, with exclusive rights of exploitation,
unencumbered and free from all debts and charges of any kind, the coal
mines situated in the Saar basin.”

This is exclusive of that part of the Saar basin in Lorraine which
belonged to France prior to 1870, and which now reverts to France with
some minor rectifications of boundary. The treaty further specifies,
“all the deposits of coal situated within the Saar basin will become
the complete and absolute property of the French state. * * * The right
of ownership of the French state will apply not only to the deposits
which are free and for which concessions have not yet been granted, but
also to the deposits for which concessions have already been granted,
whoever may be the present proprietors, irrespective of whether they
belong to the Prussian state, to the Bavarian state, to other states or
bodies, to companies or to individuals. * * * The value of the property
thus ceded to the French state will be determined by the Reparation
Commission. * * * This value shall be credited to Germany in part
payment of the amount due for reparation. It will be for Germany to
indemnify the proprietors or parties concerned, whoever they may be.”

As concerns the government of the territory of the Saar, at the
termination of a period of fifteen years, the population will be called
upon to indicate their desires, and then, “The League of Nations
shall decide on the sovereignty under which the territory is to be
placed, taking into account the wishes of the inhabitants as expressed
by the voting.” In the meantime, the territory will be governed by
a commission of five members chosen by the Council of the League of
Nations.

In addition to turning over the ownership of the mines and minerals in
the Saar basin, Germany accords the following options for the delivery
of coal to the undermentioned signatories of the present treaty:

“Germany undertakes to deliver to France seven million tons of coal
per year for ten years (it is understood that this is to provide fuel
for the Alsace Lorraine territory ceded back to France). In addition,
Germany undertakes to deliver to France annually for a period not
exceeding ten years, an amount of coal equal to the difference
between the annual production before the war of the coal mines of
the Nord and Pas de Calais, destroyed as a result of the war, and
the production of the mines of the same area during the years in
question; such delivery not to exceed twenty million tons in any one
year of the first five years, and eight million tons in any one year
of the succeeding five years. It is understood that due diligence
will be exercised in the restoration of the destroyed mines in the
Nord and the Pas de Calais.”

Besides furnishing France with coal, “Germany undertakes to deliver
to Belgium eight million tons of coal annually for ten years;” and
to Italy from four and one-half to eight and one-half million tons
annually; and also to Luxemburg, “a quantity of coal equal to the
pre-war annual consumption of German coal in Luxemburg.”

The prices to be paid for coal under these options shall be as follows:

“(_a_) For overland delivery, including delivery by barge, the German
pithead price to German nationals, plus the freight to French,
Belgian, Italian or Luxemburg frontiers, provided that the pithead
price does not exceed the pithead price of British coal for export.
In the case of Belgian bunker coal, the price shall not exceed the
Dutch bunker price. Railroad and barge tariffs shall not be higher
than the lowest similar rates paid in Germany.

“(_b_) For sea delivery, the German export price f.o.b. German ports,
or the British export price f.o.b. British ports, whichever may be
lower.

“The allied and associated governments interested may demand the
delivery, in place of coal, of metallurgical coke in the proportion
of 3 tons of coke to 4 tons of coal.”

Germany undertakes to deliver to France during each of the three years
following the coming into force of this treaty,

Benzol 35,000 tons
Coal tar 50,000 tons
Sulphate of ammonia 30,000 tons

The price paid for coke and for the articles referred to shall be the
same as the price paid by German nationals under the same conditions of
shipment.

The ownership of the Saar mines is a most welcome addition to the coal
resources of France; and the Saar basin, as it is capable of further
development, may in the future make France more nearly self-sustaining
as regards coal production.

The requirement of furnishing coal to France during the rehabilitation
of the French mines wrecked by the Germans is a most equitable
arrangement. Germany at first, owing to the drop in the output of the
Westphalian fields, claimed not to be able to furnish coal, but this
situation will no doubt right itself in time, especially as France
holds the whip hand through control of the iron ores necessary for the
great iron and steel plants of the Rhine district. In the meantime it
is hoped Great Britain, with the assistance of the United States, will
be able to supply the deficiency in the coal requirements.

The problems connected with the Russian coal fields are complicated,
but at least the Dombrova coal field would seem to be in the hands of
the new Poland, and this carries coal resources estimated at 2,525
million tons, with an output before the war probably exceeding 7
million metric tons per annum.

According to the terms of the peace treaty, a plebiscite will determine
the political control of the Upper Silesian coal fields.

=Probable Changes in Coal Trade.=--In the ocean coal trade of the world
the greatest change likely is that the United States will more largely
supply South America, its coal being substituted for that of Great
Britain. The ocean distance is markedly in favor of the United States,
particularly on the west coast of South America by vessels passing
through the Canal. With the increased shipping facilities of the United
States, there is every reason to believe exports of coal to South
America will be equally shared between the United States and Great
Britain.

At the present time, it is evident that the British coal-mining
industry is in a bad way, and publicists are expressing serious alarm
at the possible loss of the greater part of the export trade and the
curtailment of home industries through a great decrease in production
accompanied by a rapid increase in cost.

In 1913 Great Britain produced 287,000,000 long tons, and exported
77,000,000 long tons of coal. During the war, owing to the large
number of miners entering the military service, the output greatly
declined, but was expected to recover rapidly with the signing of the
armistice and the return of the miners. But labor unrest, resulting in
strikes and absenteeism, kept the output down, and on July 16, 1919,
the so-called Sankey award went into effect. This award shortened
the miners’ working day from eight to seven hours, exclusive of the
time taken in hoisting and lowering, but inclusive of the time taken
in reaching the working place. Rates were raised so that the miner
received more in a day with the seven-hour day than formerly with
the eight-hour day, and the Controller raised the price of coal six
shillings a ton to offset the increased cost.

Sir Richard Redland, chief inspector of mines, predicted that the
output for 1919 would be 230,000,000 tons, and for 1920, 217,000,000
tons, or a reduction of 70,000,000 tons from the output of 1913.
Presumably, in the course of time, by using additional shifts, Great
Britain may recover its former output, though manifestly at greatly
increased cost; so that unless the cost in the United States goes up
correspondingly, there is every probability that this country will be
able to compete successfully in export business, not only in South
America, but also in Mediterranean ports.

At the present time, demands for coal are reaching the United States
not only from those parts of the world, but also from Scandinavia,
Switzerland, Denmark, and The Netherlands. On account of nearness,
however, Great Britain should be able to take care of the fuel
requirements of northern Europe.

In the Pacific, it is not probable that either the State of Washington
or the Territory of Alaska will produce coal in such quantity and at
such a price that the output can be a general factor in the Pacific
Coast trade. The demands of Alaska, Washington, and adjoining states
will absorb the local production; and California will continue to
import in ballast more or less coal from Vancouver Island, British
Columbia, China, Japan, New Zealand, and Australia.

The immediate changes in Asia are more likely to be in the development
of mines in the interior of China and in India to supply domestic
needs rather than extensive exports, although, as before stated, it is
possible that China will gradually get into the Pacific Coast markets.

POSITION OF LEADING COMMERCIAL NATIONS

=United States.=--The United States has the best coal reserve of
any country--about 3,527,000 million out of a total world reserve
of 7,900,000 million tons--and good reserves of each of the several
classes of coal. For many years there will be no danger of a shortage
except for anthracite, good coking coal and the highest grades of steam
coal, which are now actively mined. About 600,000,000 tons a year, or
nearly 40 per cent. of the annual output of the world, is mined in the
United States.

In contrast with the reserves and production, the exports in 1913 were
only about 12 per cent. of the exports of coal from all countries;
and a large part of the American exports goes to Canada by rail. Of
sea-borne coal, the United States sent out only 4 per cent. This
small proportion of international trade is due to the distance of our
coal from seaports, the lack of organization and related shipping
organizations; and, further, to the relative independence of the United
States, which, from most countries, requires only a small amount of
import as a return cargo for coal-carrying ships. We use our coal at
home, but the advantage of exporting a considerable quantity of coal
for its effects on increasing trade relationships with other countries
is now becoming evident.

Correlated with the large supply and small export of coal is the
remarkable development of home industries using our own coal. From the
curves of production (shown in Figure 3) it seems that within a century
the United States will surpass all Europe in coal production. As our
industries have kept pace with coal production, our consumption of coal
is indicated roughly by the production curve. Hence it seems that the
United States is likely to be a center of manufacturing and wealth; and
with this will come an equally certain continual increase in population
and power.

The second great world supply of coal is likely to be that of China.
To be sure, European production is large, but it will be divided among
several powers. The main part of the world’s power and industry for
the next century is so definitely located by the coal deposits (and
by associated iron in most cases) that the part the United States
should take in the world’s program is clear. Every precaution should be
observed to have the Chinese resources controlled by powers that will
not abuse them to make the world “unsafe for democracy.”

The war opened several foreign markets, especially in South America, to
United States coal. Some of these markets may be permanent, but Welsh
coal is still likely to dominate sea-borne trade. The United States
has coaling stations as far away as Manila and the Samoan Islands, but
little coal reaches them from this country. American coal supplies our
government coaling stations in Alaska; Hawaii; our home ports, both
Atlantic and Pacific; Cuba; Porto Rico; Nicaraguan ports; Panama Canal
ports; Mazatlan, Mexico; and some South American ports. No attempt
seems to have been made to establish strategic ports around the world,
such as may be needed if the present increase in American shipping is
to be maintained under the American flag.

No foreign control has been influential in mining or handling coal
in the United States. The ownership of coal mines by aliens has been
possible, but apparently has not become important.

American coal resources are so great that no single organization,
foreign or domestic, has been able to dominate the situation. The
lack of a strong trade combination made it possible (in 1916) for
a combination of British shippers to fix the price of bunker coal
in Atlantic ports, so that the mines got even less for it than for
industrial coal. This was the result of competitive bids, and the lack
of organization here, but it is expected that organization will develop
now.

Since the war began the development of industries based on coal tar has
been remarkable. There are signs, however, of an unhealthy competition
in this country, and the government should be careful that internal
squabbles do not open the door for German control again.

=England.=--The British Isles have only one-fortieth of the total
world’s supply of coal, but this is of better than average quality.
High-grade steam coal is abundant and there is a fair supply of coking
coal. The annual production, 300 million tons, is about one-fifth the
world’s production, and is second only to that of the United States.
England before the war exported about one-fourth of the production,
overseas exports from England being six times as much as from any other
country in the world. Coal has constituted about three-fourths of all
English exports. The coal mines are near seaports, and ocean freight
rates are low, because the demand for imports gives return cargoes to
England from all parts of the world. There are large supplies of coal
also in the colonies, especially India, Australia and South Africa.

The coal business and shipping of Great Britain grew up together. About
one-fourth of the coal shipped goes for bunkering. In 1916 England
owned 40 per cent. of the world’s shipping and exported nearly 70 per
cent. of the world’s sea-borne coal. The maintenance of the shipping
requires bunkering ports all around the world. Coal from Wales and
British colonies was sufficient to supply them all, and they constitute
by far the most strategic system that any country possesses.

England, Gibraltar, Greece, Malta, Suez, Port Said, Aden, Maskat,
Colombo, Singapore, Bombay, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Fiji Islands,
Vancouver, Valparaiso, St. Lucia, Jamaica, Halifax, Newfoundland, St.
Helena, Bermuda, Cape Town and Durban, and others encircle the globe.
France, Japan, Holland and the United States have each a few stations,
but no such comprehensive system. The German proposals of terms of
peace (during the war) recognized the importance of these stations by
specifying that England should give up Aden, Malta and similar ports.

Trade arrangements between Great Britain and other countries have been
such as to grant “most favored nation” treatment to both parties, even
with Germany, where no formal treaty was in force. The free-trade
policy of England is well established, and on that basis England’s
commercial growth has been very great. Studies since the war began
show that Germany took advantage of the freedom in British countries
and the protection at home. For example, German capital controlled
some collieries in South Yorkshire, through Mr. Stinnes, one of the
largest components of the German Kohlen Kontor. This organization had
branches in Newcastle, Cardiff, Glasgow, Hull, and many foreign ports.
The French also had purchased an English colliery before the war, the
Stonehall colliery, at Lydden, near Dover.

The Australian colonies and probably others found that German
financiers owned and controlled most of the mines when war broke out.
It took some time to destroy this influence. Early in the war, British
sentiment seemed to call for action against all such German commercial
aggression, and at an Allied Economic Conference at Paris in June,
1916, plans were suggested for protection by tariff and exclusion of
alien ownership in allied countries. More recently it seems that the
British plan is to keep British certain key industries at all hazards
and at any expense, but not to abandon free trade or in any way
decrease the amount of trading done.

Commercial control of the Welsh steam-coal export trade is largely
in the hands of the Cambria Coal Combine, but in the trade there are
several other large combinations. The anthracite industry of England is
not as well organized as that of America.

Commercial control of coal exported from Wales is largely in the hands
of the large combinations of British shippers, in agreement with the
Cambria. Even when the war interfered with shipping, it is estimated
that two-thirds of the South American coal trade was in British control.

Many instances of British financial control of coal in countries other
than British colonies have not been noted. British capital is invested
in a few mines in Siberia and there are extensive holdings in China.

=Germany.=--The reserves of coal in Germany before the war were greater
than those in England, counting possible reserves, and of fair quality.
Germany formerly controlled 70 per cent. of the coal on the Continent.
Austrian coal was controlled, and the coal of Spitzbergen has been
claimed, though now in British and Norwegian control.

Although the most important deposits of coking coal of the Continent
are in Westphalia, those of Belgium and northern France are very
important to a general control of the coal situation. It cannot be
assumed that these important coal fields were seized by the Germans
for other reasons, or that the Germans included coal and iron by
accident. In 1911 the Rhenish Westphalian _Zeitung_ advised that French
Lorraine and Luxemburg should be dominated as thoroughly as Westphalia
was. In 1915 the six greatest associations of business men in Germany
petitioned the Chancellor to consider the control of the coal (and
iron) of northern France as a military as well as economic necessity.

The annual production of coal in Germany before the war was about
one-fifth of the world’s total output, closely approaching the
production of Great Britain. In the first years of the war the coal
output declined somewhat. In coal exports, Germany has been second only
to the British Isles, but no country exports by sea one-sixth as much
as Great Britain. Before the war Germany had established some fourteen
“Kohlen depots” abroad and had a large amount of shipping. These
bunkering ports were taken by the Allies.

An example of German industrial penetration is furnished by the case
of Kiau Chau, China. In 1899 the Shantung Eisenbahn Gesellschaft was
formed in Berlin with headquarters at Tsingtao. It acquired exclusive
rights for 5 years to search for minerals in a zone 10 miles each
side of the railway and to acquire claims. Chinese mines were not to
be allowed to adopt modern methods and compete, unless they bought
German material and employed German men. The mines that were developed
produced good steamship coal and good enough coke, so that a blast
furnace was planned. The Germans lost their control when war broke out,
and these rights have passed, under the terms of the peace treaty, to
Japan. German capital that had been invested some years ago in the
Chung Hsing Coal Co. was bought out in 1908.

=France.=--Before the war France was fifth in the list of world’s coal
producers, but for many years needed more coal than she produced.
Possibly enough coal could have been mined in France by greater
developments, but to import it was cheaper. French capital was invested
in some foreign coal deposits. A company of French control owned the
Stonehall colliery, near Dover. Before the war a French company was
one of the largest operators in Turkey and was steadily acquiring new
mines. A French company owned an important colliery in the Dombrova
field, now part of Poland.

France has maintained government coaling stations for shipping in
Indo-China, Tahiti, Society Islands, Martinique, and Madagascar; but
no attempt is made to supply them wholly with French coal, or to be
independent of other coaling stations.

=Italy.=--Italy has a poor supply of low-grade coal, and the normal
production is insignificant. Imports have been large, those from Great
Britain amounting in 1914 to 10,000,000 tons.

=Russia.=--Russia has several important coal fields. The production
was 31,000,000 tons in 1915 and 23,000,000 in 1916, so that Russia,
including the province of Ukraine, has ranked fifth or sixth among the
world’s producers. If the demand for coal develops under the stimulus
of industrial stability, the output will all be consumed in Russia.
About two-thirds of the production has been raised in the Donetz basin.
Half of this is coking coal.

=Japan.=--Japan has on the main island, Hondo, enough coal to permit
considerable exports. Supplies in Korea and Formosa are less abundant.
In all Japan’s coal there is very little of good coking quality.

When the war reduced the amount of British shipping in the North
Pacific, Japanese ships supplied Japanese coal to a number of new
coaling stations, and the British may find it difficult to regain their
former prominence in bunkering there. Japanese coal now gets as far
west also as Colombo, Ceylon.

Japanese law specifies Japanese control of the policy of mining
companies, though some foreign financial interests are allowed. Japan
controls a part of the coal produced in China, and by presenting
insistent demands is increasing her control in that country. If given a
free hand, Japan is in a position to exercise industrial and military
control in Asia almost as thoroughly as the United States can in
America. English and Belgian interests have some Chinese coal, and thus
are about the only real competition at present with Japanese control.

=China.=--Outside the United States, China has the largest coal
reserves of any country in the world. The coal varies in quality and
grade; some of it is excellent, but the production has reached only
about 18,000,000 tons a year. Some districts export and others import
coal. The country could easily be independent if there were internal
means of distribution. There might even be large exports if production
began in advance of other industrial development. Coking coal is
available only in certain areas, mostly in the south.

The largest and best-equipped producer is the Kailan Mining
Administration, operating British and Chinese properties. The ownership
of the company is mostly in Belgian hands, but the incorporation is
under Hong Kong law, so that the company is under British control.

The chief producers in China are:

TABLE 6.--CHIEF PRODUCERS OF COAL IN CHINA

The Mining Company of Shantung, producing 400,000 tons a year, formerly
owned by the Germans, is now run by the Japanese military organization.
Thus only one of the large producers is under Chinese control, though
many smaller mines are worked by Chinese. The Chinese law designed to
prevent foreign control of this sort is not effective. It requires that
the share of a mining industry held by foreigners shall not be over
one-half; but if a foreign company owns half the shares and finances
the Chinese half by a loan, the foreign control may be complete. There
is a further control of mining, through the ownership of railways. All
the larger producers must ship coal by rail, and foreign nations are
allowed to finance railways. The difficulty of a government exercising
adequate political and commercial control when it grants concessions in
this way is evident.

General mining affairs in China are supervised by a Bureau of Mining
Affairs. Any specific enterprise is controlled by a commissioner
of finance in each province. It is questionable, however, whether
governmental control will be strong enough to overbalance commercial
and financial control, and diplomatic pressure from outside. Those
companies incorporated under Hong Kong law can count on British
protection. Japanese demands on China have been very insistent, and
it is said that about a third of the production of the country is now
controlled by Japan.

As a whole, China seems to take a small part in the control of her own
coal. The opportunity for other powers to get financial, and, through
that, industrial favors may be involved in the problem of financing the
central government.

TABLE 7.--PRODUCTION, EXPORTS AND IMPORTS FOR 1913[8]

Millions of metric tons

---------+------------+----------+-------+-------+--------------------
Country |Kind of coal|Production|Exports|Imports|Remarks (1919)
---------+------------+----------+-------+-------+--------------------
United |Anthracite | 85 | 4.1 | ... |Resources greater
States |Bituminous | 432 | 18.0 | 1.4 |than those of any
|Coke | 42 | 1.0 | 0.1 |other country; can
|Bunker coal | ... | (7.7) | ... |easily increase
| | | | |ocean exports with
| | | | |more shipping
| | | | |available. Present
| | | | |exports chiefly to
| | | | |Canada. Value of
| | | | |coal-tar products
| | | | |imported in 1913,
| | | | |$10,962,000.
---------+------------+----------+-------+-------+--------------------
Great |Anthracite | 5 | | ... |Chief coal-exporting
Britain |Bituminous | 282 | 73.4 | ... |country; before war
|Coke | 20.5 | 1.2 | ... |had virtual monopoly
|Briquettes | ... | 2.1 | ... |of ocean exports.
|Bunker coal | |(21.0) | ... |Export control
| | | | |imperiled by
| | | | |shortage from labor
| | | | |conditions.
---------+------------+----------+-------+-------+--------------------
German |Bituminous | 191 | 34.6 | 10.5 |Coal needed for
Empire |Lignite | 87 | ... | 7 |Central Europe.
|Coke | 32 | 6.4 | 0.6 |Exports by rail and
|Coal | | | |canal. Distance from
|Briquettes | 5.8 | 2.3 | 0.3 |seaports prevents
|Lignite | | | |oversea exports.
|Briquettes | 21.4 | 0.9 | 0.1 |Westphalia has
---------+------------+----------+-------+-------+largest coking coal
Saar |Bituminous | 17.0 | | |resources in Europe.
District |Coke | 2.0 | | |Ownership of Saar
(Included| | | | |mines transferred to
under | | | | |France by Treaty of
German | | | | |Peace.
Empire, | | | | |
above) | | | | |
---------+------------+----------+-------+-------+--------------------
Upper |Bituminous | 49.1 | | |Nationality of Upper
Silesia |Lignite | 2.3 | ... | ... |Silesia to be
(Included|Coke | 3.1 | ... | ... |determined by
under | | | | |plebiscite; coal
German | | | | |production vital to
Empire, | | | | |eastern Germany,
above) | | | | |Poland and Austria.
---------+------------+----------+-------+-------+--------------------
Austria- |Bituminous | 17.6 | 0.7 | 13.7 |Austria, already
Hungary |Lignite | 36.4 | 7.0 | ... |deficient in
| | | | |bituminous coal,
| | | | |under the Peace
| | | | |Treaty loses
| | | | |practically all coal
| | | | |fields to Poland and
| | | | |Czecho-Slovakia.
---------+------------+----------+-------+-------+--------------------
Austria |Bituminous | 16.3 | ... | ... |Hungary always
(Included|Lignite | 27.4 | ... | ... |lacked enough
under |Coke | 2.6 | ... | ... |bituminous coal, and
Austria- | | | | |under any political
Hungary, | | | | |control must
above) | | | | |continue to import
| | | | |coal from Upper
| | | | |Silesia.
---------+------------+----------+-------+-------+--------------------
Hungary |Bituminous | 1.3 | | |
(Included|Lignite | 9.0 | | |
under |Coke | 0.2 | | |
Austria- | | | | |
Hungary, | | | | |
above) | | | | |
---------+------------+----------+-------+-------+--------------------
France |Bituminous | 40.0 | 1.3 | 18.7 |France consumed in
|Lignite | 0.8 | ... | ... |1913 (millions of
|Coke | 4.0 | 0.2 | 3.0 |tons)
|Briquettes | 3.7 | 0.1 | 1.1 |Coal 51.2
| | | | |Coke 6.9
| | | | |Briquettes 4.8
| | | | | ----
| | | | | 62.9
| | | | |
| | | | |Deficit 21 millions
| | | | |tons in 1913.
| | | | |Addition of Saar
| | | | |production
| | | | |(17,000,000 tons)
| | | | |will not cancel the
| | | | |deficit, as the
| | | | |needs of the local
| | | | |district and those
| | | | |of former German
| | | | |Lorraine will absorb
| | | | |that or more. Mines
| | | | |wrecked by Germany
| | | | |produced 20,000,000
| | | | |tons; Germany to
| | | | |supply equivalent
| | | | |amount until mines
| | | | |rehabilitated.
| | | | |France must continue
| | | | |indefinitely to
| | | | |import coal and
| | | | |coke.
---------+------------+----------+-------+-------+--------------------
Russia |Bituminous | | | |Russia, with poorly
(Included|chiefly | 32.3 | ... | 8.1 |developed fields and
in above |Bituminous | | | |great future needs,
is the |(Some brown | | | |has imported from
Dombrova |coal) | 7.0 | | |Great Britain and
field of | | | | |Germany; through
Poland) | | | | |loss of the Dombrova
| | | | |field (extension of
| | | | |Upper Silesian
| | | | |basin) needs more
| | | | |coal than can
| | | | |produce and is
| | | | |unlikely ever to be
| | | | |an exporting
| | | | |country.
---------+------------+----------+-------+-------+--------------------
Belgium |Bituminous | 22.8 | 4.9 | 8.9 |Belgium has high-
|Coke | 3.5 | 1.1 | 0.4 |grade steam coals
|Briquettes | 2.6 | 0.6 | 1.1 |and some coking
| | | | |coal; beds are deep
| | | | |and difficult to
| | | | |mine. Its exports to
| | | | |Holland and France
| | | | |probably will in
| | | | |future continue to
| | | | |be exceeded by
| | | | |imports from
| | | | |Westphalia and Great
| | | | |Britain.
---------+------------+----------+-------+-------+--------------------

[8] Compiled by George S. Rice.

TABLE 8.--COUNTRIES IN EUROPE LARGELY DEPENDENT ON IMPORTS OF FUEL.
PRODUCTION AND IMPORTS, 1913[9]

Millions of metric tons

[9] Compiled by George S. Rice.

=Conclusions.=--As regards political control, three great national
or race factors loom in the future of the coal industry and in the
development of wealth and power: the European, dominated by England;
the American, by the United States; and the Asiatic, by Japan. The
efforts of England during the war temporarily prostrated her, and
diminished the grip of her export coal and bunkering trade, but
conditions late in 1919 indicated that recovery might be rapid. The
immediate growth in the mining of coal for use at home, with consequent
progress in steel and other industries, however, will be greatest in
the United States, because of our gigantic resources. In the East,
however, are indications of a development of China’s coal and the
growth of attendant industries on a scale which may in time outstrip
those of any country except America, and transfer the bulk of wealth
and power to the two great civilizations, on either side of the
Pacific--the newest, that of America, and the oldest, that of China
and Japan. The war and the settlements after the war proved an unmixed
benefit and opportunity to Japan, and enabled her so to strengthen
herself in China and Korea that she is not only the preponderating
power in the East, but may claim a sphere of influence and a wide
protectorate for Asia, far more effective than the American Monroe
Doctrine.

Having regard to national internal economy and external and internal
effectiveness, the United States will clearly neglect the main function
of government if it fails to exercise an effective supervision and
regulation of the coal industry. This industry is national; every
citizen has an interest in it, and a right to expect its administration
for the highest benefit of all.

TABLE 9.--PRODUCTION AND IMPORTS OF FUEL OF SOUTH AMERICAN COUNTRIES IN
1913[10]

Millions of metric tons

[10] Compiled by George S. Rice.

TABLE 10.--1913 PRODUCTION, EXPORTS, AND IMPORTS OF COAL OF PRINCIPAL
COUNTRIES OF ASIA AND AUSTRALIA[11]

Millions of metric tons

[11] Compiled by George S. Rice.

CHAPTER III

IRON

BY E. C. HARDER AND F. T. EDDINGFIELD

USES OF IRON

The uses of iron ore are so well known that their enumeration is hardly
necessary. From iron ore are manufactured cast iron, wrought iron, and
steel. By the addition of one or more other elements, chiefly silicon,
carbon, chromium, nickel, manganese, vanadium, sulphur, and phosphorus,
in quantities less than 5 per cent. and usually less than 1 per cent.,
various qualities, such as hardness, toughness, elasticity, durability,
brittleness, density, porosity, endurance, resistance to oxidation or
corrosion, malleability, and fusibility, can be controlled and given to
the cast iron or steel in the desired degree.

The uses of the products of iron ore are so common that the finding of
objects which do not contain some of them is difficult. Besides being
used as a metal, iron enters into the manufacture of paints (especially
red, yellow, and blue), chemicals of various kinds, medicines, coloring
matter in glass and pottery, and in the form of specular hematite it is
made into jewelry. Considerable amounts of iron ore are also consumed
annually for flux in the smelting of silver, copper, lead, and other
metalliferous ores.

Iron and its products are more widely used than any other metal; and
the yearly production of pig iron makes up 94 to 96 per cent. of the
total amount of all the metals produced in the world, and in normal
times averages about 80,000,000 tons annually.

GEOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION

Iron ores are associated with many different classes of
rocks--sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic. Where associated with
sedimentary rocks the ores may be the result of direct sedimentation or
may be later replacements of sedimentary beds by magmatic or meteoric
iron-bearing waters. Many iron-ore deposits associated with sedimentary
rocks are formed by the enrichment of original iron-bearing beds,
either by solution and transportation of iron compounds or by the
removal of other associated mineral constituents.

Among those important iron-ore deposits of sedimentary origin that have
undergone little or no further enrichment since deposition, except
perhaps directly at the surface, are the iron ores of the Clinton type
of the eastern United States, the Wabana iron ores of Newfoundland, the
“minette” ores of the Lorraine district in northern France, Luxemburg,
and southern Germany, the oolitic siderite beds of the Cleveland
district in northern England, and the hematite ores of Minas Geraes in
Brazil. The most important of the sedimentary iron ores that are the
result of further enrichment since deposition are those of the Lake
Superior district in the United States.

Iron ores associated with igneous rock are mostly of deep-seated
origin, usually having been formed by solutions that accompanied or
followed the intrusion of the rocks with which the ores are associated.
These ores are of two main classes: (1) Those associated with siliceous
igneous rocks; and (2) those associated with basic igneous rocks.
The ores associated with siliceous igneous rocks consist either of
hematite or, more commonly, magnetite. They occur in granite, syenite,
and monzonite, and in gneiss derived from these by metamorphism. Many
important ore deposits in different countries belong to this class,
among them being the magnetite and hematite deposits of Swedish Lapland
and of central Sweden, the magnetite bodies of the Adirondacks and
northern New Jersey in the eastern United States, various magnetite
and hematite bodies in California and elsewhere in the western United
States, the mixed hematite and magnetite deposits of the south coast
of Cuba, most of the iron-ore bodies of Chile, and the newly developed
iron ores of Manchuria. As a class, the iron ores associated with
siliceous igneous rocks rank next in importance to iron ores of
sedimentary origin.

Iron-ore deposits associated with basic igneous rocks are nearly all of
a distinct type known as titaniferous magnetites. These ores consist
of a mixture of magnetite and ilmenite in varying proportions, and
therefore carry a variable amount of titanium. Many large ore deposits
of this class are found in different parts of the world, among the
larger ones being certain ore bodies in Wyoming, in the Adirondack
region, and elsewhere in the United States, and several deposits in
Norway and in northern and southern Sweden.

An important group of iron-ore deposits has resulted from mineral
replacement along the contact of sedimentary rocks with igneous
intrusives. These ores usually occur in limestones not far from
intrusive masses of granite, monzonite, syenite or diorite, but they
may be found within the igneous rocks themselves, near the contact.
They are rarely associated with the more basic igneous rocks. These
ores are known as igneous contact ores, and their origin is ascribed
to iron-bearing solutions that accompanied or followed the intrusion
of the igneous rocks with which the ores are associated. Such ores
are extremely widespread, occurring in practically every continent.
Locally, extensive deposits exist, as in the Cornwall district of
Pennsylvania, in the western United States and British Columbia, in
Chile, and in China and Japan. Igneous contact ores have furnished
only a relatively small percentage of the world’s total production of
iron ore, however.

There are also widespread replacement deposits in sedimentary rocks
that are not associated with igneous rocks. These are believed to be
formed by ordinary meteoric waters which dissolve disseminated iron
minerals from certain beds or masses of rock, and redeposit the mineral
elsewhere in a more concentrated form. Such ore deposits may be roughly
tabular and resemble bedded deposits, or they may be very irregular.
Most deposits of this type consist of siderite which has replaced
limestone, but hematite and limonite deposits formed by replacement
also exist. Among the important deposits of this group are the siderite
ores of Bilbao, Spain, largely altered to limonite near the surface;
the siderite ore of Eisenerz, Styria; and the hematite deposits near
Hartville, Wyoming. Small deposits of siderite, hematite, and limonite
of this type are found in many parts of the world.

Besides the classes of iron ores already mentioned, widely distributed
iron ores occur as residual products derived from the weathering of
either igneous or sedimentary rocks. These ores have been formed by the
concentration of iron-bearing materials originally disseminated through
the rocks whose weathered products they now constitute. They are mainly
in the form of limonite and occur either as large bodies of relatively
pure ore or as aggregates of irregular masses of various sizes imbedded
in clays. To this class belong the brown iron ores associated with clay
in the Appalachian region of the United States, the limonite ores of
parts of Russia, and similar ores in Korea. In this class should also
be included the extensive limonite deposits derived from the weathering
of serpentine which have recently been developed along the north coast
of Cuba, as well as the lateritic iron-ore deposits found in many
tropical countries. Limonite ores associated with clays have been
smelted since early ages, owing to their accessibility and the ease
with which they could be smelted by crude methods. They have, however,
furnished a decidedly minor percentage of the world’s production of
iron ore.

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION

The iron ore consumed by the world has been obtained principally from
the four great iron-producing countries: United States, Germany, France
and Great Britain.

Other countries that yield important quantities of iron ore are, in
the order of their importance: Spain, Russia, Sweden, Luxemburg,
Austria-Hungary, Cuba, Newfoundland, and Algeria. The normal annual
output in each one of these countries is more than one million tons.
Minor amounts of iron ore are produced in many other countries.

TABLE 11.--IRON-ORE OUTPUT OF PRINCIPAL PRODUCING COUNTRIES, 1910-1917,
IN GROSS TONS[12]

--------------------+--------------+--------------+--------------+
Country | 1910 | 1911 | 1912 |
--------------------+--------------+--------------+--------------+
North America: | | | |
Canada[13] | 231,623| 187,807| 192,753|
Cuba[13] | 1,462,498| 1,163,714| 1,397,797|
Newfoundland[13] | 1,108,762| 1,171,992| 1,251,968|
United States | 57,014,906| 43,876,552| 55,150,147|
South America: | | | |
Chile | ... | 28,150| 6,546|
Venezuela[14] | ... | ... | 12,100|
Europe: | | | |
Austria-Hungary | 4,592,572| 4,779,851| 4,997,311|
Belgium | 121,024| 148,130| 164,734|
France | 14,375,984| 16,376,967| 18,858,668|
Germany |[17]28,257,579|[17]29,408,812|[17]33,180,258|
Greece | 527,040| 493,106| 424,835|
Italy | 542,578| 367,900| 572,900|
Luxemburg | ([18]) | ([18]) | ([18]) |
Norway | 100,834| 217,051| 401,665|
Portugal | 3,307| 19,233| 28,947|
Russia | ([19]) | ([19]) | ([19]) |
Spain | 8,530,310| 8,635,523| [20]8,990,743|
Sweden | 5,465,234| 6,056,868| 6,595,044|
United Kingdom | 15,226,015| 15,519,424| 13,790,391|
Asia: | | | |
China | [21]130,472| [21]109,542| [21]201,561|
Chosen (Korea) | 104,627| 96,902| 121,224|
India | 54,626| 366,212| 580,029|
Japan | 132,921| 144,001| 168,479|
Philippine Islands| 148| 216 | 347|
Africa: | | | |
Algeria | 1,048,228| 1,057,087| 1,171,252|
Morocco | 186,149| ([16]) | ([16]) |
Madagascar | ([23]) | ([23]) | 22|
Natal | 50| | |
Togoland | ([16]) | 394| ([16]) |
Tunis | 327,756| 397,638| 470,866|
Australia: | 157,821| 122,361| 113,989|
--------------------+--------------+--------------+--------------+

--------------------+-----------+-----------+-------------+
Country | 1913 | 1914 | 1915 |
--------------------+-----------+-----------+-------------+
North America: | | | |
Canada[13] | 274,673| 218,620| 355,457|
Cuba[13] | 1,582,431| 821,110| 827,448|
Newfoundland[13] | 1,433,858| 566,000| 775,403|
United States | 61,980,437| 41,439,761| 55,526,490|
South America: | | | |
Chile | 13,878| 62,506| 144,783|
Venezuela[14] | 57,225| 2,400| |
Europe: | | | |
Austria-Hungary | 5,233,055| 3,939,248|[15]1,218,367|
Belgium | 147,048| 81,063| 4,646|
France | 21,572,835| ([16]) | ([16]) |
Germany | 26,771,598| ([16]) | ([16]) |
Greece | 308,640| 294,573| 154,951|
Italy | 593,618| 695,124| 669,262|
Luxemburg | 7,215,514| 4,926,980| 6,040,765|
Norway | 535,869| 641,790| 706,379|
Portugal | 48,392| 6,532 | ([16]) |
Russia | 7,947,191| ([16]) | ([16]) |
Spain | 9,703,177| 6,710,357| 5,527,552|
Sweden | 7,357,845| 6,482,904| 6,774,909|
United Kingdom | 15,997,328| 14,867,582| 14,235,012|
Asia: | | | |
China |[22]416,342|[22]488,258| 537,047|
Chosen (Korea) | 139,370| 179,062| 206,510|
India | 370,845| 441,674| 390,270|
Japan | 168,897| 134,193| 133,933|
Philippine Islands| 546 | 392| ([16]) |
Africa: | | | |
Algeria | 1,327,320| 1,097,101| 805,547|
Morocco | ... | ... | ... |
Madagascar | | | |
Natal | ... | ... | ... |
Togoland | | | |
Tunis | 584,649| 244,528| 281,304|
Australia: | [24]90,712| 177,938| 370,887|
--------------------+-----------+-----------+-------------+

--------------------+----------+-----------
Country | 1916 | 1917
--------------------+----------+-----------
North America: | |
Canada[13] | 245,693| 192,210
Cuba[13] | 712,716| 553,485
Newfoundland[13] | 903,625| 788,820
United States |75,167,672| 75,288,851
South America: | |
Chile | 55,281| 4,921
Venezuela[14] | |
Europe: | |
Austria-Hungary | ([16]) | ([16])
Belgium | 29,951| 16,732
France | ([16]) | ([16])
Germany | ([16]) | ([16])
Greece | 83,647| 62,366
Italy | 927,406| 978,174
Luxemburg | 6,643,689| 4,436,682
Norway | 865,700| ([16])
Portugal | ([16]) | ([16])
Russia | ([16]) | ([16])
Spain | 5,762,733| 5,461,857
Sweden | 6,876,278| 6,119,263
United Kingdom |13,494,658| 14,845,734
Asia: | |
China | 274,078| 299,465
Chosen (Korea) | 241,412| ([16])
India | 411,758| 413,273
Japan | 156,263| ([16])
Philippine Islands| ([16]) | ([16])
Africa: | |
Algeria | 923,598| 1,048,722
Morocco | ... | ...
Madagascar | |
Natal | ... | ...
Togoland | |
Tunis | 361,593| 596,261
Australia: | 390,108|[25]328,310
--------------------+----------+-----------

[12] BURCHARD, E. F., “Iron Ore, Pig Iron and Steel”: U. S. Geol.
Survey “Mineral Resources,” 1915 and 1917, with additions and
revisions. (The above figures are, so far as possible, based on
official reports and, where these are lacking, on the technical
press.)

[13] Shipments.

[14] Exports to United States.

[15] For Hungary only.

[16] Statistics not available.

[17] Includes Luxemburg.

[18] Included in Germany.

[19] Russia produced 2,936,024 long tons of pig iron in 1910;
3,536,417 long tons in 1911, and 4,131,890 long tons in 1912.

[20] Includes 1,563 long tons of argentiferous iron ore.

[21] Exports.

[22] From Tayeh deposits only.

[23] Madagascar produced about 8 long tons of iron in 1910 and 1.5
long tons in 1911.

[24] For South Australia and Queensland.

[25] For South Australia only.

TABLE 12.--PIG IRON MANUFACTURED IN PRINCIPAL COUNTRIES IN 1850, 1890,
1900, AND 1910 TO 1916, IN GROSS TONS[26]

-------------------+---------+----------+----------+----------+
Country | 1850 | 1890 | 1900 | 1910 |
-------------------+---------+----------+----------+----------+
United States | 563,755| 9,202,703|13,789,242|27,303,567|
Germany | 350,000| 4,584,882| 8,381,373|14,559,509|
Great Britain |2,300,000| 7,904,214| 8,959,691|10,217,022|
France | 405,653| 1,931,188| 2,669,966| 3,974,478|
Russia | 227,555| 912,561| 2,889,789| 2,992,058|
Austria-Hungary | 250,000| 910,685| 1,472,695| 2,153,788|
Belgium | 144,452| 775,385| 1,001,872| 1,822,821|
Canada | ... | 19,439| 86,090| 740,210|
Sweden | 150,000| 483,155| 518,263| 594,385|
Spain | ... | 176,598| 289,315| 367,423|
Italy | ... | 14,094| 23,569| 347,657|
Japan | ... | ... | ... | 186,794|
Other countries[27]| 10,000| 80,000| 100,000| 200,000|
+---------+----------+----------+----------+
Total |4,401,415|26,994,904|40,181,865|65,459,712|
-------------------+---------+----------+----------+----------+

-------------------+----------+----------+----------+----------+
Country | 1911 | 1912 | 1913 | 1914[27] |
-------------------+----------+----------+----------+----------+
United States |23,649,547|29,726,937|30,966,152|23,332,244|
Germany |15,404,648|17,586,521|19,004,022|14,162,147|
Great Britain | 9,718,638| 8,889,124|10,481,917| 9,005,898|
France | 4,309,498| 4,870,913| 5,227,378| 3,500,000|
Russia | 3,531,807| 4,133,000| 4,474,757| 4,190,000|
Austria-Hungary | 2,056,839| 2,276,141| 2,335,170| 1,500,000|
Belgium | 2,072,836| 2,307,853| 2,318,767| 1,500,000|
Canada | 824,368| 912,878| 1,015,118| 705,972|
Sweden | 624,367| 688,757| 728,103| 629,608|
Spain | 402,209| 396,872| 418,061| 400,000|
Italy | 298,144| 373,960| 420,011| 379,028|
Japan | 200,000| 200,709| 236,491| 295,428|
Other countries[27]| 250,000| 350,000| 250,000| 200,000|
+----------+----------+----------+----------+
Total |63,342,901|72,713,565|77,876,347|59,800,325|
-------------------+----------+----------+----------+----------+

-------------------+----------+----------
Country | 1915[27] | 1916[28]
-------------------+----------+----------
United States |29,916,213|39,434,797
Germany |11,603,874|13,000,000
Great Britain | 8,793,659| 9,047,983
France | 4,000,000| 5,000,000
Russia | 3,638,000| 4,300,000
Austria-Hungary | 1,929,000| 2,000,000
Belgium | 500,000| 1,000,000
Canada | 825,420| 1,069,541
Sweden | 755,000| 750,000
Spain | 421,000| 440,000
Italy | 389,000| 454,923
Japan | 312,957| 379,574
Other countries[27]| 200,000| 500,000
+----------+----------
Total |63,284,123|77,000,000
-------------------+----------+----------

[26] “Metal Statistics,” 1914 to 1918, with some additions and
changes.

[27] Partly estimated.

[28] Largely estimated.

More than two-fifths of the total annual output of iron ore in the
world has come from the United States, and of the American production
more than 80 per cent. is generally produced in the Lake Superior
district. This district is, therefore, by far the most important
iron-ore district in the world, producing annually more than 30 per
cent. of the world’s total of iron ore.

Germany and France have been next in importance to the United States
as iron ore-producing countries, about 80 per cent. of the ore mined
in these two countries being obtained from the Lorraine iron fields
situated on the border. The annual output of these fields, which
includes also the ores of Luxemburg, has been about 25 per cent. of
the world’s production. The Lorraine district and the Lake Superior
district together, therefore, produce somewhat more than one-half of
the total iron ore annually mined in the world.

The iron ore produced in Great Britain is obtained mainly from the
Cleveland district of northern England, this district furnishing about
40 per cent. of the British total, equivalent to about 2.6 per cent. of
the world’s annual production. In comparison, the Birmingham district
of Alabama and the Krivoi-Rog district of southern Russia, which are
next in importance to the Lorraine and Lake Superior districts, furnish
about 3.5 per cent. and 3.2 per cent., respectively, of the world’s
annual production.

TABLE 13.--PRODUCTION AND MOVEMENT OF IRON ORE AND PRODUCTION OF PIG
IRON, 1913[29]

Gross Tons

--------------+----------+----------+----------+-----------+----------
|Production| | | Apparent |Production
| of | Iron ore | Iron ore |consumption| of
| iron ore | imports | exports | (in part | pig iron
| | | | stocks) |
--------------+----------+----------+----------+-----------+----------
United Kingdom|15,997,328| 8,028,532| 21,223| 24,004,637|10,260,315
Canada | 307,634| 2,110,828| 126,124| 2,292,338| 1,015,118
Belgium | 149,450| 4,400,000| ...| 4,549,450| 2,484,690
France |19,160,407| 1,410,424|10,066,627| 10,504,264| 5,311,316
Italy | 603,116| 7,666| 20,000| 590,772| 426,755
Russia | 8,077,000| ...| 565,000| 7,512,000| 4,557,000
Austria | 3,039,324| 942,312| 106,071| 3,875,565| 1,757,864
Hungary | 2,059,000| ...| 700,000| 1,359,000| 623,000
Germany | | | | |
(including | | | | |
Luxemburg) |35,941,285|14,019,045| 2,613,158| 47,347,172|19,291,920
Spain | 9,861,668| ...| 8,907,202| 954,466| 424,774
Sweden | 7,475,571| ...| 6,440,000| 1,035,571| 730,257
United States |61,980,437| 2,594,770| ...| 64,575,207|30,966,152
Algeria | 1,349,000| ...| 1,350,000| |
Chile | 70,000| ...| 65,000| |
Cuba | 1,500,000| ...| 1,582,431| |
Newfoundland | 1,605,900| ...| 1,605,920| |
--------------+----------+----------+----------+-----------+----------

[29] Advisory Council, Dept. of Sci. and Indust. Research: “Report on
the sources and production of iron and other metalliferous ores used
in the iron and steel industry,” London, 1918, p. 12.

Table 11 shows the world’s production of iron ore from 1910 to 1917.

Table 12 shows the production of pig iron in 1850, 1890, 1900, and 1910
to 1916.

Table 13 shows the production and movement of iron ore and the
production of pig iron for the year 1913.

POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL CONTROL

=United States.=--The principal iron ores of the United States are the
extensive pre-Cambrian hematite deposits of the Lake Superior region;
the bedded fossiliferous ores of the Clinton type of Alabama and
other southern states; the magnetite deposits of New York, northern
New Jersey, and southeastern Pennsylvania; the limonite ores of the
eastern and southern states; and the mixed hematite and magnetite
ores of the West. The United States is the largest producer of iron
ore in the world, and annually yields more than two-fifths of the
world’s supply. More than 80 per cent. of the output comes from the
Lake Superior district and most of the remainder from Alabama, New
York, and Pennsylvania. In 1917 there were mined in the United States
75,000,000 tons of iron ore, of which 63,000,000 came from the Lake
Superior region, 7,000,000 from Alabama, 1,000,000 from New York, and
about 500,000 each from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Tennessee, Virginia,
and Wyoming; in 1918 the total production was 69,000,000 tons, of
which 60,000,000 came from the Lake Superior district, 6,000,000 from
Alabama, 900,000 from New York, 500,000 from Pennsylvania, and 400,000
each from Tennessee, Virginia, New Jersey and Wyoming.

The following table shows the approximate reserves of iron ore in the
principal districts of the United States:

TABLE 14.--IRON-ORE RESERVES OF THE UNITED STATES IN GROSS TONS[30]

Millions
of tons.
Lake Superior District (hematite) 3,500
Birmingham District (fossil hematite) 355
Tennessee and Virginia (fossil hematite) 100
Adirondack District (non-titaniferous magnetite) 40
Adirondack District (titaniferous magnetite) 90
Northern New Jersey and Southeastern New York (magnetite) 15
Southeastern Pennsylvania (magnetite) 40
Appalachian region (magnetite) 50
Northeastern Texas (limonite) 260
Western United States (magnetite and hematite) 100
Other Districts 150
-----
Total 4,700

[30] Kemp, J. F.: “The Iron-Ore Resources of the World,” Stockholm,
1910 (with minor revisions).

The greatest single iron and steel industry in the United States
is that of the United States Steel Corporation, which controls the
following iron- and steel-producing companies: Carnegie Steel Co.,
Illinois Steel Co., Indiana Steel Co., American Steel & Wire Co.,
American Sheet & Tinplate Co., National Tube Co., The National Tube Co.
of Ohio, Minnesota Steel Co., The Lorain Steel Co., Tennessee Coal,
Iron & Railroad Co., and the Shelby Steel Tube Co., with a total of
124 blast furnaces, having an annual capacity of about 18,000,000 tons
of pig iron. Most of the blast furnaces are in Pennsylvania, Ohio,
Illinois, and Alabama.

With the United States Steel Corporation is connected the Oliver Iron
Mining Co., which produces about 43 per cent. of the iron ore mined
annually in the Lake Superior district, this being equivalent to nearly
37 per cent. of all the iron ore mined annually in the United States.
The Tennessee Coal, Iron & Railroad Co. is the chief producer of iron
ore in Alabama.

Next in importance to the United States Steel Corporation as a producer
of iron and steel is the Bethlehem Steel Corporation, with its
subsidiaries, the Bethlehem Steel Co., Pennsylvania Steel Co., Maryland
Steel Co., Jurugua Iron Co., Spanish-American Iron Co., and Bethlehem
Iron Mines Co.

The works of the Bethlehem Steel Corporation have a total pig
iron-producing capacity of 3,060,000 tons annually from 23 blast
furnaces. Seven of the furnaces are in South Bethlehem, Pa., seven in
Steelton, Pa., four in Lebanon, Pa., three in Cornwall, Pa., and four
in Sparrow’s Point, Md. The Bethlehem Steel Corporation owns large
iron-ore deposits in Cuba and Chile. Most of the ore consumed in its
furnaces at present comes from Cuba, from the Lake Superior district,
and from Cornwall, Pa.

Third in importance of the iron- and steel-producing companies of the
United States is the recently organized Midvale Steel & Ordnance Co.,
controlling Worth Brothers, Midvale Steel Co., Remington Arms Co.,
Cambria Steel Co., and others. The combined pig iron-producing capacity
of the 14 blast furnaces controlled by the Midvale Steel & Ordnance
Co. is 2,420,000 tons of pig iron. Three of the blast furnaces are at
Coatesville, Pa., and eleven are at Johnstown, Pa. This company owns
important iron-ore deposits in Cuba and in the Lake Superior district.

Four other large companies produce more than a million tons of pig iron
annually, these being the Republic Iron & Steel Co., with an estimated
total capacity from its 11 blast furnaces in Ohio and Alabama of
1,430,000 tons of pig iron, and of 2,500,000 tons of ore from its mines
in the Lake Superior district and in Alabama; the Lackawanna Steel
Co., with an annual capacity in 1918 from its nine blast furnaces at
Lackawanna, N. Y., of 1,440,000 tons of pig iron; the Jones & Laughlin
Co., of Pittsburgh, with a capacity of 1,920,000 tons from 11 blast
furnaces; and the McKinney Steel Co., with eight furnaces in Ohio, New
York, and Pennsylvania, and an annual capacity of 1,205,000 tons of pig
iron. The last three companies named have extensive iron mines in the
Lake Superior district.

Important iron and steel companies producing somewhat less than a
million tons of pig iron annually are: the Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co.,
with an annual capacity of 990,000 tons of pig iron from six blast
furnaces, all of which are at Youngstown, Ohio; the recently organized
Steel & Tube Co. of America, having six blast furnaces in and near
Chicago, with an annual pig-iron capacity of 900,000 tons; the Colorado
Fuel & Iron Co., an important western iron and steel producer, which
has six blast furnaces near Pueblo, Colo., with an annual capacity
of 625,000 tons of pig iron, and has iron-ore mines in New Mexico,
Wyoming, and Colorado; and the Schloss-Sheffield Steel & Iron Co. of
Alabama, with seven blast furnaces and a pig-iron capacity of 530,000
tons. Many other plants with smaller capacity are scattered through
eastern and central United States. So far as is known, practically the
entire iron and steel business of the United States is in the hands of
American capital.

=Germany.=--The “minette” ore of the German Lorraine district before
the war constituted by far the largest iron-ore reserve of Germany and
is the chief source of present supply. Next in importance of the German
ore reserves are the brown hematites occurring north of the Harz, and
third and fourth in importance, respectively, are the deposits of the
Lahn and Dill districts in the Rhineland, and those of Siegerland. All
of these districts are in western and southwestern Germany and all of
them, except Lorraine, are in the region lying east of the Rhine in
Hanover, Westphalia, Hesse-Nassau, and Rhenish Prussia.

The Lorraine district is on the French border and forms a part of the
large ore field of Luxemburg and northern France. The deposits, of
sedimentary origin and Jurassic age, comprise extensive beds of oolitic
limonite varying in thickness up to 20 feet, interlayered with marl and
limestone. Seven principal beds of ore are found within a thickness of
sediments ranging from 75 to 150 feet, the most important being known
as the Grey seam. The tonnage[31] of “minette” ore available in the
German Lorraine district is estimated at 1,830 million[32] as compared
with 300 million in Luxemburg and 2,975 million[33] in northern France.
The “minette” ores average 30 to 40 per cent. in metallic iron content
and 0.3 to 0.7 per cent. or more in phosphorus.

[31] The ore reserves in this chapter are given in metric tons unless
otherwise stated.

[32] EINECKE, G., and KOHLER, W.: “Iron-Ore Resources of the World,”
Stockholm, 1910.

[33] NICOU, L., idem.

The deposits of the Salzgitter and Ilsede districts north of the Harz
Mountains are beds of brown ironstone conglomerate with an average
thickness of 20 to 30 feet, consisting of limonite pebbles in a clayey
or calcareous cement. These deposits cover many square miles, the
reserves being estimated at 248 million tons. The ores contain 30 to 40
per cent. of iron and average 0.7 to 0.8 per cent. in phosphorus.

The ores of the Lahn and Dill region are mainly red hematites, that
lie in an extensive sedimentary bed. They contain about 48 per cent.
of iron, 0.2 to 0.3 per cent. phosphorus, and are high in silica. The
reserves are estimated at about 135 million tons.

In Siegerland the iron ores are mainly carbonate, carrying 38 to 40 per
cent. metallic iron and 6 to 9 per cent. manganese. They form irregular
deposits abundantly scattered through the region, the available
reserves being estimated at about 100 million tons.

The total iron-ore reserves of Germany (not including those of
Luxemburg) actually available have been estimated at 2,540 million
tons, and the probable further reserves at 1,067 million tons. Of
these amounts, however, Lorraine has by far the largest part, so that
the transfer of this province to France reduces Germany’s available
reserves to 28 per cent. of the pre-war figure, and her further
probable reserves to one-half, altogether reducing her iron-ore
resources to one-third of the former amount.

As far as is known, the German iron and steel business is in the hands
of German capitalists, who, besides, have important iron-ore holdings
in France, Spain, Sweden, and elsewhere. Among the important iron-ore
and pig-iron producing firms in Germany are Gutehoffnungshütte, de
Wendel & Co., Krupp, Gebrüder Stumm, Aschener Hütten Aktien Verein,
Rombacher Hüttenwerke, Thyssen & Cie., and others. All of these firms
had large ore reserves in the Lorraine district when the war began.

=France.=--The iron ores of France are divided into three distinct
groups: the “minette” ores of the Briey, Longwy, Crusnes, and Nancy
districts; the Silurian ores in Normandy; and the vein deposits of the
eastern Pyrenees.

The “minette” ores of northern France form part of the great basin of
“minette” ores of France, Luxemburg, and Germany already mentioned.
In 1913 they furnished about 91 per cent. of the total production of
France. The iron ores of Normandy and Brittany are of sedimentary
origin and are composed of hematite or carbonate or a mixture of both.
The carbonate becomes more abundant with depth. The iron-ore deposits
of the eastern Pyrenees consist of both hematite and siderite and are
of high grade, constituting the only considerable source of Bessemer
ore in France. The iron content of the ores of Normandy and Brittany
ranges from 30 per cent. to 50 per cent.; that of the Pyrenees ores
from 51 per cent. to 57 per cent. The latter range includes calcined
siderite.

The production of iron ore from French Lorraine was about 19,500,000
tons in 1913; that of Normandy and Brittany about 1,500,000 tons, and
that of the eastern Pyrenees about 500,000, making a total production
of more than 21,000,000 tons for France.

The following table shows the relative output of iron ore from the
different iron fields of France and Germany during the last three
normal years before the war:

TABLE 15.--PRODUCTION OF IRON ORE IN FRANCE AND GERMANY, 1911 TO 1913

Metric tons

---------------------------------+----------+----------+----------
District | 1911 | 1912 | 1913
---------------------------------+----------+----------+----------
German Lorraine |17,734,576|20,050,245|21,135,554
Luxemburg | 6,059,797| 6,553,930| 7,331,050
French Lorraine, including Briey,| | |
Longwy and Nancy |14,878,000|17,235,125|19,499,166
Germany, outside of Lorraine | 6,968,000| 7,167,000| 7,472,000
France, outside of Lorraine | 1,584,000| 1,925,000| 1,686,000
---------------------------------+----------+----------+----------

The available reserves in the different districts of the French
“minette” ore field are estimated as follows:[34]

TABLE 16.--ORE RESERVES IN FRENCH “MINETTE” FIELD

Million tons
Briey 2,000
Crusnes 500
Longwy 275
Nancy 200
-----
Total 2,975

[34] NICOU, L.: “Iron Resources of the World,” Stockholm, 1910.

The list of operating companies in France shows a considerable number
of German companies among the predominating French. German or probably
German companies produced in 1913 six and a half million tons of iron
ore, or one-third of the whole production. In the Normandy and Brittany
region two German companies made 11 per cent. of the whole production;
and in the eastern Pyrenees one German company produced 20 per cent.
Altogether, German capital controlled over one-third of the iron and
steel industry of France in 1913. The rest seems to have been in the
hands of French capital.

The most important iron-producing firms in the Lorraine field in recent
years have been those of de Wendel & Co., Gutehoffnungshütte, Société
des Hauts Fourneaux et Fonderies de Pont-a-Moussons, Société des Forges
et Acieries de la Marine et d’Homecourt, Société Anonyme des Acieries
de Longwy, Société des Acieries de Micheville, and Société des Mines
d’Ammermont Dommery. The first two firms are chiefly German and have
controlled lands not only in German Lorraine, but also in French
Lorraine. Thus, the iron-ore lands of the Lorraine district will, even
after the cessation of the territory to France, be owned largely by
German-controlled firms. Politically, however, France will have control
of the output.

=Great Britain.=--The iron ores mined in Great Britain come chiefly
from the Cleveland Hills in Yorkshire and from Lincolnshire,
Northamptonshire, Cumberland, Staffordshire, Leicestershire, Scotland,
and Lancashire, in order of importance. More than one-third of the
total production is derived from the Cleveland Hills. The ore from the
Cleveland Hills, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Leicestershire, and
Scotland is bedded oolitic siderite of Middle and Lower Jurassic age;
that from Cumberland and Lancashire is hematite, exceptionally low in
phosphorus, found in pockets in Carboniferous and Silurian limestones;
and that in Staffordshire is siderite of the “black band” and “clay
band” varieties found in the Coal Measures.

The following table shows the production of iron ore in the United
Kingdom in 1915:

TABLE 17.--PRODUCTION OF IRON ORE IN THE UNITED KINGDOM IN 1915

Long tons
Cleveland Hills 4,746,293
Lincolnshire 3,149,079
Northamptonshire 2,517,150
Cumberland 1,323,408
Staffordshire 703,231
Leicestershire 685,137
Scotland 375,241
Lancashire 333,086
Other Great Britain and Ireland 402,387
----------
Total 14,235,012

A large part of the iron ore in Great Britain can not now be
worked profitably, and much of the ore that was merchantable a few
years ago could not now be worked, on account of increased cost of
transportation, labor, and particularly of fuel. The actual reserves of
ore of present merchantable grade are estimated at 1,300 million tons;
the total reserves have been estimated by H. Louis at 39,500 million
tons.[35]

[35] LOUIS, H.: “Iron-Ore Resources of the World,” Stockholm, 1910.

In 1915 the United Kingdom produced 14,000,000 tons of iron ore. In the
same year nearly 7,000,000 tons were imported, of which 4,000,000 came
from Spain and between one-half and one million from Algeria and Norway
each, making a total of over 20,000,000 tons smelted in the United
Kingdom. The total production of pig iron was nearly 9,000,000 tons,
of which nearly 7,000,000 tons were produced in England, 1,000,000
tons in Scotland, and nearly 1,000,000 tons in Wales. Ireland produces
no pig iron. The iron and steel industry of Great Britain, so far as
information is available, is in the hands of British subjects.

Eckel[36] reviews the British iron-ore situation as follows:

The position of Great Britain as regards iron-ore resources is
peculiar--perhaps more curious than satisfactory. The matter may be
summarized by saying that England has still several hundred million
tons of high-grade ore which would be salable anywhere; that she has
in addition perhaps double that quantity of low-grade ore, workable
because of its nearness to coal and markets; and that England,
Scotland, and Wales have thousands of millions of tons of ore now
unworkable, but which may be serviceable in the future provided that
at that future date there is still any other good reason for making
steel in Great Britain. This last limitation may not be palatable,
but it is really the crux of the whole question, and it seems to
have been overlooked by the British geologists who have discussed
the subject. People do not make iron out of low-grade ores simply to
use up the ores; and with an increasing coke cost and a narrowing
export market it is a very serious question whether the bulk of these
British carbonates will ever be used. The duration of the British
steel industry will be fixed by its coal supply, and not by its
supply of local ores; for so long as coke and markets justify it, ore
can be imported to good advantage. If other conditions do not justify
the importation of ore, they will certainly not justify the use of
these hypothetical reserve tonnages.

[36] ECKEL, E. C.: “Iron Ores, Their Occurrence, Valuation and
Control,” p. 320, 1914.

=Spain.=--Spain is rich in iron-ore reserves, but the iron and
steel manufacturing industry has had little development. The annual
production of iron ore in Spain during the last years before the war
amounted to about 9,000,000 tons, of which more than 8,000,000 tons
were exported. The consumption of iron ore by Spanish blast furnaces
has been in the neighborhood of 800,000 tons annually.

The principal iron ores of Spain lie in the northwestern part,
in the provinces of Viscaya, Oviedo, Lugo, and Santander; in the
northeastern part, in the provinces of Teruel and Guadalajara; and in
the southeastern part, in the provinces of Granada, Almeria, Murcia,
Sevilla, and Huelva.

The iron ores of the Bilbao district of Viscaya are all of Bessemer
grade, and for many years large amounts have been exported to England
for use in Bessemer plants to supplement ores from the Cleveland and
other districts of England. Because of their excellence, they have
been in continuous demand, and the English iron and steel industry has
depended to a considerable extent upon these and other high-grade ores
of Spain. In more recent years, Germany has also become interested in
the Bilbao iron fields, and in the last years before the war Germany
took more than one-third of the total Spanish production, including
large amounts of ore from southern Spain as well. Spanish interests own
important deposits in southeastern Spain and in the Bilbao district.

Most of the ore of southeastern Spain is of high grade, being rich in
iron and low in phosphorus. Nearly all of it is of Bessemer quality,
and some is very low in phosphorus; the latter is exported extensively
for use in the manufacture of low-phosphorus pig iron. The United
States has been largely dependent in past years upon Spain for this
grade of ore, more than 100,000 tons being imported annually.

Spain has a number of blast furnaces and steel plants, the principal
ones being at Bilbao, in the Province of Viscaya. More than 300,000
tons of pig iron are produced annually in Viscaya, this being
approximately three-fourths of the total output of pig iron in Spain.

=European Russia.=--In European Russia[37] the principal deposits of
iron ore are distributed over four chief districts: Ural Mountains,
central Russia, southern Russia and the Caucasus.

[37] BOGDANOWITSCH, K.: “The Iron Resources of the World,” Stockholm,
1910.

In the Ural Mountains for the greater part the ores are associated with
igneous rocks. The most important deposits are in the neighborhood of
Gora Blagodat, in the northern Ural regions, and near Gora Mongnitnaja,
in the southern Urals. The ores are mainly magnetite and limonite
and come from an extremely large number of small mines. In central
Russia, over widely scattered areas, are deposits of calcareous ores,
clay ironstones, and bog ores. Many of the deposits are thin and can
not be profitably worked. The only reserves in southern Russia of any
importance are divided among three centers: Krivoi-Rog, the Donetz
basin, and the Kertsch peninsula. By far the most important deposits
are the magnetite-hematite ores in the region of Krivoi-Rog. The
ironstones of the Coal Measures in the Donetz basin and the limonite
of the Kertsch peninsula are of secondary importance. The mines of
Krivoi-Rog are extensively worked, and their reserves are estimated at
some 86 million tons of commercial ore. The mines are controlled mainly
by the following three companies: the Briansk company; Krivoi-Rog Iron
Ore Co.; and the Providence company.

The following table shows the production of iron ore in different parts
of Russia in 1912:

TABLE 18.--OUTPUT OF IRON ORE IN RUSSIA

Long tons
Southern Russia 5,679,000
Ural 1,817,000
Central Russia 286,000
Other Russia and Siberia 6,000
---------
Total 7,788,000

The ore reserves of Russia may be summarized by districts as follows:

IRON-ORE RESERVES IN RUSSIA

Millions of tons
Ural 282
Central Russia 789
Southern Russia 536
Caucasus 14
-----
Total 1,621

Eckel[38] reviews the iron-ore situation in Russia as follows:

On their face the ore reserves noted seem satisfactory enough, and
until the data are examined more critically it is difficult to
explain why the relatively large furnishing capacity of the Moscow
and other central Russian districts is so far out of line with the
comparatively small ore production of that area. As a matter of fact,
however, the large total ore reserves credited to central Russia are
in reality less important than they seem, owing both to grade of
ore and thinness of the ore bodies. From an international viewpoint
the ore deposits of southern Russia are the ones which require most
attention; for these are so located as to be of importance to foreign
competitors, while the total reserve tonnage is high, and the grade
of much of the ore is excellent.

[38] ECKEL, E. C.: “Iron Ores, Their Occurrence, Valuation and
Control,” 1914, p. 326.

Actual available ore reserves of merchantable grade in Russia are
estimated at 865 million tons.

Before the Revolution the greater part of the Russian iron and steel
industries was controlled by syndicates.[39] The oldest of these
consisted of manufacturers of medium sheets (1902); then followed
manufacturers of joists and =~U~=-iron (1903), axles and tires (1904),
iron tubes (1906), rails (1907), and bar iron and hoops. These six
syndicates were afterwards combined into one, officially styled the
Association for the Sale of Products of the Metallurgical Works of
Russia, but generally known as “Prodameta,” from its telegraphic
address. There were separate syndicates for wire, wire nails, and
roofing sheets. The “Prodameta” consisted, at last advices, of nineteen
works, of which sixteen are in southern Russia, and one each in
Petrograd, Moscow, and the Ural region. The “Prodameta” expired at the
end of 1915, but was provisionally prolonged for one year, and again
at the end of 1916 it was extended for a similar period. The aggregate
capital of the eighteen works was 198,400,000 roubles, and their net
profit for 1915-16 was 76,200,000 roubles.

[39] Ironmonger Metal Market Year-Book, London, 1918.

=Sweden.=--The iron-ore fields of Sweden are among the most important
in Europe and have for the last ten or fifteen years furnished a large
output, which has gone mainly to England and Germany. A relatively
small amount of iron ore is used in Swedish iron-smelting works. The
iron mines of central Sweden have been actively worked since about the
beginning of the twelfth century, whereas those of Swedish Lapland
have been developed recently. At present about one-half the output of
iron ore in Sweden comes from Swedish Lapland, and the other half from
central Sweden.

Swedish Lapland is estimated to have iron-ore reserves amounting to
1,128 million tons. The ores are mostly magnetite associated with
igneous rocks and show wide difference in phosphorus content. Certain
deposits or parts of deposits are composed of ores that are moderately
low in phosphorus, whereas others are high enough to obtain a special
bonus from German steel plants that produce high-phosphorus slag for
fertilizer purposes. Practically all the ores of Swedish Lapland
are exported. In recent years the total production has amounted to
about 3,500,000 tons annually. The principal mines are worked by
the Trafikaktiebolaget Grängesberg Oxelosund, in which English and
German capital is interested with the Swedish government. The Swedish
government controls the output of the mines and receives a large sum in
royalties on the ore produced. The ore deposits from which ore is being
produced at present are Kiruna, Gellivare, and Tuolluvarra, the first
two being operated by the firm mentioned above and the last being an
independent operation.

The ore reserves of central and southern Sweden are estimated at 140
million tons, included in a great number of relatively small deposits.
Most of the mines of central Sweden are controlled by small Swedish
operators. Some of the mines, however, such as Blotberg, are to a
large extent under German control, and the largest one, Grängesberg,
is operated by the same firm that controls the deposits of Swedish
Lapland. Some of the ores of central Sweden, such as those of
Dannemora, Norberg, Strossa, and Stripa, are very low in phosphorus,
and are used in the manufacture of special low-phosphorus iron; others,
like those of Grängesberg and Blotberg, contain more than 1 per cent.
of phosphorus.

=Austria-Hungary.=--The iron ores of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire
are mainly low-grade hydrous iron silicates that require roasting,
large deposits of iron carbonate, and some limonite. The total probable
ore reserves have been estimated at 940 million tons, of which about
560 million are very low grade.

The principal sources from which the domestic iron ore used in
the past in the Austro-Hungarian Empire has been obtained are the
chamosite-hematite deposits at Nucitz and elsewhere in Bohemia; the
siderite beds at Erzberg, in Styria, estimated to contain more than 200
million tons of ore; the siderite-limonite deposits on the slopes of
the Carpathians; and deposits of various ores in northern and central
Bosnia.

By far the largest of the deposits is that at Erzberg, owned and
operated by the Oesterreichische Alpinen Montan Gesellschaft,
presumably Austrian. The Bohemian deposits, also important, are largely
under the control of the Prager Eisen Industrie Gesellschaft. The
Carpathian deposits are largely controlled by local individuals and
firms, among them Duke Philipp of Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha-Kohar. Thus the
principal deposits have been largely under Austro-Hungarian control.

As a result of the war and the disruption of the Austro-Hungarian
Empire, the Bohemian deposits, estimated to contain 35,100,000 tons
of high-grade ore and 221,800,000 tons of low-grade ore, will come
under the control of Czechoslovakia, whereas the Bosnian ores, with an
estimated reserve of 21,500,000 tons, will go to Jugoslavia. Austria
will retain control of the large Erzberg deposit in Styria, and the
ores of the Carpathian region will continue under Hungarian control.

=Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco.=--The iron ores of Morocco, Algeria,
and Tunisia, in northern Africa, are mainly high-grade hematite. The
reserve tonnage of Algeria and Tunisia is estimated by Nicou at 100
million to 150 million tons, and about 30 million or 40 million tons is
reported in the Spanish territory of Riff, Morocco.

The deposits of Morocco and Algeria are nearly all near the north
coast, and the ores are shipped from various small ports, such as
Melilla, Benisaf, Arzeu, Algiers, Bougie, and Bona. The deposits of
Tunisia are 180 to 200 kilometers southwest of Tunis, the shipping
port, with which they are connected by rail.

The principal mines of El Riff, Morocco, are owned by the Sociedad
Española de Minas de Riff. German interests, the “Netta Company,” held
a large concession, but since the war these interests are controlled by
the Company of Bilbao.

The North African deposits are important as a source of high-grade
low-phosphorus ore for European blast furnaces. All of the ore produced
is exported, the annual shipments amounting to about 1,500,000 tons.

=Cuba.=--There are two principal groups of iron-ore deposits in
Cuba--the magnetite and hematite ore on the south coast, and the brown
ore, or limonite, on the north coast. All are near the eastern end of
the island. The ores of Firmeza and Daiquiri, on the south coast, are
mixed magnetite and hematite, averaging about 58 per cent. iron and
0.03 per cent. phosphorus. They are associated with igneous rocks.
A determination of tonnage is difficult because of the irregularity
of the ore bodies, and estimates of reserves range from 5 million to
9 million tons. The brown ore of the north shore is hydrated brown
hematite, a laterization product of serpentine. The dried ore averages
about 46 per cent. iron, 0.01 per cent. phosphorus, and 1.7 per cent.
chromium. The reserve tonnage, estimated as high as 3,000 million tons,
is mainly contained in the three large deposits of Camaguey, Mayari,
and Moa.

The principal deposits of Cuba are owned and operated by the Bethlehem
Steel Co. Important undeveloped deposits are owned by the Buena
Vista Iron Co. (Midvale Steel & Ordnance Co.), United States Steel
Corporation, Guantanamo Exploration Co., and Eastern Steel Co.

=Newfoundland.=--The principal iron ores of Newfoundland are bedded
oolitic hematites, which average 50 per cent. to 52 per cent. in
metallic iron. The ore reserves of Newfoundland have been estimated as
between 3,250 million and 3,500 million tons, making them among the
largest and by far the most compact iron-ore reserves in the world. The
output of ore has been 1,000,000 to 1,500,000 tons annually, except
during the war, when the production decreased. These deposits are
important on account of both their size and their situation. Ore can
be placed readily in American or European ports at a cost far lower
per unit of iron than any competitive ore, so that the market is
practically unlimited.

The ores have been mainly exported to Sydney, Nova Scotia, and to
Philadelphia, while about 10 per cent. has gone to Holland (Germany).
The phosphorus content is too high for normal economic basic
open-hearth practice if the ores are used alone, but not too high for
foundry use or for the basic Bessemer process developed in Europe.

The Wabana iron-ore deposits are owned and mined by the Dominion Iron
& Steel Co., and the Nova Scotia Steel & Coal Co., two Canadian firms.
Both companies operate steel plants near Sydney, Cape Breton.

=Norway.=--The principal iron ores of Norway are low-grade magnetite
and specular hematite, much of which can profitably be concentrated.
They occur in the northern part, north of the Arctic Circle. Small
deposits of high-grade ores, consisting mainly of magnetite lenses,
occur in southern Norway.

The Sydvaranger deposits, in the extreme north near the border of
Finland, are estimated to contain 100 million tons of low-grade
magnetite. The ore is treated in a large concentrating plant erected by
a Norwegian company but controlled by Swedish and German capital. The
concentrates analyze 70 per cent. iron and 0.02 per cent. phosphorus.
The Dunderland deposits on Rannenfjord, near the Arctic Circle, are
estimated to contain 80 million tons of mixed low-grade specular
hematite and magnetite.

In 1914 Norway produced 652,273 tons of iron ore, of which
seven-eighths came from the Sydvaranger deposit.

=Italy.=--The most important iron mines in Italy are the hematite
mines of the island of Elba, which have furnished between 500,000 and
1,000,000 tons of ore annually in recent years. Ten or twelve large
ore bodies are found in the eastern part of the island, all under
control of the Elba Company, which has obtained a concession giving it
exclusive iron-mining rights on the island. Important but as yet little
developed magnetite deposits are found in the Aosta Valley, Piedmont,
and limonite deposits are found on the island of Sardinia. These have
furnished a very small output. Minor deposits of iron ore occur in
Lombardy, in the Apennines of central Italy, and elsewhere. The total
reserves of iron ore in Italy are estimated at about 25 million tons.

Italy has several important iron-smelting works, among them being the
Elba Company furnaces on the island of Elba, the Piombino furnaces
at Piombino, on the mainland opposite Elba, and the Ilva furnaces
at Bagnoli, near Naples. In addition there are some small plants in
northern Italy.

Italy’s iron-ore deposits and iron manufactures are controlled by
commercial organizations, mainly Italian, but in part English. The
Italian government exercises control over the ore deposits by granting
concessions for comparatively short terms.

Agreements made among the Italian manufacturers for the rational
division of work have led to the formation of a syndicate of the
following firms: Ilva, Elba, Siderurgica di Savona, Metallurgica di
Lestre, Ferriere Italiane, and the Piombino Steel Works. These firms
undertook to maintain the syndicate for eleven years, dating from
July, 1911. The affairs of the organization were directed by the Ilva
Company. “In 1916 the constituent companies renewed their agreement up
to the year 1930, but the Ilva Company ceased to direct the affairs
of the Syndicate, and the relations between the Syndicate and the
German Stahlwerks Verband were abrogated and replaced by Anglo-Italian
relationships.”[40]

[40] Ironmonger Metal Market Year Book, 1918.

A further organization was made called the “Societa Ferro ed Acciaio,”
a combination of steel works.

Italy is important as a producer of iron ore and as a manufacturer
of iron products. She has been able to supply her own needs in iron
ore for many years and at the present rate can continue to do so for
probably twenty years longer. There appears to be no tendency toward
expansion into other fields to control foreign ore deposits.

Italy produced 593,000 tons of iron ore in 1913; 669,000 tons in 1915;
and 927,000 tons in 1916. In 1915, 408,000 tons of pig iron were
produced, and 87,000 tons were imported.

=Greece.=--Chromiferous iron ores are found in eastern Greece and
adjacent islands. They contain 46 to 52 per cent. iron, 2 to 3 per
cent. chromium, and about 0.10 to 1.00 per cent. nickel and cobalt.
The normal annual production of iron ore in Greece has been in the
neighborhood of 400,000 tons.

=Canada.=--Small iron-ore deposits occur in New Brunswick and Nova
Scotia. In Ontario there are two principal iron-ore districts--the
Atikokan and the Michipicotan ranges. The ore in the former is
magnetite, and in the latter hematite and siderite with some limonite.
The ores of western British Columbia are largely magnetite. The
principal deposits are on Texada and Vancouver islands, where the ore
is of excellent grade, averaging 63 per cent. iron, 0.02 per cent.
phosphorus and 4 to 10 per cent. silica. Low-grade magnetite ore is
found at the Moose Mountain mine, Ontario, and is being concentrated.

There are a number of blast furnaces in Canada, among them being those
of the Dominion Iron & Steel Co., Sydney; the Nova Scotia Steel & Coal
Co., Sydney Mines, and the Londonderry Iron & Mining Co., Londonderry,
all of which use ores from Newfoundland and Nova Scotia; the Algoma
Steel Corporation, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario; the Steel Company of
Canada, Hamilton, Ontario; the Canadian Furnace Co., Port Colborne,
Ontario; the Canada Iron Foundries, Midland, Ontario; the Standard
Iron Co., Deseronto and Parry Sound, Ontario; and the Atikokan Iron
Co., Port Arthur, Ontario, which use largely Lake ores of the United
States and Canada. The Moose Mountain Co., of Sellwood, Ontario, has a
magnetic concentrating and briquetting plant using ore from the Moose
Mountain mine. In May, 1920, the British Empire Steel Corporation, the
second largest in the world, was formed by the merger of nine steel,
coal, ship-building and transportation companies.

In 1912 Canada produced 156,000 tons of iron ore, and made 906,000
tons of pig iron.[41] In 1918 she made 1,066,071 tons of pig iron. The
iron mines of Canada are largely of Canadian and partly of American
ownership.

[41] Board of Trade, “Reports on Iron and Steel,” London, 1905-1918.

=China and Manchuria.=--Little information is available on the extent
of the iron-ore deposits of the Chinese Empire. The principal producing
area is that of Tayeh, south of Yangtse River in the Province of
Hupeh, where a series of ore bodies, consisting of mixed hematite
and magnetite, occurs along the contact of limestone and intrusive
syenite. The deposits are estimated to contain about 40 million tons
of ore.[42] The Han-Yeh-Ping Iron & Steel Co., largely controlled in
Japan, owns these deposits and the Han Yang steel plant near Hankow.
Iron ore similar to that of Tayeh is reported to occur farther down the
Yangtse at Tungling, in the Province of Ngan-whei, and also along the
coast near Amoy, Province of Fukien. The deposits near Amoy are said to
contain about 25 million tons.

[42] BAIN, H. F.: “Notes on Iron-Ore Resources of China,” _Trans._
Am. Inst. Min. Eng., 1918.

Of considerable importance are the mixed hematite and magnetite ores
of Chin-ling-chen, near Kiaochow, Shantung Province. A series of ore
bodies, some of them 100 feet in width, are said to occur along a
contact zone two kilometers in length.[43] The deposits were exploited
by Germans and are being developed by Japanese.

[43] KOERT, W.: “Iron-Ore Resources of the World,” Stockholm, 1910.

Sedimentary beds of oolitic ore of some extent are reported in the
provinces of Chih-li and Kiang-si, but they are of low grade.

Bedded siderite ores similar to the Coal Measures ores of England have
been mined for many years in Shan-si Province and smelted in native
furnaces. In Hunan Province, also, this type of ore is mined.

The principal iron ores of Manchuria are magnetites that occur as a
series of deposits in a northwest-southeast belt south and southeast
of Mukden, in southern Manchuria. They are interbedded with schist,
gneiss, and porphyry. In this belt are the An-shan-chang deposits
that are now being developed by Japanese interests affiliated with
the South Manchurian Railway, and the Miaor-kow deposits operated
by a Sino-Japanese company, the Pen-hsi-hu Coal & Iron Co., Ltd. The
southern Manchuria magnetite belt is reported to contain reserves
amounting to about 500 million tons.[44] Much of the ore is of low
grade.

[44] WANG, C. F.: “Coal and Iron Deposits of the Pen-hsi-hu District,
Manchuria,” _Trans._ Am. Inst. Min. Eng., 1918.

=India.=--Iron ores of four types are found in India[45]: (1) lenses of
specular hematite with some magnetite, occurring in quartz-hematite and
quartz-magnetite schist of the Dharwar series and other older rocks;
(2) granules of magnetite and hematite scattered through granite and
schist; (3) clay ironstones in the Coal Measures of Bengal; and (4)
lateritic ores.

[45] DE LA TOUCHE, F. E.: “Iron-Ore Resources of the World,”
Stockholm, 1910.

The hematite-magnetite lenses interlayered with iron-bearing schists
are the most important of the Indian ores, although it is only recently
that they have been exploited. The Tata Iron & Steel Co. owns the
principal deposits of this type, including Mayurbhanj, in Bengal,
where mining is being conducted at present, and the large undeveloped
deposits of the Raipur district, Central Provinces. Important deposits
of this type are also found in southern India.

Magnetite and hematite derived from the disintegration of schist and
granite are now being used by the Bengal Iron & Steel Co., of Barakar.
They consist of surface accumulations of iron sands and are found in
various parts of India. Clay ironstones scattered through shales were
formerly used by the Bengal Iron & Steel Co., but its supply of these
is exhausted. Lateritic iron ores lying at the surface are widespread
but undeveloped.

The principal iron and steel company of India is that of Tata & Sons,
an Indian firm. Its plant, which has been mining since 1912, is at
Sakchi, in Bengal, and comprises three blast furnaces with a total
monthly capacity of 24,000 tons of pig iron. There are also extensive
coke ovens, open-hearth furnaces, and steel mills. Many additions are
being planned. The Bengal Iron & Steel Co., which has been in operation
for thirty years, has three small blast furnaces at Barakar, with a
monthly capacity of 12,000 tons. A steel mill and rolling mill built by
this company have been abandoned.

Several new developments are being planned in the Indian steel
industry, among them being the Indian Iron & Steel Co., an English
firm, which is building a plant near Asanol on the East Indian Railway.

The production of iron ores for 1915 was 390,270 tons, the production
of iron and steel for 1914 was 504,564 tons and for 1915 to 1916 it was
584,775 tons. Total imports of iron and steel, 1914 to 1915, amounted
to 698,635 tons, and 1915 to 1916, to 424,597 tons.

=Japan and Korea.=--The iron ore used in Japanese furnaces is obtained
in part from domestic mines and in part from Korean, Manchurian,
and Chinese mines. The iron ore produced in Japan comes mainly from
the Kamaishi group of deposits in the northern part of the island
of Honshu. These mines yield more than one-half of the total annual
production of iron ore in Japan, the remainder coming mainly from the
Sennin and Kuriki mines, also in the northern part of Honshu; the Abuta
and other bog ore deposits in Hokkaido, and the black sand deposits of
Chugoku, in southern Honshu. The Kamaishi, Sennin, and Kuriki deposits
consist of magnetite and hematite associated with sedimentary rocks
near igneous intrusions. The iron-ore reserves of Japan are estimated
by Inouye[46] at about 60 million tons.

[46] INOUYE, K.: “Iron-Ore Resources of the World,” Stockholm, 1910.

The Korean iron ores used in Japan have come mainly from the surficial
limonite deposits of Hoang-hai-do, about 100 miles northwest of
Seoul, which have been actively mined for 10 years or more. Recently
Japanese-controlled blast furnaces have been established at Ken-ji-pho,
Korea, which use ore from the Ken-ji-pho iron mine, situated in the
same region as the Hoang-hai-do mines. The pig iron produced by this
plant is sent to Japan for use in Japanese steel plants.

Chinese iron ore used in Japan has been obtained from the Tayeh mines
of Hupeh Province. A part of the ore from these mines goes directly to
Japan, and a part goes to the Han-Yang furnaces, near Hankow, to be
manufactured into pig-iron and steel products which also go to Japan.
The Han-Yeh-Ping Iron & Steel Co., which owns both the Tayeh mines and
the Han-Yang furnaces, is a Chinese concern, the capital of which is at
present controlled largely by Japanese banking firms.

Of considerable interest at the present time is the development by
Japanese of the Chin-ling-chen iron-ore deposits on the peninsula of
Kiaochow, Shantung Province. These deposits were being exploited by the
Germans just before the war and have recently been taken over by the
Japanese, who are continuing development.

Two important Japanese-controlled iron and steel manufacturing projects
are at present being developed in Manchuria. The older of these is the
plant of the Pen-hsi-hu Colliery & Mining Co. at Pen-hsi-hu, southeast
of Mukden, where pig iron is being manufactured from ore obtained from
the neighboring Miaor-kou magnetite mines. The pig iron is being sent
to Japan. The other Manchurian enterprise is the An-shan-chang iron and
steel works at Sha-ho-kou, south of Mukden. The ore is derived from
the An-shan-chang iron mines and the pig iron and steel products which
it is later planned to manufacture are to be sent to Japan. It is also
planned to send Manchurian ore to Japan.

On page 77 are shown the production and importation of iron ore into
Japan in recent years:

TABLE 19.--PRODUCTION AND IMPORTATION OF IRON ORE INTO JAPAN, 1914 TO
1916

(Metric tons)

----+----------+---------------+---------------
| | Importation |
| | from |Total including
| +-------+-------+ other
Year|Production| Korea | China | countries
----+----------+-------+-------+---------------
1914| 136,385 |163,747|300,305| 465,754
1915| 136,121 |204,101|311,310| 516,132
1916| 158,815 |192,225|282,149| 474,955
----+----------+-------+-------+---------------

A considerable quantity of pig iron is imported into Japan from British
India, Great Britain, and other countries.

The principal iron-smelting works in Japan are as follows: Imperial
Steel Works, Yawata; Kamaishi Iron Works, Kamaishi; Wanishi Iron Works,
Tanburi; Sennin Iron Works, Waka; Kuriki Iron Works, Kisen. All are
controlled by Japanese, the first being the Japanese government works.

=Poland.=--In Poland the chief deposits of iron ore are the limonite
deposits in the Vistula district, carrying 22 to 50 per cent. iron. The
production in 1912 was 289,000 long tons. The resources are estimated
at 300 million to 800 million tons.

=Belgium.=--Belgium’s production of iron ore in recent years has
amounted to about 150,000 tons annually, of which more than half was
derived from the “minette” ore beds in the southeastern part along the
French border, and the remainder came in part from beds of oolitic
hematite of Devonian age in the Namur and Liege basins and in part
from bog-ore deposits in the northern part. In the past the largest
production has come from the Namur basin, and there are still large
reserves of these oolitic hematite ores. The total iron-ore reserves of
Belgium are estimated to be about 62,500,000 tons.

The iron ore produced in Belgium supplies only a very small part of the
requirements for the Belgian iron and steel industry, most of the ore
being imported from France.

=Portugal.=--The largest deposits of iron ore in Portugal are those of
Moncorvo, in the northeastern part. The ore is a bedded sedimentary
deposit of low grade and the estimated reserve is 45 million tons.
Small deposits of magnetite and brown hematite are found in the
southern part in the Province of Alemtejo. Portugal produced 48,342
tons of iron ore in 1913.

=Turkey and Bulgaria.=--Minor deposits of magnetite and hematite occur
in Bulgaria and former European Turkey, and in western Asia Minor
several important ore bodies are known.[47] The largest of these
deposits occurs in the Berut Hills, 90 miles northwest of the Gulf of
Alexandretta. It is reported to be capable of producing 300,000 tons
annually.

[47] EDWARDS, G. M.: “Notes on Mines in the Ottoman Empire,” _Trans._
Inst. Min. Met., vol. 23, 1913-14.

Other important deposits are found near Ayazmat, on the mainland
opposite the island of Mitylene, and near Tireboli and Trebizond, on
the Black Sea. The only producing mine is near Ayazmat.

=Chile.=--Scattered iron-ore deposits occur in Chile in the coastal
mountain region; the principal deposits extend a distance of about 150
miles parallel to the coast, some of them being north and some south
of Coquimbo. The ore bodies are within 10 to 40 miles of the coast.
Most of them are enclosed as lenses in granitic rocks; a few are in
sedimentary rocks near the contact of igneous rocks.

Furnaces and a steel plant were erected by a French syndicate 10 to 15
years ago in southern Chile. The plant ran only a few months, there
being apparently no market for the product. The iron ore was obtained
from the Tofo deposit, and green wood was used for fuel.

Of the Chilean deposits, the largest, Algarrobo, is owned by a
joint Dutch-German syndicate controlled by Wm. H. Müller & Co., and
Gutehoffnungshütte. Tofo, next in size to Algarrobo, is under lease
to the Bethlehem Steel Co. Most of the other deposits are owned
by Chileans. The tonnage of Chilean ore controlled by different
nationalities is approximately as follows:

Millions of tons
(long tons)
German 50
American 40
Chilean (in part English) 50
---
Total 140

Iron ore was mined at Tofo during 1914, 1915, and 1916, and exported to
the United States. In 1915 about 153,000 tons were shipped. During the
war the mining practically ceased.

=Brazil.=--The iron-ore deposits of Minas Geraes, Brazil, are among
the most important in the world. The ore bodies, which as yet are
practically undeveloped, lie in an area roughly 100 miles square, the
center of which is 225 miles in a direct line north of Rio de Janeiro.
The principal ores are hematite and are associated as beds and lenses
with a laminated ferruginous quartzite known as “itabirite” that covers
many square miles. The interlayered beds and lenses of ore are high
grade, carrying up to 69 or 70 per cent. of metallic iron and averaging
between 0.003 and 0.025 per cent. phosphorus. Nearly all ores of this
type are of Bessemer or low-phosphorus grade. There are also large
areas of recently formed surface ores consisting of mixed hematite and
limonite moderately high in phosphorus; these average 55 to 65 per
cent. in metallic iron.

On account of the distance from the coast and high cost of
transportation, only the high-grade bedded ores are considered at
present as available. The Central Railroad of Brazil runs through the
iron-ore district to the port of Rio, 310 miles from the southern edge
of the district, but unfortunately, on account of heavy grades, it can
not be used for extensive transportation of iron ores. As workable
bodies of coal suitable for iron manufacture are not known to exist
in Brazil, the Minas Geraes deposits have up to the present produced
little ore.

The principal iron-ore deposits of Minas Geraes are owned by the
Itabria Iron Ore Co., the St. John del Rey Gold Mining Co., Ltd., the
Brazilian Iron & Steel Co., and the Compania Metallurgica, the first
two being English, the third American, and the fourth Brazilian.
The Deutsch-Luxemburgisches Bergwerks und Hütten Aktiengesellschaft
(German), the Société Anonyme Franco-Bresiliene (French), Jules
Bernard, Mathiew Goudchaux et Cie (French), the Minas Geraes Iron
Syndicate (American), and others, own local deposits. The following
table shows approximately the tonnage of ore controlled by each
nationality:

TABLE 20.--BRAZILIAN IRON ORE CONTROLLED BY DIFFERENT NATIONALITIES

----------+---------------------
| Millions of tons
| (long tons)
+--------+------------
|Bessemer|Non-Bessemer
----------+--------+------------
English | 145 | 300
American | 160 | 420
French | 21 | 15
German | 40 | 10
Brazilian | 44 | 400
+--------+------------
Total | 410 | 1,145
----------+--------+------------

Iron ores similar to those of Minas Geraes, and magnetite deposits of
minor importance are reported in other parts of Brazil.

=Mexico.=--Mexico has important deposits of iron ore in the States of
Lower California, Coahuila, Durango, Guerrero, Michoacan, and Oaxaca.
The largest iron and steel making plant in Mexico is that of the
Compañia de Aciero y Fierro de Monterey, State of Nuevo Leon, operated
by Spanish capital. This plant produces between 50,000 and 100,000 tons
of pig iron yearly. Ore is obtained from Coahuila, and coke from nearby
coal fields. At Durango is a charcoal furnace, which has been idle for
many years. It is owned by the Durango Iron & Steel Co. (American).
Small iron-making operations exist in Hidalgo, Puebla, Vera Cruz and
Oaxaca. The best known of the Mexican iron-ore deposits is that of
Iron Mountain (Cerro de Mercado), near Durango City, a large body of
magnetite. In Lower California there are important deposits of iron ore
at several localities. They are owned by the International Development
Co., an American firm with headquarters at Los Angeles, California. The
deposits in Guerrero, Michoacan and Oaxaca are reported to be extensive.

=South Africa.=--Various deposits of low-grade iron ore are found in
South Africa. In Transvaal there is siliceous sedimentary hematite
and magnetite in ferruginous schists of different ages, titaniferous
magnetite associated with basic igneous rocks, and local clay-band
ore; and in both Cape Colony and Transvaal there are lateritic surface
ores. A 15-ton blast furnace has been built within the last year or two
near Pretoria by the Pretoria Iron Mines Co., Ltd., for the purpose of
manufacturing pig iron from local ores. This is the first attempt to
establish an iron industry in South Africa.

=Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand.=--In Australia and New Zealand
are some important iron-ore deposits, but only a few are developed.
Most of the iron ore mined in Australia has been used for flux in
copper, lead, zinc, and other smelting plants; a small amount has been
used in the two local iron and steel works--that of the Broken Hill
Proprietary Co., at Newcastle, New South Wales, and that of the Eskbank
Iron Works at Lithgow, about 75 miles west of Sydney, New South Wales.
The former is the more important, having in operation at the present
time two blast furnaces as well as steel furnaces, rail mill, and plate
mill.

Among the important Australian iron-ore deposits are the hematite ores
of Coombing Park, near Carcoar, and of Cadia, near Millthorpe, both in
New South Wales, estimated to contain reserves of 42 million tons of
ore; the hematite deposits of the Murchison district, about 400 miles
northeast of Perth, western Australia, where one single deposit--that
of Wilgi Mia--has been estimated to contain more than 25 million tons;
the Iron Monarch manganiferous iron-ore deposit, estimated to contain
20 million tons of ore, and the neighboring Iron Knob hematite deposit
of one million tons, both about 40 miles from Port Augusta, at the
head of Spencer Bay, South Australia; and the hematite deposits of Mt.
Leviathan, estimated at 10 million tons, located about 250 miles from
Normanton, on the Gulf of Carpentaria, Queensland. Numerous smaller and
less important ore bodies are found in all the provinces.

The Coombing Park ores have been used at the Eskbank Iron Works, 90,200
tons being produced in 1916. The ore averages about 55 per cent.
iron. The Iron Monarch deposit is being developed by the Broken Hills
Proprietary Co., and the ore is to be used in the furnaces at Newcastle.

An important iron-ore deposit, estimated to contain 23 million tons of
minable ore, is reported to occur on Blythe River, in the northwestern
part of Tasmania, about 6¹⁄₂ miles from the coast. There have been
rumors recently of a possible exploitation of this deposit.

In New Zealand large deposits of limonite occur in the Nelson district,
in the northern part of South Island. The principal group of deposits,
known as Parapara, is estimated to contain about 64 million tons.
Titaniferous magnetite sands, measurable in millions of tons, are
reported to occur in the southwestern part of North Island near New
Plymouth.

POSITION OF LEADING COMMERCIAL NATIONS

=General Statement.=--The world’s chief iron- and steel-producing
countries are, in the order of their importance: United States,
Germany, Great Britain, France, Russia, Austria-Hungary, and Belgium.
The annual pig-iron production of these countries ranged in 1913 from
2,300,000 tons in Belgium to 30,900,000 tons in the United States. The
normal consumption of iron ore by these countries in the last years
preceding the war and their recent maximum annual production are given
below:

TABLE 21.--MAXIMUM ANNUAL OUTPUT AND NORMAL CONSUMPTION OF IRON ORE BY
CHIEF IRON- AND STEEL-MAKING COUNTRIES

---------------+-----------+--------------
|Consumption| Production
Countries |(long tons)| (long tons)
---------------+-----------+--------------
United States | 62,000,000| 75,288,851
Germany | 40,600,000|[48]33,987,112
Great Britain | 19,000,000| 15,997,328
France | 12,300,000| 21,572,835
Russia | 8,900,000| 9,362,746
Belgium | 6,800,000| 164,734
Austria-Hungary| 5,200,000| 5,233,055
---------------+-----------+--------------

[48] Includes production of Luxemburg.

The consumption figures represent metallic iron consumed in terms of
iron ore and are obtained on the basis of production and imports of
iron ore, and imports of pig iron and crude iron and steel products.
Exports of iron ore, pig iron, and crude iron and steel products are
not considered as forming part of the countries’ consumption.

A comparison of the consumption and production indicates that the
United States, France, Russia and Austria-Hungary were self-supporting
as far as raw materials for their iron and steel industry were
concerned. Great Britain and Germany are dependent for a small
percentage of their requirements upon foreign countries. Belgium
produces a very small percentage of her consumption of iron ore, being
almost entirely dependent upon foreign sources, mainly France and
Germany, for her iron-ore requirements.

In several countries that produce much iron ore the iron and steel
industry is still in its infancy. The iron ore from these countries is
nearly all exported to the large iron and steel making countries. The
following table shows the recent maximum annual production and normal
annual consumption in some of these:

TABLE 22.--MAXIMUM ANNUAL OUTPUT AND NORMAL CONSUMPTION OF IRON ORE IN
SEVERAL COUNTRIES

------------+-----------+-----------
|Consumption|Production
Countries |(long tons)|(long tons)
------------+-----------+-----------
Spain | 1,000,000 |9,705,963
Sweden | 700,000 |6,878,318
Cuba | ... |1,585,431
Newfoundland| ... |1,433,858
North Africa| ... |1,349,000
------------+-----------+-----------

Thus, considerable quantities of iron ore are available from these
countries for consumption in countries that have to import iron ore and
iron products.

There is shown below the pig-iron and steel production in 1913 of the
world’s principal iron and steel manufacturing countries.

TABLE 23.--PIG-IRON AND STEEL OUTPUT OF THE CHIEF PRODUCING COUNTRIES,
1913

---------------+-----------+-----------
| Pig iron | Steel
Countries |(long tons)|(long tons)
---------------+-----------+-----------
United States | 30,966,152| 31,300,874
Germany | 19,004,022| 18,659,000
Great Britain | 10,481,917| 7,664,000
France | 5,227,378| 4,349,000
Russia | 4,474,757| 4,750,000
Austria-Hungary| 2,335,170| 2,641,000
Belgium | 2,318,767| 2,475,000
Canada | 1,015,118| 1,044,000
Sweden | 728,103| 574,000
Spain | 418,061| 359,000
Italy | 420,011| 897,000
Japan | 236,491| 251,000
---------------+-----------+-----------

=United States.=--The United States has for many years had in the Lake
Superior district the chief iron-ore producing fields in the world.
In recent years the Lake Superior district has furnished more than
two-fifths of the world’s output of iron ore. In 1917, 75,288,851 gross
tons of iron ore, 38,647,397 gross tons of pig iron, and 45,060,607
gross tons of steel were produced in the United States, as compared
with 61,980,437 tons of iron ore, 30,966,152 tons of pig iron, and
31,300,874 tons of steel in 1913. The imports of iron ore in 1917
amounted to 971,663 tons and of crude forms of iron and steel to
306,189 tons, as compared with 2,594,770 tons of iron ore and 250,592
tons of crude iron and steel products imported in 1913. The exports of
iron ore from the United States in 1917 amounted to 1,132,313 tons and
of crude forms of iron and steel to 4,744,527 tons, as compared with
1,042,151 tons of iron ore and 1,278,131 tons of crude forms of iron
and steel exported in 1913.

These figures indicate that in normal times the United States consumes
about 85 per cent. of the domestic output of iron ore, in the
manufacture of finished iron and steel products. Fifteen per cent. is
exported either as iron ore, or as crude iron and steel products which
are manufactured into finished products in other countries. Of the
finished iron and steel products made in this country the United States
itself consumes the larger part. However, large quantities of iron and
steel articles and machinery are exported to other countries as well.

The iron ore exported from this country is mainly Lake ore, which goes
to Canadian furnaces. The iron ore imported is largely Cuban ore,
which is used at the Sparrow’s Point plant of the Bethlehem Steel
Corporation. This plant has facilities for using only ore arriving by
boat and has been running almost entirely on foreign ores. The Cuban
iron mines are largely under the control of this company, and an
increased production is expected from them in the future.

The Bethlehem Steel Corporation has also developed an extensive
iron-ore deposit in Chile, from which some shipments were made during
the first years of the World War. It has been allowed to remain idle
recently on account of lack of shipping facilities. Large shipments are
expected from Chile in the future.

A considerable amount of Swedish ore has been imported in recent years
by the Bethlehem Steel Corporation, to supplement its shipments of
Cuban ore. During the war, however, the Trafikaktiebolaget Grängesberg
Oxelosund decreased its ore shipments and finally refused altogether to
export ore to the United States. These shipments recommenced soon after
the cessation of hostilities in Europe.

Certain high-grade low-phosphorus iron ores which are not present in
the United States in sufficient quantity to supply domestic needs have
been imported in past years from Spain, North Africa, and to a small
extent from Sweden. During the war, when the shortage of shipping
facilities necessitated combing this country for supplies of high-grade
low-phosphorus ores, it was shown that the United States is more or
less dependent upon foreign sources for such ores.

There are a number of mines in the United States, such as the Lyon
Mountain mine in New York, and the Cranberry mine in North Carolina,
which produce limited amounts of high-grade low-phosphorus ore.
Several mines on the Menominee Range, Michigan, produce a very
siliceous low-phosphorus ore that can be used to supplement in part
the high-grade ores. A considerable quantity of low-phosphorus pyrite
residue from sulphuric acid and fertilizer plants is also used for
making low-phosphorus iron. Much of the pyrite yielding this residue is
imported from Spain, some of it is of domestic origin, and some of it
comes from Canada. Altogether, the United States supplies about 60 per
cent. of the material required for the manufacture of its normal output
of low-phosphorus pig iron.

Certain developments in progress make it probable that a greater
percentage of ore used for this purpose can be supplied from domestic
mines. The principal enterprise is one that plans to concentrate the
siliceous magnetite ore of the eastern Mesabi Range. Experiments have
yielded a high-grade product and work on a commercial scale is planned.

The reserves of the ordinary grades of iron ore in the United States
are large, and no shortage of such ore is anticipated for many years.
They are easily capable of taking care of a considerably increased
consumption. The largest reserves are in the Lake Superior district and
in the southeastern states, but large untouched reserves occur in the
western states as well. The iron ores in the Pacific Coast region have
remained undeveloped from the lack of sufficient demand for pig iron
and crude forms of iron and steel on the Pacific Coast. Undoubtedly
this demand will increase in the future, and iron and steel industries
will be established there.

The reserves of ore in the Lake Superior district are large. The grade
of ore mined, however, has been gradually getting lower, and it is
possible that before many years Lake iron ores averaging considerably
below 50 per cent. will have to be utilized. At present the average
grade of the ores mined in the Lake Superior district is about 51 per
cent.

It is clear that there is not likely to be a shortage of the ordinary
grades of iron ore in the United States. Reserves of high-grade ores,
however, are being gradually depleted, and high-grade ores from foreign
countries will find an increasingly ready market. American capital
controls a large reserve of high-grade iron ore in Brazil. Much of the
Brazilian ore averages about 68 per cent. in metallic iron and is very
low in phosphorus, making it an exceedingly desirable raw material
for the manufacture of special iron and for mixing with lower-grade
domestic ores. Doubtless much of the Brazilian ore will go to Europe,
as British and other foreign holdings of this ore are extensive.
However, it is highly desirable that a certain proportion of the ore
should be diverted to American furnaces.

=Germany.=--The annual consumption of iron ore in Germany just before
the war was about 40 million tons, and the maximum annual output at
this time, including more than 7 million tons from Luxemburg, was only
about 34 million long tons. In order to supply German furnaces it was
necessary, therefore, to import more than 6 million tons of iron ore
from foreign countries. More than 58 per cent. of the iron ore mined in
Germany has come from the Lorraine district. The production from German
iron mines outside of the Lorraine district amounted to 6,906,809 tons
in 1913. The production of pig iron during that year was 19,004,022
tons.

The pre-war imports of iron ore into Germany were large, amounting to
nearly 14 million tons in 1913; against these the exports were somewhat
more than 2 million tons.

The iron ore imported from Sweden is mainly high-phosphorus ore from
the mines of Swedish Lapland and central Sweden. This is especially
adapted to the manufacture of pig iron for the Thomas process, much
used in Germany. Most of the ores from the Lorraine district are
slightly too low in phosphorus to be suitable for the Thomas process;
and Swedish high-phosphorus ores, phosphate rock, and phosphatic slags
are in places mixed with Lorraine ore to raise the phosphorus content.

A considerable amount of low-phosphorus iron ore used in the
manufacture of low-phosphorus pig iron is also imported from Sweden,
and a larger amount of this ore is imported from Spain. This material
is used in Germany for the manufacture of pig iron to be used in making
acid open-hearth steel.

Since Germany has lost the Lorraine iron fields, the remaining domestic
iron mines will be able to supply less than 20 per cent. of the
requirements of iron ore for the German furnaces. However, it is likely
that Germany will continue to receive most of her supplies from the
Lorraine fields, in which German holdings at present predominate over
French holdings and will probably continue to predominate.

=Great Britain.=--The United Kingdom has produced from 10 to 14 per
cent. of the iron and steel of the world annually for the past 10
years or more, and apparently has consumed in normal times about
50 per cent. of the product and exported 50 per cent., mainly to
British possessions. During the war about 75 per cent. of the British
production was consumed at home and 25 per cent. was exported, largely
to France. Fifty per cent. of the iron and steel products manufactured
has been obtained from ores mined in Great Britain, and 50 per cent.
from imported ores. Thus, normally, the domestic yield of iron ore
just about equals the domestic demand for iron, whereas during the war
the domestic demand for iron was greater than the domestic supply of
ore. Great Britain depends upon outside sources for one-third of her
iron-ore supply and this constitutes the source of about one-half of
the iron products.

The iron industry in Great Britain before the war was loosely
controlled by merchants who acted as intermediaries between producer
and consumer, an arrangement that did not work to the advantage of
the consumer.[49] British manufacturers had little interest abroad
and were themselves insufficiently organized to operate successfully.
If the sources of foreign iron ore were cut off, the situation might
become critical and exceedingly embarrassing until the domestic mining
industry could be expanded. To meet this condition the British Board
of Trade Committee advised a consolidation of iron interests by the
formation of a syndicate for the purchase and distribution of iron
ores and particularly for the acquiring of interests abroad. This
syndicate would establish sales agencies and arrange for transportation
and trade, similar to the organization of W. H. Müller & Co., of The
Hague. The committee recommended that these operations be backed by the
government and that all the resources of the British Empire be under
the control of the government, especially in regard to the granting of
concessions to aliens and the imposing of restrictions to favor home
producers. It has recently been reported that the iron interests have
organized along the lines indicated.

[49] British Board of Trade, “Reports on Iron and Steel,” London.

=France.=--The annual consumption of iron ore in France for the
manufacture of pig iron and crude iron and steel products amounts to
about 12 million tons under normal conditions. The productive capacity
of the iron mines of France is more than 21 million, leaving a surplus
of 9 million tons of ore annually available for export. More than 90
per cent. of the iron ore produced in France is obtained from the
Lorraine iron mines.

Most of the ore exported from France in the past has gone to German
blast furnaces. Much has gone to Belgium. Imports of iron ore are
small, being mostly high-grade ore from Sweden, in which class of ore
France is deficient. French possessions in North Africa have large
reserves of high-grade ore, but the bulk of the ore mined there has
gone to England and Germany.

As a result of the war, that part of the Lorraine iron fields within
the boundaries of the disputed provinces of Alsace and Lorraine has
been given to France, who thus has control of the entire output of the
great Lorraine iron fields with the exception of the part included in
Luxemburg. The production of the Lorraine iron fields, including the
part that formerly belonged to Germany, has been nearly 48 million tons
annually, of which about 7 million tons is mined in Luxemburg. Outside
of the Lorraine district France produces about 1,500,000 tons of ore.
Thus, unless iron and steel making expand greatly in France, much iron
ore will be mined for export.

=Russia.=--In 1913 Russia ranked sixth in the output of iron ore and
fifth in the output of pig iron, producing about 4¹⁄₂ per cent. of the
world’s production of iron ore and 6 per cent. of the pig iron.

Russia’s iron-ore reserves are estimated at about 1,600 million tons,
a part of which, especially in central Russia, is not economically
minable. The district of southern Russia is important on account
of its large reserves, large output, and its location. This is
particularly true at this time on account of Germany’s need of iron ore
for future use.

The Russian output of iron ore grew from about 2 million tons annually
in 1891-93 to 7 or 8 million tons annually in 1913-1917. Southern
Russia (almost exclusively the Krivoi-Rog district) produced nearly
7 million tons in 1913, but by 1916 the production from this region
had been cut down to half, its difference being made up from other
regions.[50] Between 1913 and 1917, Russia produced about 4 million
tons of pig iron annually, of which 3 million tons came from South
Russia, and most of the remainder from the Ural region.

[50] Advisory Council, Dept. of Sci. and Indust. Research, “Report on
the Sources and Production of Iron and Other Metalliferous Ores Used
in the Iron and Steel Industry,” 1918. Also British Board of Trade,
“Reports on Iron and Steel,” London; and Ironmonger Metal Market Year
Book, 1918.

In 1916 the Central War Industry Committee estimated the monthly
requirements of the whole country at 300,000 tons of pig iron for
war purposes, and at 80,000 tons for the requirements of the civil
population, making a total annual consumption of about 4,500,000 tons,
or only about one-half of the normal consumption. In 1917, the total
production in the country was estimated to amount to only 30 per cent.
of these minimum requirements.

The situation in Russia is so unsettled that a statement of present
conditions in the steel industry is valueless. It is reasonable to
assume, however, that the iron and steel situation will not materially
change as to operations and control. Moreover, it will be safe to
predict that Poland will develop more rapidly as an iron-ore producer
in the future, as she was handicapped in the past by restrictions on
exportation of ore.

=Belgium.=--Belgium has been negligible as a producer of iron ore but
has been a comparatively large importer of iron ore and manufacturer of
pig iron. The country ranked sixth as a producer of pig iron in 1913,
in which year it produced 147,048 tons of ore and imported 4,400,000
tons.[51]

[51] Board of Trade, “Reports on Iron and Steel,” London.

Belgian iron works were greatly damaged by the Germans during the war,
and probably some time will elapse before the industry again reaches
the position it occupied before the war. The country offers a good
market, however, for the iron ores of France and should in future years
be a larger producer of iron and steel wares.

Belgium is practically dependent upon outside sources for ore supply,
but is conveniently situated as a market for ores from many countries.
The total iron-ore reserves of the country have been estimated at
62,500,000 tons, not enough to last 10 years at the present rate of
consumption.

=Austria-Hungary.=--The former Austro-Hungarian Empire yielded in
recent years 2 to 3 per cent. of the annual iron-ore production of the
world, and about 2 per cent. of the pig-iron production; therefore it
has been of minor importance in the iron industry. The ore reserves
have been estimated at 284 million tons of available ore, and 807
million tons additional of probable ore.

The present unsettled conditions will probably result in considerable
change in the operation and control of the iron mines and works.
Eventually the upheaval may stimulate the iron industry, but the result
should not materially alter the international position.

=Japan.=--The iron and steel industry of Japan is of small magnitude
as compared with that of the United States, Germany, Great Britain,
and other leading iron and steel manufacturing countries. The total
reserves of iron ore are probably not much more than 60 million tons,
or less than has been mined annually in the Lake Superior district in
recent years. The steel-making industry is expanding rapidly, however,
and at present blast furnaces, steel-making furnaces, and steel mills
are being erected in Japan, Korea, Manchuria, and China by Japanese
interests.

The output of iron ore in Japan is utterly inadequate to supply this
expanding industry. The production of iron ore in Japan has averaged
about 150,000 tons annually in recent years, whereas the consumption
of crude, semi-crude and manufactured articles of iron and steel
is approximately 1,500,000 tons. In order to supply her needs,
therefore, from her own manufacturing plants, Japan would require in
the neighborhood of 3 million tons of iron ore annually. As compared
with this, Japan’s entire consumption of iron ore, both imported and
domestic, is less than 700,000 tons. The remainder of the iron and
steel required in Japan is being imported in the form of pig iron and
crude and manufactured products.

Japan is making a strong effort to develop iron-ore deposits in
neighboring countries, especially in China, Manchuria, and Korea; and
the production from these sources which goes to Japanese-controlled
furnaces is rapidly increasing. Among the more recent Japanese iron and
steel enterprises in these countries are the blast furnaces and steel
plant now being built at An-schan-chang, south of Mukden, in Manchuria;
the blast furnaces at Pen-hsi-hu, southeast of Mukden, in Manchuria;
and the blast furnaces at Ken-ji-pho, in Korea. The last two of these
plants are now producing pig iron, which is being sent to Japan. In
the future all three plants will probably build steel works. Iron-ore
deposits are being mined in connection with all of them. Besides being
used in the local blast furnaces, iron ore is being sent to Japan from
these mines. In China, the most important iron and steel enterprise
is that at Han-yang, in the Province of Hu-peh. This operation was
started by the Han-Yeh-Ping Iron & Steel Co., as a Chinese enterprise
in connection with the Tayeh mines in the same province. This
company, however, became involved in financial difficulties, and
Japanese capital was called upon in order that work might continue.
Considerable expansion of the plant is at present taking place under
Japanese supervision. Iron ore from the Tayeh mines and pig iron from
the Han-yang plant are sent to Japan for use in Japanese iron and steel
works.

It is doubtful whether, with the rapid expansion of the Japanese
iron and steel industry, mines in China, Manchuria and Korea can be
developed fast enough to supply the raw materials necessary. There are
rumors that several deposits of iron ore in eastern China are now being
developed, including that of Chin-ling-chen, and these may afford some
additional supply. The iron mines of India also may be called upon to
furnish more iron ore to Japan than they have done in the past. The
only other important iron-ore deposits known elsewhere in the Orient
are in the Philippine Islands. These deposits are reported to be fairly
important and they are favorably situated for supplying Japanese
plants. They are controlled by Americans.

The present expansion of the Japanese iron and steel industry is such
that it is a question whether the consumption of iron products in
Japan will be sufficient to take care of the entire output. It seems
very probable that Japan is looking for a large export trade in iron
and steel products. The Japanese may be ambitious not only to displace
European and American goods in the Orient, but may even attempt to
secure a market on the Pacific Coast of the United States and Canada.
It is quite probable that Japanese manufactured articles will be able
to compete in the western United States with articles manufactured in
the eastern states and subject to heavy transportation rates. On the
other hand, there is an active movement to start an iron industry on
the Pacific Coast, and it is hoped that plants established there will
be able to manufacture iron and steel products at a low enough cost to
enable them to compete with Japanese products in the Orient.

CHAPTER IV

MANGANESE

BY D. F. HEWETT

USES OF MANGANESE

Alloys of manganese are essential in the manufacture of steel by the
open-hearth and the Bessemer processes, which produce 99 per cent.
of the total output of the United States. In this country, about 14
pounds of metallic manganese as alloys, equivalent to about 40 pounds
of high-grade ore, is used in making a ton of average steel. Two alloys
are in common use: ferromanganese and spiegeleisen. Ferromanganese,
with 70 to 80 per cent. manganese, is largely used in making
open-hearth steel carrying less than 0.30 per cent. carbon, whereas
spiegeleisen, with 20 to 32 per cent. manganese, is used in making
Bessemer steel carrying more than 0.30 per cent. carbon. The first
group of low-carbon steels is used in making structural shapes, sheets,
bars, wire, etc., and the second group of high-carbon steels is used in
making rails, forgings, etc.

In making 70 to 80 per cent. ferromanganese, so-called “high-grade”
ore with more than 35 per cent. manganese and less than 5 per cent.
iron and 15 per cent. silica is needed. In making 20 to 32 per cent.
spiegeleisen, so-called “low-grade” or ferruginous manganese ore with
10 to 35 per cent. manganese, 20 to 35 per cent. iron, and less than
20 per cent. silica is needed, although here and there spiegeleisen is
made by mixing high-grade manganese ore with iron ore.

Several other alloys such as silico-manganese, ferro-silicon,
and ferro-carbon-titanium may be used as partial substitutes for
ferromanganese, but although they may be capable of wider use under
stress, they are electric-furnace products and under normal conditions
their cost is prohibitive.

Very pure manganese oxide is used in making the common dry battery,
the production of which has greatly increased with the wide use of
the internal-combustion engine. About 25,000 tons is used annually in
the United States for this purpose. The manganese oxide thus used is
not consumed, but becomes exhausted through the loss of oxygen. Under
stress of high prices, the oxide may be regenerated by treatment or by
mixture with new refined material.

Small quantities of manganese ore are used in making many chemical
products and pigments.

CHANGES IN PRACTICE

Any consideration of the need for manganese ore and ferromanganese
and of dependence upon foreign sources of supply should take account
of the degree to which low-grade ore and spiegeleisen may be used as
substitutes for high-grade ore and ferromanganese. Thus, although
both Germany and the United States have only insignificant resources
of high-grade ore, both possess unusually large reserves of low-grade
ore. Under recent conditions in the United States the percentage of
total manganese used as spiegeleisen increased in three years from 10
to about 18 per cent. Competent authorities have estimated that this
substitution may be further increased to nearly 70 per cent. with
slight modifications in practice and modest addition of equipment.
Some competent engineers further contend that by other modifications
of practice a large part of the manganese now needed as alloys may be
eliminated by the addition of low-grade manganese ore during early
stages of the smelting and refining process.

GEOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION

Although concentrated masses such as are useful in the arts are rather
uncommon, manganese is widespread throughout the earth; it forms a part
of about 100 minerals and most of the common rocks, igneous as well as
sedimentary, contain 0.1 to 2 per cent.

Present requirements as to grade are such that manganese ores are
largely oxides. The carbonate, rhodochrosite, contains enough manganese
to permit its use in making 80 per cent. ferromanganese, but only in
a few places are the masses large enough to be the basis of extensive
mining. The common silicate contains 43 per cent. manganese, but the
silica content is so high (23 per cent.) that it can not be used alone
in making the ordinary alloys.

The common oxides of manganese are deposited under many conditions
which are found near the surface of the earth. Large masses of oxides
were deposited in shallow marine waters, in shallow fresh-water basins
and under many other conditions in the relatively thin mantle of
weathered rock that is found over the entire world. Although most of
these large masses were formed in the surface zone where the underlying
unweathered rocks are unusually rich in manganese, some large masses
of oxides accumulate under peculiarly favorable conditions by the
concentration of small quantities of manganese disseminated through the
common rocks.

For purposes of geologic study, deposits of manganese oxides may be
considered in two groups, as follows: (1) those derived from more or
less localized masses of carbonate or silicate materials, generally
with more than 5 per cent. manganese, that seem to have no relation to
the surface of the earth; and (2) those originally deposited near the
surface as localized bodies of oxides.

Under the first group are zones of carbonate or silicate rocks in
contact with intrusive igneous rocks, such as are found in Brazil and
India. These zones contain manganiferous carbonates (mixed with iron,
lime, and magnesia); and silicates (spessartite or manganese garnet and
piedmontite or manganese epidote and possibly rhodonite, or manganese
pyroxene). By the weathering of such rocks, large bodies of high-grade
oxides have been formed.

Manganese also occurs in fissure veins or the adjacent wall rocks in
regions that have been intruded by igneous rocks. The veins commonly
contain rhodochrosite, manganiferous siderite, or rhodonite, associated
with quartz and metallic sulphide minerals, including alabandite, the
sulphide of manganese. Such veins are known in Philipsburg and Butte,
Mont.; Silverton, Colo., and elsewhere. In such regions if the wall
rocks adjacent to fissures are limestone or dolomite, they may be
extensively replaced by manganiferous siderite or other carbonates
which on weathering yield large bodies of manganese oxides, locally
mixed with iron oxides. Such bodies are known at Leadville, Colo.

The manganese existing in sediments, notably clayey, but in part
carbonate, may migrate locally after the sediments are slightly buried
and form zones of manganiferous carbonate and silicate concretions
parallel to the bedding. Where, as in the Batesville district,
Arkansas, these zones are exposed by erosion, the manganese is further
concentrated as masses of oxides in residual clay.

Metamorphic rocks, such as slates and schists, here and there, as in
Spain, Newfoundland, California, and Washington, contain extensive
lenses of rhodonite or other silicate with or without rhodochrosite,
roughly parallel to the bedding. The origin of these lenses, which are
generally rather remote from igneous intrusions, is obscure. Some are
considered to be materials laid down during sedimentation, others are
thought to represent concentrations effected during metamorphism when
the sediments were deeply buried.

In the second group mentioned above (manganese deposits first
concentrated near the surface as oxides) are included extensive
deposits of oxides interbedded with marine sediments, as in the
Caucasus region, Russia. Others interbedded with volcanic material,
tuffs and flows, are known in the Mediterranean region and in Chile. In
India important beds of oxides are interbedded with quartzite and slate.

Many deposits of oxides have recently formed and are probably now
forming in bogs in many regions, notably New Brunswick, Canada. They
are not important as sources of production.

Although no simple relation seems to govern the distribution of
manganese in unweathered rock, there is reason for believing that the
accumulation of manganese oxides in the weathered mantle is favored by
climates that cause unusually complete or deep rock decay. Although
a few manganese oxide deposits are found within the belts of recent
glaciation, and some have no relation to weathering, most of the
important deposits occur in areas now or recently favored with warm,
humid climates, and there is reason for suspecting that such areas will
yield other important deposits.

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION

=North America.=--In the United States, the occurrence of manganese
ore can be most clearly described by grouping the districts according
to grade or ore: (1) high grade, containing 35 per cent. or more of
manganese, which is used ordinarily for making the high-grade alloy,
ferromanganese, and (2) low-grade, ferruginous manganese ore, used
ordinarily for the low-grade ferro-alloy, spiegeleisen. The country is
deficient in natural supplies of the former, but has abundant resources
of the latter, which under the stress of necessity could be largely
substituted for the high-grade ore, which is now mainly imported.

The following districts in the United States yield high-grade ore:

At Philipsburg, Mont., are bodies of manganese carbonate that replace
Cambrian limestone near veins and igneous contacts. These are weathered
to oxides to a depth of about 200 feet below the surface. At Butte,
Mont., veins in granite contain manganese carbonate and silicate,
locally weathered to oxides.

In the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia, and in similar valleys in
Tennessee and Georgia, the residual clays from certain Cambrian
limestones and Silurian shale and sandstone yield bodies of manganese
oxides to depths that range from 200 to 250 feet below the surface.
Many small deposits also occur in Arkansas, Arizona, California,
Nevada, and Utah.

The total production of the United States from 1838 to 1918 was 893,734
tons, and the maximum was 305,869 tons in 1918.

Among the chief districts yielding the lower grade of ore (10 to 35
per cent. manganese) the most conspicuous is the Cuyuna district in
Minnesota, where beds of iron-manganese carbonate of pre-Cambrian age
are weathered to oxides to depths of 250 to 500 feet below the surface
and contain ore bodies carrying 7 to 20 per cent. manganese, and 25 to
50 per cent. iron. The single deposits range from 50,000 to 7,500,000
tons each. Since the first shipments in 1913, the production through
1918 has been 1,666,677 tons of ore carrying more than 5 per cent.
manganese.

Large deposits of low-grade manganese ore also occur in the Leadville
district in Colorado, where irregular bodies of iron-manganese
carbonate have replaced magnesian limestone of Carboniferous age and
are weathered to oxides to depths as great as 850 feet. From 1885 to
1918, the total production was 3,202,678 tons of material, most of
which contained from 15 to 30 per cent. manganese.

Other deposits of ferruginous manganese ore have been exploited in
Eagle County, Colorado; the Pioche district, Nevada; Silver City
district, New Mexico; and in Arkansas, Georgia, and Virginia.

In _Canada_, large deposits of siliceous manganese ores occur in
Newfoundland, and several small deposits in New Brunswick, Alberta, and
British Columbia.

In _Costa Rica_, manganese occurs in four districts near Playa Real,
Nicoya Peninsula, in the form of oxides that seem to be interlayered
with sedimentary rocks. The most productive deposits are owned by
citizens of United States and of Cuba; others are owned entirely by
Cubans. They were first exploited in 1916, and to the end of 1918 had
exported 18,000 tons to United States.

In _Cuba_, manganese is mined near Santiago and Bueycito, in the
province of Oriente. Near Santiago, manganese oxides occur as
lenticular or irregular bodies in tuff, clay, and limestone. Other
deposits are reported in Santa Clara and Pinal del Rio provinces.
The mines that have been the source of more than 90 per cent. of the
exports are owned jointly by citizens of Cuba and of the United States,
and the remaining mines by Cubans.

From 1888 to 1910, 266,621 tons were exported. In 1915, after four
years of idleness, the mines were reopened, and imports into the United
States from 1915 to 1918, inclusive, were 163,189 tons.[52]

[52] Production data, long tons, unless otherwise specified.

In _Mexico_, manganese ores are found four miles north of Chihuahua
City and south of Palomas, in the State of Chihuahua. It is assumed
that the deposits are owned by native Mexicans. Manganese also occurs
near Conception Bay, Lower California, where the mines are owned by
native Mexicans but are under lease to Americans. From both of these
districts, 1,500 tons were produced and exported to the United States
in 1917.

In the Republic of _Panama_, near Nombre de Dios and Madinga, there are
irregular lenses of manganese oxides in decomposed sedimentary beds.
Seven groups of deposits were exploited near Nombre de Dios. Five of
them were exploited by Americans, one by native owners, and one by
French. The Nombre de Dios deposits yielded 50,000 tons of ore from
1871 to 1902, largely during the last six years. The Madinga deposits
were opened in 1916 and during 1916 and 1917 exported 11,000 tons to
the United States.

=South America.=--The largest deposits of manganese ore in South
America are in _Brazil_, and especially in the important mining state
of Minas Geraes.

In the Lafayette district in this state, manganese oxides occur in
wide lenticular bodies, that seem to have no definite arrangement
or association, except that most of them are bounded by schist
or gneiss. The deposits lie in a complex of granite, gneiss, and
crystalline schists; and the manganese oxides are probably derived from
manganese-bearing carbonate and silicate minerals. The most productive
area, known as the Morro da Mina, 2,500 feet long by 1,000 feet wide,
contains four distinct bodies that range from 320 to 1,300 feet long
and from 48 to 320 feet wide. Here manganese oxides persist 410 feet
below the surface.

The area has yielded about 1,000,000 tons of ore and the reserves are
probably between 7,000,000 and 10,000,000 tons.

In the same State of Minas Geraes, in the Miguel Burnier and Ouro
Prieto districts, manganese oxides are interlayered with ferruginous
sedimentary rocks of pre-Cambrian age.

In the State of Bahia, the Nazareth district contains bodies of
manganese oxide in a thick surface zone of highly weathered schistose
rocks. The oxides are probably derived from lenses of manganese garnet
in schist. The largest deposit yielded 70,000 tons of ore. Manganese
deposits are also reported near Bom Fim, in the same state.

Other deposits of manganese ore in Brazil are reported in the states of
Maranhao and Matto Grosso.

The known manganese deposits of Minas Geraes lie within an area about
30 miles square, the center of which is about 300 miles north of
Rio Janeiro. The ore is readily mined from open cuts, but existing
transportation and loading facilities practically limit the annual
exports to 550,000 tons.

Most of the important deposits in the Lafayette-Miguel Burnier and Ouro
Prieto districts are owned by resident Brazilians. In 1915 a German
company had worked a part of the Morro da Mina deposit for six or
seven years and produced a total of 200,000 tons of ore. During 1915 a
Belgian company was operating the Cocuruto mine near Ouro Prieto and
was shipping 2,000 tons monthly. The largest deposit of the Nazareth
district is owned by an American and the undeveloped deposits near
Turyassu are owned by Norwegians.

From the beginning of the industry in 1894 to 1918, 4,660,000 tons of
manganese ore were exported from Brazil. From 1900 to 1913, the annual
exports ranged from 99,000 to 250,000 tons, but with the elimination of
Russian sources in 1914, exports rose to 503,130 tons in 1916, 532,855
tons in 1917, and 393,388 tons in 1918. In October, 1917, the export
tax on manganese ore was advanced from $0.85 to $3.00 per metric ton.
Even before the war a large part of the Brazilian exports went to the
United States. The destination of the 1913 exports was as follows:
United States, 60 per cent.; Germany, 18 per cent.; Great Britain, 16
per cent.; France, 6 per cent.

In _Chile_, manganese ores occur at Corral Quemada, and nearby
districts in the State of Coquimbo. In these districts, beds of
manganese oxides are interlayered with sandstone, shale, and volcanic
flows. Manganese is also found in the Carrizal district in the State
of Atacama, where beds of manganese oxides are interbanded with shale
and limestone. From 1885, when explorations were begun, to 1905, the
exports of manganese ores from Chilean ports amounted to 549,716 tons,
the maximum exports for one year being 50,871 tons, in 1892.

In _Uruguay_, deposits of ferruginous manganese ore, reported to
contain 80,500,000 tons, occur at Zapucay, in the Department of Rivera.

=Europe.=--In the former empire of _Austria-Hungary_, the principal
manganese district is near Dorna Vatra, in Bukowina. Here there are
lenses of manganese carbonate and silicate in schists that have
weathered to oxides near the surface. The deposits are owned by
the Bukowina Greek Church. The average annual production from 1906
to 1912 was 13,600 tons. Other deposits are reported in Bohemia,
Istria, Styria, Hungary and Bosnia. Since 1901, the production of
Austria-Hungary has ranged from 18,000 to 25,000 tons annually.

In _Belgium_, near Chevron, in the Province of Liège, ferruginous
manganese oxides have formed by the weathering of manganese and iron
carbonates. Since 1901, the annual production in peace times has ranged
from 2,000 to 15,000 tons.

In _France_, manganese occurs chiefly near Romaneche, in the Department
of Saone and Loire, where several bodies of manganese oxides lie in a
fault between sedimentary rocks and granite. The deposit has been known
since 1823, and the production in 1901 was 9,500 tons. Other French
deposits have been explored in the Departments of Hautes-Pyrenees,
L’Ariege, L’Allier, L’Ande, and La Nievre. The annual production rather
steadily declined from 22,000 tons in 1901 to 6,000 tons in 1913. The
ownership of the French manganese deposits seems to be largely French,
possibly aided by some English capital.

In _Germany_, manganese ore of the better type, containing over 30 per
cent. of the metal, occurs in Sachsen-Gotha, Central Germany, in small
veins of manganese and iron carbonates weathered near the surface to
oxides. A similar grade of manganese ore occurs in small quantities at
Hessen and Waldeck, in Rhenish Prussia.

Manganiferous iron ore, containing from 12 to 30 per cent. of
manganese, occurs in Hessen-Nassau, Rhenish Prussia, where manganese
and iron oxides form irregular flat lenses imbedded in clays derived
from the weathering of underlying Devonian limestone. During the period
1907 to 1911, nine deposits yielded 262,000 to 283,000 tons annually.

Manganiferous iron ore (containing less than 12 per cent. manganese)
is found at Siegerland and at Nassau, Rhenish Prussia. The veins are
large and contain manganiferous siderite; they cut Devonian sediments.
These deposits are largely owned by the principal iron works of Rhenish
Prussia. During the period 1907 to 1911, the annual production ranged
from 2,200,000 to 2,600,000 tons.

In _Great Britain_, the principal deposits are in North Wales. Veins
of manganese carbonate and silicate, as well as interlayered lenses,
are found. The material contains 20 to 36 per cent. manganese. Other
deposits are recorded in Devonshire, Cornwall, and Shropshire. The
maximum production of Great Britain of about 23,000 tons was attained
in 1906, when two mines in North Wales yielded 19,300 tons.

Manganese occurs in _Greece_, in the western end of the island of
Melos, where nodules and masses of manganese oxides are disseminated
through beds of tuffs of Pliocene age. The maximum production of 15,000
tons was recorded in 1902. The output has since steadily declined to
550 tons in 1913. Manganese also occurs on the peninsula of Kassandra,
which was formerly in European Turkey. A vein explored mainly for
argentiferous galena yields manganese oxides from the surface zone.
The maximum production of 52,000 tons was attained in 1902, steadily
declining thereafter to 12,000 tons in 1910.

In _Italy_ there is manganese in Tuscany, where irregular bodies of
manganese and iron oxides occur in Triassic limestones. Other deposits
in Liguria and Sardinia have recently yielded a little ore. Of the
maximum Italian production of 18,147 metric tons (18 to 45 per cent.
manganese) in 1916, 14,072 metric tons was derived from the Tuscany
deposits in Tuscany. Normally the annual production has ranged from
1,600 to 4,700 tons.

In _Portugal_ there is manganese in Alemtejo. The deposits, reported to
be lenses and veins in Silurian quartzites, are owned by a Portuguese
company.

_Russia_ contains the most important manganese deposits in Europe, if
not in the world. The principal mining district is near Chiaturi, in
the Kutais Government, on the south side of the Caucasus Mountains,
in southern Russia. Layers of oolitic grains of manganese oxides
are interbedded with horizontal sandstone and shale of Lower Eocene
age. Within a zone that ranges in thickness from 4.5 to 7.5 feet and
averages about 6.5 feet, seven distinct layers of very pure manganese
oxide aggregate about 40 inches in thickness, and the remainder is
low-grade material and sand. It is estimated that an area of 120 to
143 square kilometers was originally underlain by the bed of oxides,
but that about half has been removed by erosion. Estimates of reserves
range from 23,000,000 tons to several hundred million tons.

The mines are operated in a crude, inefficient manner and scarcely
two-thirds of the ore is recovered. The number of actual producers
ranged from 183 in 1902, to 376 in 1906, but declined to 96 during
the political troubles in 1908. The ore is sorted by hand and the
low-grade material is washed in crude plants. From 20 to 25 per cent.
of the exported material has been concentrated by washing.

In 1902 there were 5,000 concessions, of which 3,750 were owned by 14
persons, each with 25 to 500 concessions; the remainder belonged to 300
peasants and small merchants. By 1912 a producers’ association had been
formed to permit the owners to deal collectively with the exporters.
Large investments had also been made by German capitalists in mines
as well as in undeveloped territory. The Gelsenkirchen Gesellschaft,
a German firm, had been formed partly for the purpose of mining but
largely to purchase and export ore to Germany. In 1912, this firm,
although it produced only a little ore, exported nearly one-third of
the total. German groups also established necessary financial agencies
to facilitate export of ore as well as to make loans to mine operators.
In 1913, of 16 exporting firms, only 3 were Russian.

The output of the mines of the Chiaturi district is hauled to Chiaturi
(1.3 to 3.3 miles), loaded on narrow-gauge cars for transport to
Sharopan (25 miles), and then reloaded on cars for shipment to Poti
or Batum (107 miles), the ports of export. Large stocks ranging
from 1,030,000 tons in 1912, to 1,525,000 tons in 1908, are kept at
Chiaturi, Poti and Batum. From 1910 to 1912, the distribution of
exports ranged as follows: Holland (for Germany), 30 to 43 per cent.;
England, 22 to 23 per cent.; Belgium (largely for Germany), 15 to 21
per cent.; Germany (direct), 5 per cent.; France, 4 to 6 per cent.;
United States, 4 to 10 per cent.; Austria, 4 to 10 per cent. About
1913, an export tax equal to 40 cents per long ton was levied by the
Russian government.

It is estimated that from 1848 to 1914, inclusive, this deposit yielded
about 11,000,000 tons of washed ore of marketable grade. The maximum
production of 1,300,000 tons was attained in 1913.

Another important manganese mining region is the Nicopol district, in
the Province of Ekaterinoslav, north of the Black Sea. In this district
a bed of manganese oxides lies between clays and sandstone of Oligocene
age. This bed is 1 to 5 feet thick, averaging nearly 3 feet. It is
estimated to extend over an area of 20 square kilometers (7.5 square
miles) and to contain 7,400,000 tons of manganese ore. The ore is mined
and washed in a crude way to free it from the attached clay.

The deposits in this district are probably owned largely by Russians,
although French capital is interested in one company and German capital
in another. During the period 1901 to 1910, between 80 and 90 per cent.
of the production was consumed in southern Russia and the remainder was
exported. From 1886, when the deposits were first exploited, the output
rose rather steadily to the maximum of 271,000 tons in 1907, then
declined to 173,000 tons in 1910. The total production of the district
is about 1,800,000 tons.

Manganese deposits are also known in the Province of Podolien and
Terek, and in the governments of Tiflis, Erwin, Elisabetpol, and Perm.

The principal manganese deposits of _Spain_ are on the south slope of
Sierra Morena, in the Province of Huelva. Vertical lenticular bodies
of manganese carbonate and silicate with a little pyrite, garnet,
and mica occur interlayered with slate of Paleozoic age. About one
hundred bodies are known, many being 500 feet long and 100 feet wide,
whereas the largest is 3,300 feet long and 330 feet wide. The manganese
minerals are weathered to oxides to an average depth of 65 feet and a
maximum depth of 250 feet. From 1881 to 1905, when the oxide ores were
nearly exhausted, nearly 700,000 tons had been shipped. From 1906 to
1910 about 125,000 tons of mixed carbonate and silicate was produced.

Manganese is also found in the Covadonga district, Province of Oviedo,
where large boulders of manganese oxide are found in clay resulting
from the weathering of underlying limestone. These deposits yielded
3,800 tons in 1915. Other productive deposits occur in the provinces of
Seville and Teruel. Deposits are also known in the provinces of Ciudad
Real, Murcia, and Almeria.

In _Sweden_, there are manganese ores north of Philipstad, in Wermland,
where tabular bodies of manganese oxides are interlayered with dolomite
and magnetite. These deposits contributed 7,607 tons out of a total of
7,733 tons in 1915, which was the maximum recorded production of Sweden.

=Asia.=--In _India_, on the east coast in the Vizagapatam and Ganjam
districts, Madras, is a unique group of rocks known as the Kodurite
series, containing manganese garnet, manganese pyroxene, potash
feldspar, apatite, and quartz. These rocks, supposed to be of igneous
origin, have been deeply weathered and the manganese concentrated as
oxides in the surface zone. The manganese ore bodies have been explored
only to 100 feet in depth, but it is expected that they will extend to
500 feet. The largest ore body explored at the Garbham mine is 1,600
feet long and 100 feet wide, and, from 1896 to 1913, yielded 736,192
tons of ore. The Kodur deposit yielded 370,382 tons of ore from 1892 to
1913. Production began in 1892, reached a maximum of 111,501 tons in
1906, and slowly declined to 44,127 tons in 1913.

Manganese also occurs in the Balaghat, Bhandara, Chindwara, and Nagpur
districts in the central provinces; Narukot and Panch Mahals districts,
Bombay; Jhabua district, central India; and the Gangpur district in
Bihar and Orissa. These districts form a belt that extends from Baroda,
on the west coast, across northern India nearly to Calcutta on the
east, a distance of 700 miles. In these districts, beds of manganese
oxides with manganese garnet and rhodonite form a rock type known as
gondite, which is interlayered with quartzite and mica schist. These
rocks are considered to be sediments of the Dharwar group (Archean).
The manganese oxides may have been laid down as sediments, or may
represent the weathering of the silicates. The ore bodies are lenses
and layers. The largest single deposit, Balaghat, has the form of a
shallow trough, is 1³⁄₄ miles long and 45 to 50 feet thick, and yielded
from 1901 to 1913, 725,248 tons of ore. In 1913, thirteen distinct
deposits had yielded more than 100,000 tons each, the range being from
101,721 to 725,248 tons.

From 1901, when the deposits of this type were first exploited, the
rate of production rose steadily to the maximum of 697,035 tons in
1913. During 1907, fifty-two separate deposits contributed 598,437 tons.

Where rocks of Dharwar age (Archean), such as mica schists, that do
not seem to contain the manganese-bearing Gondite series, are deeply
weathered, manganese and manganiferous iron oxides form irregular but
locally extensive deposits on the crests of hills. These deposits are
underlain by barren clays that represent the residue of the underlying
rocks. The largest deposit yielded 160,000 tons of ore in three years,
1906 to 1908, but is probably almost exhausted. The principal deposits
of this class are in the Sandur Hills district, Madras; the Shimoga
district, Mysore; and the Belgaum district, in Bombay; which lie within
an area less than 100 miles in diameter in southwest India. From
1905, when deposits of this group were first explored, the production
increased to a maximum of 11,353 tons in 1909,then declined to 62,770
tons in 1913. The total yield of this group to the end of 1913 was only
765,401 tons.

As regards the commercial control of the manganese deposits, a law
recently passed forbids aliens to own more than a minor interest in
mineral deposits in India. Previous to this, during 1907, the latest
year for which complete data are available and in which 899,055 tons
was produced, the entire output was from mines owned by resident
English or natives, except for 21,500 tons produced by the Carnegie
Steel Co., of Pittsburgh, U. S. A.

The annual production of manganese ore in India rose steadily from
1892, when the first shipments were made, to 1907, when 899,055 tons
was shipped; and since then has ranged from 450,000 to 815,000 tons.
The total production, up to and including 1916, was 8,748,000 tons.

Indian ores are transported to the shipping ports by rail for distances
ranging from 56 miles for the Vizagapatam district to 783 miles for the
Chindwara district, with the result that freight charges are heavy.
The ports of export in order of tonnage handled are, Bombay, Mormugas,
Calcutta, and Vizagapatam. The destination of exports in 1913 was as
follows: United Kingdom, 36 per cent.; Belgium (largely to Germany), 26
per cent.; United States, 15 per cent.; France, 14 per cent.; Germany,
2 per cent.; others, 7 per cent.

In the _Japanese Empire_, in the islands of Mutsu, Echigo, Ugo, and
Nato, are irregular lenticular bodies of rather pure manganese oxides
that occur more or less parallel to the bedding of metamorphosed
Paleozoic sediments. Below water level, the oxides grade into rhodonite
and are probably derived from this mineral. The ore bodies are not
large, but many are known and they are the source of a small but
regular production. In the islands of Mutsu, Nogo, Hokkaido and Ugo
many irregular but locally large deposits of manganese oxides are
associated with highly altered volcanic tuffs and flows of Tertiary
age. Most of the deposits in Japan seem to be owned by natives in small
holdings. The maximum production of 18,076 tons is reported for 1913,
but since 1900 the range has usually been from 5,000 to 15,000 tons.

In the _Philippine Islands_, manganese occurs on the islands of Ilocos
Norte, Masbate, Bulacan, Pangasinan and Tarloc, largely as veinlets and
boulders of oxides in weathered igneous rock. On Ilocos Norte a maximum
production of 3,000 tons was attained in 1916.

=Africa.=--On the _Gold Coast of West Africa_ (a British colony), near
Dagwin, are several deposits of manganese, the largest being 400 feet
long and 70 feet wide. The concession is owned by a British exploration
company. The deposit was discovered in 1914; and from the beginning
of exploration in 1916 up to November 7, 1917, 28,465 tons had been
shipped to England.

In the _Belgian Congo_, there is manganese ore in the valley of the
Upper Fungwe River, and in southern Katanga. The deposits are too
remote from the ocean to justify exploration, but are reported to be
large. In the _Union of South Africa_ (British) several manganese
deposits are found along the sea coast, within 30 miles east and west
of Capetown. Of the seven known deposits the largest is estimated to
contain 15,000 tons. In _Egypt_, in the Sinai peninsula, are large
manganiferous iron deposits as well as small manganese deposits, but
none has been exploited. In _Tunis_, there are deposits reported to
contain 4,000,000 to 5,000,000 tons of manganiferous iron ore, and also
several manganese deposits which yielded 5,800 metric tons of manganese
ore in 1917.

Although the known deposits of manganese in Africa are few and
relatively unimportant, the continent offers an unusual prospect for
the discovery of deposits that will contribute largely to the world’s
supply. Inasmuch as the moist tropical climate of large areas favors
extraordinary rock decay and surface concentration of manganese oxides,
exploration will probably show the presence of many deposits, and where
bedrock geological conditions are favorable, large bodies may be found.

=Australasia.=--In _Australia_, there are deposits of manganese ore in
New South Wales, in Queensland, in South Australia, and in Victoria.

In _New Zealand_, deposits of manganese ore occur in the Thames
district, Auckland.

Deposits of manganese ore are known in _Borneo_, at Maruda Bay.

[Illustration: FIG. 5.--Annual output of manganese ore in chief
producing countries.]

[Illustration: FIG. 6.--Percentage of manganese ore produced by chief
producing countries.]

It is reported that large deposits of high-grade ore have recently been
discovered in _Java_.

Some statistics of the production of manganese are shown graphically in
figures 5 and 6.

DEVELOPMENTS AND CHANGES IN GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION IN THE NEAR FUTURE

The known manganese resources of Russia, India, and Brazil are so
large and readily available for exploitation and marketing that there
is little prospect of their being displaced as the chief sources of
the world’s supply for many years. Since the war began, in 1914,
several important new districts have been discovered and brought to the
producing stage, notably the Gold Coast of West Africa, western Costa
Rica, and Java. Although the Javan deposits are reported to be large
and may become an important factor in the world’s trade, all that is
known concerning the other deposits does not hold out much hope that
they can compete with the established sources.

There appears to be a fair chance that the equatorial belt as well
as several other parts of the earth may yield additional important
manganese deposits.

The distribution of the manganese deposits of the world is shown in
Plate III.

POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL CONTROL

The table of production for 1913 on page 105 shows the part of the
total that each country contributed and the known extent of commercial
control.

In contrast with deposits of several other important minerals, most of
the manganese deposits throughout the world are owned by natives or
residents of the respective countries in which they are found.

German companies have acquired tracts in the Chiaturi and Nicopol
districts, Russia, and Queluz (Lafayette) district, Brazil. It appears
that although one of these companies produces a little ore, the
main purpose was to stabilize an unorganized industry by financial
assistance.

In India it is difficult to distinguish between those companies
composed of resident English and native Indians which were formed to
exploit mines for profit and those composed of absentee English who
desire to secure a supply of ore for English or other consumption.
There seems to be no English capital in Brazil or Russia.

One French company owned two shipping mines in India in 1907, but
there is no record of operations in 1913. French capital is interested
in several companies busy in the Nicopol district, Russia. A Belgian
company operates one mine in the Queluz district, Brazil.

[Illustration: PLATE III.--Geographical distribution of the principal
manganese deposits of the world. By D. F. Hewett.]

TABLE 24.--PRODUCTION AND COMMERCIAL CONTROL OF MANGANESE

-----------------+---------+-------+--------+-----------------------
| | Man- | Per |
| | ganese| cent. |
| |content|of total|
| | (per | pro- | Commercial control
Country |Long tons|cent.) |duction |(estimated per cent.)
-----------------+---------+-------+--------+-----------------------
North America | | | |
United States | 4,048| 40+ | 0.16 |United States, 100
| | | |
South America | | | |{Brazil, 80
Brazil | 120,368| 38-48 | 5.10 |{Belgium, 5
| | | |{Germany, 15
| | | |
Europe | | | |
Austria-Hungary| 34,986| ? | 1.5 |Austria-Hungary, 100
Bosnia- | | | |
Herzegovina | 5,709| ? | 0.2 |?
France | 7,610| 30+ | 0.3 |France, 100
Germany | 748| 30+ | 0.03 |Germany, 100
Italy | 1,596| 18-45 | 0.07 |Italy, 100
| | | |{Russia, 65
Russia |1,289,370| 41-48 | 55.4 |{Germany, 30
| | | |{France, 5
Spain | 21,254| 29+ | 0.9 |?
Sweden | 3,938| ? | 0.15 |?
United Kingdom | 5,393| 30+ | 0.21 |England, 100
| | | |
Asia | | | |
India | 815,047| 42-54 | 35.0 |{English and native, 90
| | | |{United States, 10
Japan | 18,516| ? | 0.8 |Japan, 100
| | | |
Oceania | | | |
Australia | 27| | |?
+---------+ | |
Total |2,328,110| | |
-----------------+---------+-------+--------+-----------------------

The Carnegie Steel Co., of Pittsburgh, Pa., U. S. A., owns and works
several deposits in India. Although Americans own deposits in the
Nazareth district, Brazil, in Panama, and Costa Rica, and some of those
of Cuba, there is no record of American ownership of any of the most
important deposits of Brazil, nor of any in Russia.

From 1902 to 1914, about half the ferromanganese used in the United
States was made in this country from foreign ore and half was imported
from England, where it was made from imported ore. This tendency arises
out of the limitations of blast-furnace smelting of the alloy and
the difference between the cost of labor in the United States and in
England, but does not represent definite control, for ferromanganese
may be made in any modern blast furnace used to make pig iron. In order
to smelt with maximum efficiency in making ferromanganese, however, a
blast furnace should run continuously for long periods, and therefore
make 20,000 to 35,000 tons of alloy annually. Although it is possible
to pass without interruption from making ferromanganese to spiegeleisen
and then to pig iron, the change causes losses. Small steel works in
the United States therefore find it more advantageous to purchase
imported ferromanganese than to make what they need.

POSITION OF THE IMPORTANT NATIONS WITH REGARD TO MANGANESE SUPPLIES

=United States.=--Although from 1885 to 1890, deposits in the United
States supplied half or more of the needed high-grade manganese ore,
from 1890 to 1916 the domestic production rather steadily declined to
a negligible minimum, while imports of foreign ore and ferromanganese
steadily rose in accord with the rate of total steel production. On
the other hand, during the period ending about 1908, when the rate of
manufacture of steel by the Bessemer process (in which spiegeleisen
is largely used) exceeded that by the open-hearth process, the annual
domestic contribution of spiegeleisen largely made from domestic
ores greatly exceeded the imports. In advance, therefore, of the
exploitation of the large deposits of low-grade ores of Minnesota,
which have been the source of most of the production since 1916,
the United States demonstrated independence of foreign supplies of
low-grade ore and alloys.

The experience and information gained during the war, largely
during 1918, show conclusively, first, with respect to metallurgy,
that 20 to 30 per cent. spiegeleisen, as well as 60 to 70 per
cent. ferromanganese, instead of 80 per cent., may be used to
make satisfactory grades of open-hearth steel without appreciably
sacrificing rate of production or quality of product; and second, with
respect to ore production, that known domestic deposits can supply for
at least five and probably ten or more years, much more low-grade ore
than is needed to make spiegeleisen, and for at least five years and
possibly ten years, about one-third the high-grade ore needed for the
manufacture of alloy with 60 to 80 per cent. manganese. The reader
should note, however, that capacity of mines to meet demand is in large
measure determined by the prices offered for the product, which during
1918 were about five times those prevailing before the war. Beyond
doubt, at pre-war prices, the United States can not supply more than
several per cent. of the high-grade ore needed to make ferromanganese.

Citizens of the United States have not shown great interest in
purchasing foreign deposits of manganese ore. With Cubans, they have
controlled the mines yielding a large part of the Cuban output, and
about 1907 one company, the Carnegie Steel Co., purchased several
deposits in India. That company, however, seems to purchase ore, in
addition to the output of its mines. Not until 1917 did Americans enter
the Brazilian fields; then the largest deposits of the relatively
unimportant Bahia district were purchased by a Philadelphia group.

=England.=--Before the war, England received about 50 per cent.
of her manganese ore from India, 40 per cent. from Russia, 3 per
cent. from Brazil, and small quantities from Spain and Portuguese
India. Some low-grade ore also came from Spain, Algeria, and Greece.
Domestic production was scarcely 1 per cent. of imports. Exports of
ferromanganese, largely to the United States, however, have been
equivalent to 35 to 45 per cent. of the total imports of ore. Two
effects of the war were to eliminate Russia as a source of ore, the
deficit being made up from India, and greatly to curtail exports of
ferromanganese. In contrast with the United States and Germany, Great
Britain does not seem to contain deposits of low-grade ores capable of
supplementing the needs of high-grade ore.

England controls fully 90 per cent. of the Indian output, probably
through ownership by resident English and native Indians. On the
other hand, England seems to have no control, direct or indirect, of
the output of Brazil, Russia, or of other important contributions to
supplies.

=France.=--Of the needed manganese ore, France imports from 35 to 45
per cent. from India, 40 to 55 per cent. from Russia, about 10 per
cent. from Spain, and several per cent. from Brazil, and produces about
2 per cent. The domestic material, however, contains 30 per cent. or
less manganese. In addition, France imports, as well as exports, a
little ferromanganese from time to time.

So far as available data indicate, the French have made practically
no foreign investments in manganese deposits, except in the Nicopol
district, Russia. A company with a French name mined about 1,300 tons
in India in 1907, out of a total of 899,055 long tons.

=Germany.=--Germany’s position with respect to manganese is very
similar to that of the United States. For four years prior to 1914,
Germany imported 48 to 68 per cent. of the total receipts from Russia,
25 to 35 from India, 3 to 7 from Brazil, and small quantities from
Spain, Greece, and Sweden. Domestic production of ore with more than
30 per cent. manganese is negligible. Germany probably exports small
quantities of ferromanganese to Sweden and other European countries,
and from time to time has exported alloy to the United States.

Like the United States, however, Germany possesses extensive deposits
of ferruginous manganese ore with 12 to 30 per cent. manganese; and
from 1908 to 1913, produced 260,000 to 330,000 metric tons of such
material, as well as 2,300,000 to 3,000,000 tons with 5 to 7 per cent.
manganese. There can be little doubt that although Germany, through
accumulated stocks of manganese ore and seizures in Belgium, possessed
in 1914 at least two years’ supply, she was able to maintain a fairly
constant rate of steel production for four years by adapting processes
to economize high-grade ore and use low-grade.

Germans appear to have purchased manganese deposits in Russia and
Brazil only, and these have yielded only a small part of the annual
imports. In the Chiaturi district of Russia, however, where most of
the deposits are owned by natives, a German company, Gelsenkirchen
Gesellschaft, reported to be a subsidiary of the Krupp company, was
established about 1910, to purchase property as well as trade with and
offer financial assistance to the producers. It is reported that this
company alone exported about one-third of the output of the district.
Germans are reported to own a part of one of several companies
operating in the Nicopol district, Russia.

SUMMARY

A review of the manganese ore industry, including features of the
deposits, their geographic distribution and ownership, indicates
several definite conclusions:

1. The surface outcrops of most manganese deposits give reliable
information concerning the size and grade of the deposits, and the most
desirable ore occurs in a surface zone scarcely 100 feet deep.

2. Except in Russia and Spain, the most productive mines are open-cuts,
and mining is quickly and easily accomplished at minimum expense.
Extensive operations in advance of production are rarely necessary.

3. The countries that possess the largest and richest deposits have an
abundant and cheap labor supply.

4. The productive capacity of the known deposits so much exceeds the
world’s demand for ore for steel making, that if any single source is
temporarily eliminated, the demand can be wholly met by the remaining
sources at prices that are only slightly higher than those previously
prevailing.

5. The value of the material at the sources of production is relatively
low among raw minerals, and ranges from one-third to one-eighth of the
selling price at the points of consumption. It is evident that the cost
of transportation represents a large part of the final price.

6. The working of most deposits yields so little profit, and therefore
is so hazardous, that only a few foreigners own deposits in the chief
producing countries.

7. The only case of commercial control, that of the Chiaturi district,
Russia, by Germans, who offer the natural market, seems to have been
established to counteract local political disorders rather than to
eliminate competitive consumers.

8. No nation that contributes largely to the world’s steel production,
except Russia, possesses domestic deposits of manganese ore sufficient
to meet its needs, and all must import ore from rather remote sources.
The United States and Germany, however, possess domestic deposits of
ferruginous manganese ore that under great stress would probably permit
independence of foreign sources.

CHAPTER V

CHROMIUM

BY E. C. HARDER

USES OF CHROMIUM

Chromite is the principal ore from which metallic chromium and chromium
products are obtained. The theoretical composition of chromite is
represented by the formula FeO Cr₂O₃, which represents 32 per cent.
ferrous oxide and 68 per cent. chromic oxide. In many ores, however,
the ferrous oxide is partly replaced by magnesia, up to 30 per cent.,
and the chromic oxide by alumina and ferric oxide, up to 20 per cent.
Thus the composition of chromite varies considerably. The percentage
of chromic oxide may be as low as 10 per cent.; that of ferrous oxide
may range from 10 to 50 per cent. Other common minerals of chromium are
picotite (chrome spinel), uvarovite (chrome garnet), chrome diopside
and crocoite (lead chromate).

Chrome ore is consumed mainly in the manufacture of special steels
and in tanning leather. The special steels comprise chrome steel,
chrome-nickel steel, chrome-tungsten steel, and chrome-vanadium steel.
Metallic chromium is added to such steel in the form of ferrochrome,
an alloy of chromium and iron containing 60 to 70 per cent. metallic
chromium. Chrome steel is tough and hard to break. It hardens rapidly
and has a fine grain and a fibrous fracture; it does not break readily
upon concussion and because of its hardness is difficult or impossible
to cut with ordinary machine tools. Metallic chromium is present in
percentages varying from 1 to 5 per cent. Special steels containing
chromium are used for guns, armor plate, armor-piercing projectiles,
automobile parts, machine tools, bars for prisons, burglar-proof
safes, shoes, cutlery, crusher jaws, stampmills, springs and for other
articles in which hardness and toughness are necessary. During the war,
when a considerable shortage of chromite threatened, less chromium was
used in chrome steels, and certain other hardening materials were used
in its place. The results are said to have been unsatisfactory, however.

Ferrochrome used in the manufacture of chrome steels is produced in
the electric furnace by smelting a mixture, in proper proportions, of
chromite, coal or coke, lime, and fluorspar or silica.

Much chrome ore is used in the steel industry for refractory materials
in lining open-hearth furnaces. Some of the ore thus used is first
manufactured into chrome brick and some is utilized in the crude
form. Chrome brick is used in open-hearth furnaces as a lining along
the slag line between the magnesite bottom of the furnace and the
silica-brick sides and roof. Chrome brick is used also to cover the
ports of gas-fired furnaces. It is desirable for these purposes
on account of its neutral reaction, which reduces the wear due to
corrosion. Lump or crushed chromite is used for patching the bottoms
of open-hearth furnaces, particularly the toe or apex of the bottom,
the ore being either hammered in place as lump or crushed and mixed
with a little water or tar and clay and then tamped into place. The use
of lump chrome in repairing such furnaces is desirable on account of
the rapidity with which the furnaces can be repaired and on account of
the greater wear that chromite will stand. The amount of chromite used
for this purpose ranges from 2 pounds to 10 pounds per ton of steel
manufactured. Magnesite has been used to replace chromite for repairing
furnaces, but has been found to be more expensive and to stand less
wear.

Chrome brick is used in a minor way in electric furnaces for
manufacturing steel, in a belt along the slag line and in the
area around the pouring lips. It is also being used in furnaces
manufacturing steel by the duplex process.

Chrome brick, besides being used in steel-making furnaces, is used in
lining furnaces for making copper, nickel, and other metals. In these
furnaces it is used in the bottoms and around the tap holes. Magnesite
brick, as well as bauxite brick, have been used to replace chromite
brick for this purpose.

Chromium chemicals used for tanning are mainly sodium or potassium
bichromates. About half of the bichromates produced in the United
States is commonly used for tanning, the remainder being used for
paints, pigments, dry colors, and dyes in the paint, printing and
engraving, and textile industries. Chrome yellow, chrome orange, and
chrome black are used in calico printing and dyeing. Chromic oxide, or
chrome green, is an indelible pigment employed in printing banknotes.
Various other chrome colors are used for paints and pigments as well as
in the ceramic arts. The minor uses of chrome chemicals are many.

GEOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION

Chromite throughout the world is associated with basic igneous rocks,
such as peridotite or pyroxenite, or with the alteration products
of these rocks, such as serpentine, talc schist, and related rocks.
Chromite deposits are generally in the form of lenses, pods, or
irregular masses that may occur singly or may be associated in groups.
Besides being found as large bodies, chromite occurs as a minor
constituent of these rocks, being widely disseminated through them as
small specks and particles. Chromite that forms workable deposits is
believed to have been separated out of the molten mass of basic igneous
rock by segregation and to have formed separate bodies within the rock
mass during the cooling. Most chromite deposits are found along the
borders of intrusive masses not far from the contact of older rocks
into which they are intruded. This is probably due to the formation of
peripheral fractures during the cooling of the igneous mass, chromite
being forced up into these openings. The action of convection-currents
in the molten magma may also have resulted in localizing chromite
bodies near the borders of the mass. However, bodies of chromite are
quite abundant in other parts of the igneous masses as well, often
being found at long distances from bordering rocks.

By weathering of chromite-bearing igneous rock, chromite bodies
are freed and occur as loose masses in resultant residual clays.
Such bodies in clay are of commercial importance in many places.
The breaking down of chromite-bearing rocks results in setting
free disseminated specks and particles of chromite, and these may
be transported and later deposited along streams flowing out of
chromite-bearing areas. In this manner accumulations of chromite sands
are formed. Besides chromite, these sands usually contain considerable
quantities of other heavy minerals such as magnetite, ilmenite, garnet,
and rutile, and the chromite in them is generally not available
commercially.

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION AND COMMERCIAL CONTROL

The world’s chromite supply has been obtained mainly from the following
sources, named roughly in order of their importance:

New Caledonia; southern Rhodesia; western and southern Asia Minor; Ural
Mountains, Russia; eastern Greece, adjacent islands, Macedonia, and
Serbia; Baluchistan and Mysore, India; Quebec, Canada; Atlantic and
Pacific coast states, United States; State of Bahia, Brazil; Oriente,
Cuba; Japan; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Austria-Hungary; and Guatemala.

The geographic distribution of the more important deposits of chromite
is shown in Plate IV.

Other countries in which deposits of chromite are known but in which
little or no ore has been produced are: Shetland Islands, Scotland;
Norway; Sweden; Silesia; Portugal; New South Wales, Australia; New
Zealand; Transvaal; Togoland; and Newfoundland.

Table 25 shows the output of chromite in the chief producing countries
from 1905 to 1917.

=Australasia.=--Important quantities of chromite occur on the island
of _New Caledonia_, in the South Pacific, and in smaller amounts in
Australia, New Zealand, and Tasmania.

[Illustration: PLATE IV.--Geographical distribution of the chromite
deposits of the world. By E. C. Harder.]

TABLE 25.--WORLD’S CHROMITE PRODUCTION 1905-1917 IN LONG TONS[53]

-----------------------+--------+------+----------+----------+------+
|1905[54]| 1906 | 1907 | 1908 | 1909 |
-----------------------+--------+------+----------+----------+------+
United States | 22 | 107| 290 | 359 | 598|
Canada[55] | 7,657 | 8,068| 6,425 | 6,451 | 2,205|
Cuba[57] | ... | ...| ... | ... | ...|
Guatemala[57] | ... | ...| ... | ... | ...|
Brazil[57] | | | | | |
Great Britain (Shetland| | | | | |
Islands) | ... | ...| ... | ... | ...|
Norway | ... | ...| 105[56]| ... | ...|
Sweden | ... | ...| ... | ... | ...|
Austria-Hungary (Bosnia| | | | | |
and Herzegovina) | 183 | 315| 305 | 492 | 327|
Greece[60] | 8,759 |11,348|11,545 | 4,281 | 9,448|
Serbia[61] | ... | ...| ... | ... | ...|
Russia | 26,620 |16,708|25,940 |10,777 |21,857|
Turkey[62] (mainly Asia| | | | | |
Minor) | ... |23,404|21,111 |28,394 |11,364|
Rhodesia | ... | 3,256| 8,017 |11,927 |22,875|
India | 2,708 | 4,375| 7,274 | 4,745 | 9,250|
Japan | ... | ...| ... | ... | ...|
New South Wales | 52 | 15| 30 | ... | ...|
New Caledonia | 75,717 |82,910|56,461[56]|24,970[56]|39,368|
-----------------------+--------+------+----------+----------+------+

-----------------------+------+----------+----------+----------+
| 1910 | 1911 | 1912 | 1913 |
-----------------------+------+----------+----------+----------+
United States | 205| 120 | 201 | 255 |
Canada[55] | 267| 140 | ... | ... |
Cuba[57] | ...| ... | ... | ... |
Guatemala[57] | ...| ... | ... | ... |
Brazil[57] | | | | |
Great Britain (Shetland| | | | |
Islands) | ...| ... | ... | ... |
Norway | ...| ... | 113[56]| ... |
Sweden | 31| | | |
Austria-Hungary (Bosnia| | | | |
and Herzegovina) | 315| 246 | 197 | 300[56]|
Greece[60] | 9,311| 4,542 | 6,209 | 6,242[56]|
Serbia[61] | ...| ... | ... | ... |
Russia |14,157| 1,218[56]|20,934 |21,401 |
Turkey[62] (mainly Asia| | | | |
Minor) | [59]|11,993 |16,823[63]| [59]|
Rhodesia |39,287|46,753 |61,840 |62,365 |
India | 1,737| 3,804 | 2,890 | 5,580[56]|
Japan | 2,091| 1,500 | 1,591 | [59]|
New South Wales | ...| 148 | 23 | |
New Caledonia |39,368|34,447 |41,325 |62,352 |
-----------------------+------+----------+----------+----------+

-----------------------+----------+----------+----------+----------
| 1914 | 1915 | 1916 | 1917
-----------------------+----------+----------+----------+----------
United States | 591 | 3,281 |47,035 |43,725
Canada[55] | 121 |11,008 |24,545 |32,457[56]
Cuba[57] | ... | ... | 34 | 17[58]
Guatemala[57] | ... | ... | ... | 179[58]
Brazil[57] | | | |
Great Britain (Shetland| | | |
Islands) | 100 | | |
Norway | 80[56]| 344[56]| |
Sweden | | | |
Austria-Hungary (Bosnia| | | |
and Herzegovina) | 474[56]| [59]| [59]|
Greece[60] | 6,947[56]|10,255[56]| 9,724[56]| [59]
Serbia[61] | ... | [59]| [59]| [59]
Russia | [59]| [59]| [59]| [59]
Turkey[62] (mainly Asia| | | |
Minor) | [59]| [59]| [59]| [59]
Rhodesia |48,235 |60,617[56]|79,350[56]| [59]
India | 5,887[56]| 3,768[56]|20,160[56]| [59]
Japan | 2,075[56]| 2,932[56]| 8,149[56]| [59]
New South Wales | | | |
New Caledonia |41,336[56]|65,941[56]|74,115[64]|41,230[56]
-----------------------+----------+----------+----------+----------

[53] Figures not otherwise credited were obtained from “Mineral
Resources of United States, 1914” and subsequent years, U. S.
Geological Survey (figures originally obtained mainly from the
British statistical publication, _Mines and Quarries_: General report
with statistics, pt. 4, London).

[54] Figures for 1905 taken direct from _Mines and Quarries_, 1905
and 1906.

[55] Mineral production of Canada, 1916, Canada Department of Mines,
Mines Branch.

[56] _Mineral Industry_, 1917.

[57] Exports from Cuba, Guatemala, and Brazil in 1918 were
respectively 8,820 tons, 1,193 tons, and 17,854 tons.

[58] Exports.

[59] Not available.

[60] Production from the Saloniki district included under Turkey
previous to 1914.

[61] Present Serbian deposits in Turkish domain before the war.

[62] Exports from Turkey for fiscal years beginning with March.

[63] _Mines and Quarries_ reports production of Turkey in 1912 as 145
tons.

[64] Stateman’s Year Book, 1918, London.

Serpentine, in masses intruding metamorphic rocks and sediments ranging
in age from Archean to Mesozoic, is abundant throughout the island
of New Caledonia, and chromite invariably is associated with it as a
minor constituent. Locally, large masses of fairly pure chromite are
found, generally as lenticular bodies in the serpentine, but locally as
irregular masses in residual clay derived from the decomposition of the
serpentine.

Chromite deposits of three types are known in New Caledonia, as
follows: Rock chrome, consisting of solid ore bodies in serpentine;
residual chromite, as irregular bodies or scattered masses, frequently
disintegrated, in red residual clay derived from the weathering of
the serpentine; and chrome sand and gravel in surface wash and stream
deposits. Ores of the first two classes are both important commercially
in New Caledonia and are both present in most mines. Ores of the last
named class are not worked.

Of these New Caledonian deposits, that of Mt. d’Or, in the southern
part of the island, was the first to be discovered and worked, being
found by Garnier in 1866. Later the deposits of Ngo Bay and others
further south were exploited. Production and exportation of New
Caledonian chromite began in the early 80’s and continued in a minor
way until 1902, the production coming mainly from Mt. d’Or and the Ngo
Bay deposits.

In 1902, L. Bernheim formed the Société le Chrome, in which French
capital was largely interested. This company operated mines in the
northern and southern parts of the island. It developed the Tiebaghi
deposits near the port of Pagoumene, now among the most important
in New Caledonia. The exportation of chromite soon increased, and
gradually New Caledonian ore replaced Turkish ore in the market. In
1911 the Chrome Co., Ltd., of London, was formed and acquired from
the Société le Chrome the Tiebaghi and other mines. At the same time
it acquired the right from the Rhodesia Chrome Mines Co., Limited,
to market the Rhodesian ore, thus securing practically a monopoly of
the world’s chromite trade. The Chrome Co., Ltd., is controlled by
French and English interests. Chalas & Sons, Finsbury Pavement House,
London, E. C, are the largest stockholders. There were formerly German
stockholders. L. Bernheim does not seem to be associated with the
Chrome Co., Ltd., but it is said that he still owns chromite deposits
in New Caledonia. Besides the operations of the Chrome Co., Ltd.,
there are a number of independent operations in different parts of the
island. These are mainly under the control of inhabitants of the island.

=Africa.=--The important chromite deposits of southern _Rhodesia_
are near the town of Selukwe, which is connected by railroad with
the shipping port of Beira. They occur scattered through an area of
schist and serpentine. One hundred and twenty chromite bodies have been
mapped out, but the only ones that have been developed are ten closely
grouped large bodies at Chrome Mine northwest of Selukwe. One of the
largest bodies is 180 feet wide and 240 feet long. The ores are high
grade, averaging between 48 and 51 per cent. chromic oxide.

Recently considerable publicity has been given to the discovery of what
are reported to be among the largest deposits of high-grade chromite
in the world in the Umvukwe Hills in the Lomagundi district 30 miles
from Banket Junction, southern Rhodesia. The ore is said to occur over
a large area in bodies in serpentine. More than two million tons is
reported to have been uncovered. The deposits were discovered by Albert
Peake, of Umvukwe Ranch, and are owned by Peake Brothers, who are said
to have offered them to the Imperial government on special terms.

Chromite was mined in Rhodesia for the first time in 1905, the ore
coming from claims near Selukwe held by the Bechuanaland Exploration
Company, Ltd. Production steadily increased, slowly at first but more
rapidly after 1910, when the Selukwe mines were taken over by the
Rhodesia Chrome Mines, Ltd. In 1910 the staking of chromite claims in
the Hartley district was reported and in 1911 chromite was discovered
at Victoria. Shipments from Selukwe stopped in August, 1914, after the
declaration of war, but began in December and increased during 1915
and 1916. In 1917 the discovery of the large and valuable deposits of
chromite in the Lomagundi district (already mentioned) was reported.
Previous to 1916 the entire production of Rhodesian chromite came from
the Selukwe mines of the Rhodesia Chrome Mines, Ltd. In 1917, however,
another company, the Rhodesia Metals Syndicate, Ltd., entered the field
and is producing important amounts of ore.

=Asia.=--Before _Turkey_ lost most of her European possessions after
the Balkan wars, the chromite deposits of the Kossowo, Uskub, and
Monastir district of Serbia and the Saloniki district of Greece were
within her borders. Now, however, only the deposits of _Asia Minor_
remain to her.

Chromite deposits are widely scattered through many parts of _Asia
Minor_ and are said to be numbered by the hundreds. The most important
deposits are grouped into three districts: In the regions of Brussa
and Kutahia south of the Sea of Marmora, where the important Daghardi
deposits are found; near Macri, Denislu and around the Gulf of
Adalia in the southwestern part of the peninsula, as well as on the
neighboring Island of Rhodes; and near Mersina, Adana, Aleppo, and
elsewhere in the region around the Gulf of Alexandretta northeast of
the Island of Cyprus. Smaller deposits are reported in the vilayets of
Angora and Kastamuni in the north central part of Asia Minor and near
Beirut and Damascus in Syria. All the ore bodies are found in more
or less schistose and decomposed serpentine in groups of lenslike or
irregular bodies.

The chromite mines of Asia Minor have produced important quantities of
ore. From about 1870, when Turkey began to supplant the United States
as the world’s principal producer of chromite, to near 1900, Asia Minor
furnished the bulk of the chromite for the world’s consumption. Most
of the ore mined has come from the mines in the Brussa region on the
south and southwest slopes of the Mysian Olympus and from the mines
of the Macri region. The Brussa and Kutahia deposits are said to have
produced an average of about 20,000 tons annually for many years, of
which the Daghardi mine is said to have furnished nearly three-fourths.
This deposit consists of high-grade ore averaging 51 to 55 per cent.
chromic oxide and has been estimated to contain about 10,000,000 tons
of ore. Probably this is somewhat an exaggeration, although doubtless
the deposit is large and important.

The chromite mines in the Macri region have furnished a considerable
part of the output of Asia Minor, but much of the ore mined in recent
years has been of low grade, running as low as 40 per cent. chromic
oxide. The chromite near Denislu and that near the Gulf of Adalia, on
the other hand, is said to be very rich, some deposits containing ore
averaging as high as 56 per cent. chromic oxide.

Most of the chromite mines of Asia Minor are probably now under the
control of the Turkish government, having reverted back ten or fifteen
years ago when increasing competition of New Caledonia chromite in
foreign markets resulted in the shutting down of many of the mines. The
taxes on both worked and undeveloped mineral properties are so heavy
in Turkey that unless mines are bringing in continuous and substantial
revenues, they cannot be held by private individuals.

It has been the policy of Turkey not to allow her mineral properties
to fall into the hands of foreigners. Even while the exploitation of
the chromite deposits was most vigorous, therefore, the mines, although
in many places worked by foreign firms, were largely owned by the
Turkish government or by Turkish subjects who leased them. Thus in
1904 the principal deposits near Brussa were owned by an officer of
the Porte and were operated by J. W. Whittal & Co., an English firm in
Constantinople, while other deposits in the same district were worked
by Patterson & Canghellari, an English company located in Smyrna. The
famous Daghardi deposit, in the Kutahia region, at that time was owned
by the Turkish minister of marine and was operated by a Turk named
Raghit Bey.

In the Macri district, a number of low-grade deposits were in 1904
under the control of Patterson & Co., of Smyrna, and the mines near
the Gulf of Adalia were controlled by a French syndicate. Some large
deposits near Denislu, in the interior, north of Macri, are said to be
lying undeveloped owing to the refusal of the Turkish government to
permit mining.

The chromite deposits in the region surrounding the Gulf of
Alexandretta have been worked in a small way both by Turks and
foreigners. Among operators in the region are mentioned Durian Effendi,
a Turk, representing the Ottoman Bank; Husni Herikizadeh Effendi, a
Turk of Adana; Nader Brothers, of Mersina; Alfred Keun & Co. of Smyrna;
Protopazzi Brothers, of Smyrna, and Mavrommati & Sons, of Mersina,
both probably Greek firms; Loizides, of Mersina; and Hadji Kemal Bey,
of Constantinople. Durian Effendi is mentioned also as having operated
chromite mines near Beirut.

The most important chromite deposits of _India_ are in the northern
part of Baluchistan, but the mines of the Madras and Mysore districts
in southern India have also furnished important amounts of ore. A
small production has come from Bengal. The deposits of Baluchistan are
large and the ore is rich, much of it averaging nearly 55 per cent.
chromic oxide. One deposit is reported to be 440 feet long by 5 feet
wide. The ore bodies are segregations in serpentine. The problem of
transportation is difficult, as the ores are far from the coast and
land transportation facilities are poor. Nevertheless, those mines
have made a steady output since they were opened in 1903. The largest
production was in 1907, when the yield exceeded 7,000 tons. Since then
there has been a decrease owing to competition from New Caledonia and
Rhodesia.

Chromite ore bodies were exploited in Madras as early as 1861 and small
amounts of ore were mined intermittently. The ores are associated
with magnesite veins in serpentine. Since 1907 a steady production is
recorded from Madras, which has increased recently. Important deposits
of chromite are found in Mysore. These deposits have produced more than
2,000 tons of ore annually in recent years, which is reported to have
been sent to the United States. The chromite deposits of Bengal are
said to be small and unimportant. In Bombay a large body of low-grade
chromite is said to measure 1,000 by 300 feet and to average 34 per
cent. chromic oxide.

Before 1910 chromite mining in _Japan_ was sporadic and unimportant,
but since 1910 the output has been steady and increasing. The principal
occurrences of chrome ore are in the southwestern part, the mines
of Wakamatsu, in Hoki, being the most important. The ore is said to
average about 40 per cent. chromic oxide. Chromite is also reported to
occur in the northern part of Japan. The Japanese chromite deposits are
small and soon exhausted.

The principal chromite deposits of _Russia_ are in the southern part of
the Ural Mountains and are associated with serpentine and soapstone.
The deposits are classed under three heads: Large granular masses in
serpentine, finely disseminated chromite in serpentine, and chromite
sand in platinum- and gold-bearing placers. The characteristic
occurrence of chromite bodies in the Urals is as segregations within
areas of dunite largely altered to serpentine. Platinum in scattered
grains is associated with chromite in the dunite in several places.
Recently chromite deposits have been reported in the northern part of
the Caucasus Mountains.

=Europe.=--The chromite deposits of the _Balkan Peninsula_ may be
grouped into four main districts: central Serbia; southern Serbia;
Saloniki, in eastern Macedonia; and Magnesia, southern Thessaly, and
the neighboring islands. The chromite deposits are found in serpentine
derived from the alteration of peridotite.

The chromite mines of _Serbia_ and _Macedonia_ for many years furnished
a small production, credited to European Turkey, which before the
last Balkan War embraced all the chromite-bearing areas. Many of the
deposits of central Serbia are poorly situated with reference to
transportation, the ore being hauled on carts to the railroad stations
and thence by rail to the coast. In eastern Macedonia some of the
mines are relatively near the coast and the ore is carried on carts
to Saloniki. The mines of Serbia and Macedonia were worked in part by
individuals and in part by the same firms which mined the chrome ores
of Asia Minor, such as Patterson & Co., Whittal & Co., and others.

The chromite mines of Magnesia, Thessaly, and adjacent islands in
eastern _Greece_ have furnished a more or less continuous output for
the last 30 or 40 years. The ore mined, however, has been mainly of low
grade, most of it averaging between 30 and 40 per cent. chromic oxide.
It is said to be used largely for refractory purposes. Before 1908 most
of the Grecian production of chromite came from the mines of Magnesia,
but more recently the mines of southern Thessaly have furnished most of
the ore. Mines in the Grecian Archipelago have also furnished some ore.
The annual output of Greece has varied from a few hundred tons to more
than 15,000 tons. During the past 20 years it has rarely fallen below
5,000 tons.

Chromiferous iron ore in considerable quantity is mined in Greece,
most of it being exported. In 1913 ten or more mines were worked. The
production has averaged more than 100,000 tons annually. The mines are
operated in part by Greek and in part by French and British firms.

The chromic iron ores produced in the former _Austrian Empire_ have
come mainly from the central part of Bosnia, but the chromite mines in
Upper Styria and those on the Roumanian border have also furnished an
appreciable output, the ore being low-grade. The deposits of Bosnia are
in serpentine. The ore is of good quality and has been mined for use
as a furnace lining. On and near the left bank of the Danube River in
the Banat, Hungary, there is an extensive area of serpentine containing
chromite in bunches. The deposits have been worked to a slight extent.

=North America.=--In _Canada_ chromite-bearing areas of considerable
extent are found in the southern part of the Province of Quebec, where
nearly all the productive chromite mines of Canada are situated. The
ore occurs in serpentine in irregular masses and pockets without
definite form, that range in size up to 75 feet along the longer axis,
rarely reaching 100 feet. The amount of high-grade ore in the Quebec
chromite deposits is not large, but low-grade ore bodies which under
normal market conditions can not be mined at a profit are numerous
and of large size. The low-grade ores range in content of chromic
oxide from less than 20 per cent. to 35 or 40 per cent. Nearly all
the Canadian ore mined has been exported to the United States. From
1910 to 1914 the output of chrome ore from the Quebec mines was
insignificant, owing to the cost of mining low-grade ores and the lack
of a market for them. When the price of chromite rose late in 1914,
American firms began active developments in the field, and subsequently
two concentrators were built by the Mutual Chemical Co. The output of
Canadian chromite, both of crude ore and concentrates, during the war
period was noteworthy, the production rising from 121 long tons in
1914, to 47,035 long tons in 1916 and 43,725 long tons in 1917.

The principal American firms interested in the development of the
Canadian chromite deposits during the past few years have been the
Mutual Chemical Co., the Harbison-Walker Refractories Co., the
Electrometallurgical Co., and the Quebec Asbestos & Chrome Co. The
last-named company purchased one of the concentrators built by the
Mutual Chemical Co., and has furnished a considerable output both
of crude ore and concentrates. Canadian firms have also produced
considerable ore.

With the close of the war and the drop in the price of chromite, the
Canadian mines have been largely abandoned. It is possible, however,
that some American firms that mine ore for use in their own plants may
continue work on a small scale.

When the _United States_ was the world’s principal chromite-producing
country, the output came from the eastern United States and principally
from Maryland. The Wood chrome mine and neighboring deposits in
Baltimore and Harford counties furnished most of the production.
Smaller amounts were mined in North Carolina and Pennsylvania.

The principal chromite deposits of the United States, and those that
have furnished nearly all the ore produced in recent years, are in
California and Oregon. Recently deposits of some extent have been
found in Montana, but these have not reached the producing stage. The
chromite deposits of California are for the most part grouped into
four principal districts, the Klamath Mountains region of northwestern
California and southwestern Oregon; the Coast Range of west central
California; the Sierra Nevada range throughout a considerable part of
its length; and the San Luis Obispo district of southwestern California.

The chrome ores of California and Oregon form lenses or irregular
bodies in serpentine and related rocks. Many of the ore bodies are
found in comparatively fresh peridotite and dunite, and the intimate
relation between the chromite and the associated pyroxene or olivine is
well shown. In places, also, chromite masses are found in the mantle of
residual material derived from the alteration of serpentine and other
rocks. Most of the chrome ores of the Pacific Coast are of low-grade,
few running more than 45 per cent. chromic oxide. Concentrating plants
have been built to beneficiate the ore from bodies large enough to
warrant such expenditure. At some plants the grade of ore was thus
raised to more than 52 per cent. Locally small bodies of high-grade ore
have been found.

The chromite mines of the eastern United States were first worked about
1827 and continued to be operated for about forty years. The California
deposits began to be developed about 1870, but never furnished a large
output until the war raised the price of chromite to unprecedented
figures and ore could be produced at a profit in spite of high costs
and high freight rates to consuming centers. The chromite mines of
the United States have always been worked and controlled by American
capital. In California the ore has been mined mainly by private
individuals working small scattered deposits. A few large firms, such
as the California Chrome Co., the Adams & Maltby Co., L. H. Butcher
Co., and the Union Chrome Co., worked on a larger scale during the war
period.

Deposits of chromite have been known in Alaska for a number of years,
but not until the war brought high prices was it possible to mine
them at a profit. The deposits of present importance are near the
southwestern end of the Kenai Peninsula. About 1,000 tons of ore
containing 46 to 49 per cent. chromic oxide was mined in 1917.

=South America, Central America and Cuba.=--As far as is known, only
one chromite-bearing district of importance occurs in South America,
this being in the State of Bahia, in _Brazil_. One deposit has been
worked at this locality by E. J. Lavino & Co., of Philadelphia, and
the discovery of several neighboring deposits is reported. The first
shipments of ore were made in February, 1918, and by July 1, 1918,
12,620 tons had been sent to the United States. The deposits are said
to be owned by Newman & Co., a firm of American exporters in Bahia.
They are leased to E. J. Lavino & Co., of Philadelphia.

South America, outside of Brazil, has no known chromite deposits
of importance. In _Colombia_, chrome ore is reported to exist near
Antioquia and chromiferous pig iron is said to have been produced by
the blast furnace near Medellin. In _Venezuela_, chrome ore is said to
occur on Coro Peninsula.

Important chromite deposits lie along the north coast of _Cuba_ in
the provinces of Camaguey and Oriente. A small deposit is found in
the northwestern part of the Province of Matanzas. The most important
deposits in Cuba are those at the Caledonia mine, south of the Bay of
Nipe and northeast of the Bethlehem Steel Co.’s Mayari iron mines.
These deposits are estimated to contain about 40,000 tons of ore in
sight. They are owned and worked by the Bethlehem Steel Co., which
began exploitation in the spring of 1918. Shipments during 1918
amounted to 8,820 tons. Next in importance to the deposits at the
Caledonia mine are those along the coast, northeast of Baracoa, known
as the Cayoguan and Potosi deposits, where about 35,000 tons of ore
is estimated to be in sight. The deposits are on the north edge of a
rugged mountain range forming the eastern end of Cuba. The Cayoguan
claims are owned by Brady interests, American, and the Potosi claims by
the Harbison-Walker Refractories Co., of Philadelphia.

In the Province of Camaguey the deposits are found northeast of the
town of Camaguey. They consist chiefly of masses of ore in residual
clay and float on the surface. The underlying rock is serpentine. The
Camaguey deposits are owned in part by Lehigh University and in part by
Cubans. The estimated reserves are 20,000 tons.

Exploitation of the chromite deposits of Cuba began in the fall of 1917
and continued during the spring and summer of 1918. Only the Caledonia
mine has produced ore. The chromite deposits are all associated with
areas of serpentine.

Chromiferous iron ores that are destined to play an important part in
the American iron and steel industry are found at Mayari, Camaguey, and
Moa, along the northeastern coast of Cuba. The reserves are measured
in hundreds of millions of tons. Only the Mayari deposits are mined at
present.

Chromite deposits were developed in the interior of _Guatemala_ in
1917 and shipments started in the autumn. The deposits were owned and
operated by the International Railways of Central America, an American
company, and are situated in the hills 100 miles inland from Puerto
Barrios. The ore is in serpentine. It is very pure and is especially
desirable for chemical purposes. The average chromic oxide content
of the shipments during 1918 was 58 per cent., thus making this the
highest grade ore that came to the American market. The ore was used by
the Grasselli Chemical Co. Because of the distance from the railroad,
these ores are very expensive to mine, and it was only on account
of the high prices paid for chromite during the war that they were
developed.

POSITION OF LEADING COMMERCIAL NATIONS

The country that leads in the manufacture of chromium products, such
as ferrochrome and chrome chemicals, is the United States. In normal
times the United States consumes more than one-third of the annual
consumption of chromite by the world. In 1913 the chromite used by
manufacturers of ferrochrome and chrome chemicals in the United States
amounted to 65,000 tons. Owing to the war, the consumption increased
markedly until 1917, when it was nearly 130,000 tons. The normal
consumption of chromite in England is about 25,000 tons and in France
approximately 35,000 tons. These amounts have not greatly increased in
recent years. Germany is an important producer of chromium products,
normally consuming 30,000 tons of chromite annually. Russia and the
former Austrian Empire used perhaps 5,000 tons each annually. Norway
and Sweden use small amounts. Russia’s consumption has been mainly in
the manufacture of chromium chemicals, and that of the former Austrian
Empire was principally for refractory purposes. In Norway and Sweden
small amounts of ferrochrome are produced.

=United States.=--The United States, although the world’s largest
consumer of chromite, is not an important producer of this mineral
in normal times. During the 30 years preceding the war, the annual
production never exceeded 4,000 long tons of crude ore, and during the
last 15 years preceding the war the largest annual production was 598
long tons, in 1909. The production in 1913 was less than 1 per cent. of
the domestic requirements.

The chromite supply of the United States has, therefore, come largely
from foreign sources, and these sources have been mainly Asia Minor,
Rhodesia, and New Caledonia. Before 1905 Turkey in Asia was the
principal source of supply. Since then, however, Rhodesia and New
Caledonia have largely replaced Turkey in the American chrome market.

Although numerous deposits of chromite occur in the western United
States and locally in the eastern states, these deposits are usually
small and scattered or of low grade. On account of their physical
character, small size, scattered occurrence, or distance from consuming
centers, domestic chromite could not be furnished to consumers in
the required grade or for the price that chromite from rich foreign
deposits could be furnished. For this reason the American chromite
deposits remained undeveloped and no ore was mined except small
quantities which were consumed for refractory purposes in neighboring
metallurgical works.

When in 1914, at the beginning of the war, the price of chromite
increased, production was immediately stimulated, this being shown by
the rapid increase in output from 591 long tons of crude ore in 1914 to
about 82,350 long tons of crude ore in 1918, equivalent to about 66,554
tons of ore on the basis of 50 per cent. chromic oxide. Even this
largely increased domestic output, however, filled only little more
than one-half of the American requirements, the total amount of chrome
ore consumed in 1918 being about 104,000 long tons on the basis of 50
per cent. chromic oxide. Had the market for chromite kept up, however,
the domestic mines would have supplied a much larger proportion of
the requirements in 1919. The consumption of chromite in the United
States in 1913 amounted to 65,000 tons of ore containing 50 per cent.
chromic oxide. From this it rose to about 127,000 tons in 1917, which
represents the maximum annual consumption thus far.

The following table shows the production and imports of chromite on the
basis of 50 per cent. chromic oxide, from 1913 to 1918, as well as the
total quantity available for consumption for these years. No chromite
is exported from the United States.

TABLE 26.--PRODUCTION AND IMPORTS OF CHROMITE, UNITED STATES, 1913-1918

----+-----------+-----------+---------------
| | |Total available
|Production | Imports |for consumption
|(long tons)|(long tons)| (long tons)
----+-----------+-----------+---------------
1913| 230 | 65,180 | 65,410
1914| 530 | 74,578 | 75,108
1915| 2,756 | 73,762 | 76,318
1916| 39,509 | 110,849 | 150,358
1917| 36,729 | 64,978 | 101,707
1918| 66,554 | 92,678 | 159,232
----+-----------+-----------+---------------

The prices paid for domestic chromite in the United States in recent
years ranged from an average of $11.19 per ton in 1913 to an average of
about $24.00 per ton in 1917.

When the need of increased shipping was felt in the latter part of
1917, steps were taken to reduce the imports of chromite from distant
countries, such as Turkey, New Caledonia, and Rhodesia, to increase
the imports from nearby sources such as Brazil, Cuba, and Canada, and
to urge the maximum production from domestic mines. As a result, the
imports of chromite from Brazil were 17,854 long tons of crude ore
and from Cuba 8,821 long tons of crude ore in 1918. The only previous
production in Cuba was 34 long tons in 1916 and 17 long tons in 1917.
Brazil had no production before 1918. The imports from Canada amounted
to 20,949 long tons of crude ore in 1918, as compared to 19,021 long
tons of crude ore in 1917, and 12,220 long tons of crude ore in 1916.
In order to reduce the importation of chromite from countries far
overseas, various restrictions were put into effect by the War Trade
Board in the early part of 1918.

The development of domestic chromite supplies means the depletion
of limited resources, high cost of production, use of lower-grade
ores, and lowered efficiency in consumption. With the free access of
high-grade foreign ores, the market for domestic ores, therefore,
disappears; and the domestic chromite-mining industry can not survive
to any large extent. If world conservation of raw materials or the
best use of the world’s resources is of chief importance, the domestic
chromite-mining industry should be allowed to decline, and cheaper
and higher-grade foreign ores should be allowed to replace domestic
chromite. Experience during the past few years has shown that the
chromite deposits of the United States, supplemented by imports from
Canada, Brazil, and Cuba, can largely supply the domestic requirements
for a limited period.

The United States controls only a small part of the chromite reserves
of the world. American firms own the principal Cuban deposits and
control the Brazilian deposits through leases. The United States is,
therefore, dependent to a large extent upon the good will of France
and England for a continuous supply of chrome ore, these two countries
jointly being largely in control of the chromite reserves of Rhodesia
and New Caledonia. Turkey controls most, if not all, of the chromite
deposits of Asia Minor, but because of their enclosed situation on the
Mediterranean, these deposits could not be relied upon as a source of
supply in time of need. The same is true of the deposits of the Ural
region in Russia.

The chief chromite-consuming firms in the United States are the
Electrometallurgical Co., probably the largest producer of ferrochrome
in the world; the Mutual Chemical Co., and the National Electrolytic
Co., large producers of chromium chemicals, and the Harbison-Walker
Refractories Co., American Refractories Co., and various steel-making
plants, users of chromite for refractory purposes.

=Great Britain.=--Before the war Great Britain consumed annually about
25,000 tons of chromite, most of it being used by Blackwell & Sons,
Ltd., for the manufacture of ferrochrome. The ferrochrome made in
England, however, is not sufficient to supply the needs of the British
steel industry, and much is imported from France.

Except for unimportant occurrences in the Shetland Islands there are no
chromite deposits in the British Isles, and Great Britain is therefore
dependent entirely upon overseas sources of supply. British colonies,
on the other hand, are rich in chromite deposits, and as long as
British ships have freedom of movement on the ocean, they will have
access to the more important chromite deposits of the world.

Owing to their richness and large size, the most important of all the
British-controlled deposits are those of Rhodesia. Only one of many
deposits in this area is being operated, and the reserves in untouched
ore bodies are undoubtedly large, comparable perhaps with those of New
Caledonia.

The production of the Rhodesian chrome mines has in recent years
averaged in the neighborhood of 60,000 tons annually or about 35 per
cent. of the world’s production, and doubtless the output could be very
greatly increased if other known deposits were developed. However,
even the present production is more than twice the actual chromite
requirements of Great Britain. These requirements, however, do not
represent the needs for metallic chromium or chromium compounds, and if
France should cease to supply Great Britain with ferrochrome, a much
larger amount of the raw material, chromite, would be necessary for the
English steel industry.

Besides the chromite deposits of South Africa, chromite deposits of
importance are found in other British colonies, notably in British
India and Canada. Amounts of chromite varying from 2,000 tons to 10,000
tons have been produced annually in British India for many years,
coming mainly from Baluchistan, in the northwestern part, but a small
production has come also from Mysore, in the southern part. In early
years, India furnished a more important part of the world’s supply of
chromite than at present. Transportation is a serious difficulty in the
mining of these deposits and when New Caledonian and Rhodesian ores
became developed, the Indian ores dropped in importance.

The Canadian deposits, while of considerable extent, and having ready
accessibility to eastern American markets, have not been extensively
or continuously mined, on account of their low-grade character. By
concentration, a medium high-grade product can be obtained, but
concentration methods are expensive and bring the cost of the material
up to such an extent that it can not compete with other ores now on the
market. Thus, the cost of producing both Indian and Canadian ores is
such that under normal conditions it is difficult to find a market for
them, but in case of necessity, a considerable tonnage can be supplied
from these sources.

Other British colonies in which deposits of chromite exist are New
South Wales, Tasmania, and New Zealand. As far as known, the deposits
in these countries are small and only those of the first have furnished
a small production.

Besides controlling chromite deposits in many parts of the world
through her colonial possessions, Great Britain controls deposits
through British firms with foreign possessions. Thus, the Chrome
Co., Ltd., of mixed British and French interests, controls not only
the Rhodesian chromite output but also owns and controls most of the
important New Caledonian mines.

Great Britain has in the past received most of her supplies of chromite
from Rhodesia, New Caledonia, and Turkey. Although more than enough
chromite is produced in Rhodesia to supply the British needs, England
has allowed most of the Rhodesian ore to be exported to other countries
and has imported foreign ore for part of her own needs. Probably the
largest part of the Rhodesian output before the war went to the United
States. Much of the ore consumed in England has come from Turkey, where
English firms have been interested in chromite mining for many years.
Most of the Indian output probably has been used in Great Britain, but
a part has gone to France.

=France.=--A few deposits of chromite are known in France, but they
are of no importance commercially. France, therefore, like England,
is entirely dependent upon overseas sources for her chromite supply.
Unlike England, however, France has only one colony, New Caledonia,
containing important chromite deposits; but luckily this colony
contains enough to make it one of the world’s principal sources of
chromite.

Although the Chrome Co., Ltd., which controls the principal New
Caledonian chromite deposits and is the largest shipper, represents
both English and French capital, France through political means can
control the output of chromite from the island. While in the past
probably the major part of the chromite used in France has come from
this source, France has also used Rhodesian and Turkish ores and
probably Russian ores to a considerable extent, and much New Caledonian
ore has gone to Germany, the United States and Great Britain.

The principal French firms manufacturing ferrochrome are the Société
Electrometallurgique Française, at La Praz; Société La New Metallurgie,
at Giffre; Société Anonyme Electrometallurgique, at Albertville;
Keller, Leleux et Cie, at Livet; Société Electrometallurgique de Saint
Beron, at Saint Beron; Ch. Betrolus, at Bellegarde; and Rochette
Frères, at Epierre.

=Germany.=--Except for unimportant low-grade deposits in Silesia,
Germany has no chromite supplies within her borders. As a user of
chromite Germany ranks in importance with France, most of the ore
consumed being used in the manufacture of ferrochrome, the principal
manufacturers of which have been the Krupp works. Chrome chemicals are
also made in abundance, however. None of Germany’s former colonies
is known to have chromite deposits except Togoland, and the Togoland
deposits are undeveloped and are believed to be unimportant.

In the past, Germany has received chromite from New Caledonia,
Rhodesia, Turkey, Greece, and probably Russia. Because of the long rail
haul from Russia and the poor state of development of the industry
in Turkey, the ores from these two countries were, in the years
immediately preceding the war, being largely replaced by ores from
overseas. The four large chromite-consuming countries have, therefore,
all been looking mainly to New Caledonia and Rhodesia for their sources
of supply.

During the war, when overseas chromite was not available, Germany was
enabled by her relations with Turkey to obtain chromite from Asia
Minor, and probably from chromite mines in Serbia, Hungary, Bosnia, and
Herzegovina. Thus in time of need, when the usual overseas sources of
supply were cut off, Germany, through her relations with neighboring
countries, was able to obtain by land sufficient chromite to supply her
ordnance requirements. Had the war continued Germany would doubtless
have developed the chromite resources of the Urals, and those, together
with the deposits of Asia Minor, even in their present state of
development, could have kept Germany supplied indefinitely.

It is probable that German control became important in the mines
of Asia Minor during the war. By relatively small improvements in
transportation facilities, such as building branch railroad lines
to the principal deposits, the chromite mines of Asia Minor might be
rejuvenated to such an extent as to enable the ores to compete with
Rhodesian and New Caledonian ore and to place them again among the
world’s large producers. The deposits are large and the reserves rank
in importance with those of Rhodesia and New Caledonia.

=Russia.=--Russia is independent as far as her requirements of chromite
are concerned. Out of her production of about 20,000 tons annually,
the domestic industry consumes less than one-fourth and the rest is
available for export to nations less favored with chromite resources.

Most of the chromite used in Russia goes into the manufacture of chrome
chemicals. The Russian bichromate works at Elabouga, east of Kazan,
established in 1892, have consumed about 2,000 tons of ore annually.

SUMMARY

The political and commercial control of the principal chromite deposits
of the world is summarized in the following table:

TABLE 27.--POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL CONTROL OF CHROMITE DEPOSITS

Political Predominant
Country control commercial control

New Caledonia French French-British
Rhodesia British British
Asia Minor Turkish Turkish
Ural Mountains, Russia Russian Russian-British
Greece Grecian Uncertain
Serbia Serbian Uncertain
India British Probably British
Canada British United States-Canadian
United States United States United States
Brazil Brazilian United States
Cuba Cuban United States
Japan Japanese Japanese
Austria-Hungary Austrian Uncertain
Guatemala Guatemalan United States

Great Britain and France produce in their colonial possessions chromite
enough for their own needs and for export, but the United States,
the world’s largest consumer, must depend, except in time of extreme
emergency, upon imports, mainly from New Caledonia and Rhodesia.

Various countries have from time to time played important rôles in
supplying the world’s demand for chromite. One country after another
has been displaced, as cheaper or better grades of chromite came into
the market. At times these changes were caused by the finding of larger
bodies of higher-grade ores than had previously been mined, and at
other times they were caused by cheaply transported ores replacing ores
inconveniently situated with reference to centers of consumption.

Thus, at the beginning of the nineteenth century and up to about
1830, the Ural Mountain region of Russia supplied the major part of
the world’s requirements for chromite, which were small. About 1830,
important discoveries of chromite were made in the eastern United
States, particularly in Maryland, and the United States soon displaced
Russia as the leading producer of chromite. After this, for many years,
the United States continued to lead in chromite production until about
1870, when the domestic deposits gradually approached exhaustion and
important deposits discovered in European Turkey and Asia Minor began
to be extensively developed.

Asia Minor was the principal chromite-producing country from about
1870 until about the beginning of the twentieth century. The deposits
continued to be worked fairly steadily on account of their richness and
large size, although they were inconveniently situated with reference
to transportation. Only certain deposits, such as those in the Macri
and Alexandretta regions, were so near to the coast that the ore could
be carried on muleback or by camel to the shipping ports. From the
larger deposits, such as Daghardi, the ore had to be transported by
animals to railroad stations, often a distance of many miles, and then
by rail to the coast. Because of these difficulties, Turkish ore was
largely replaced by ore from the important New Caledonian and Rhodesian
deposits as soon as those were developed.

In New Caledonia labor is cheap and the deposits are all near the
coast. By means of sailing vessels and tramp steamers which charge low
rates and often require such heavy materials as chromite for ballast,
this ore can be delivered to points of consumption at a relatively
small cost. The Rhodesian chromite deposits are not as accessible from
the coast, but they are large and rich and the rail freight rates to
the shipping port are exceptionally low. For this reason, Rhodesian ore
has been able to successfully compete in the market with New Caledonian
ore, and these two sources have, therefore, in recent years, jointly
supplied most of the requirements of the principal nations for chromite.

During the war, because of abnormal conditions arising from the
shortage of shipping facilities, there was considerable uncertainty
as to whether it would be possible to supply American consumers of
chromite with imported ores. Under the stimulus of much higher prices,
the production of chromite in the United States increased from 255 long
tons of crude chromite in 1913, to about 82,350 tons in 1918, mainly
from California, Washington and Oregon. This production was larger
than the annual production of crude ore from any single source (except
82,910 tons from New Caledonia in 1906) since the chromite-mining
industry began. This production, of course, could not be continued
without a rapid depletion of American chromite reserves, and does not
represent a normal development.

CHAPTER VI

NICKEL

BY C. S. CORBETT

USES OF NICKEL

Nickel is used chiefly in the manufacture of special steels. It is
estimated[65] that about 60 per cent. of the entire nickel production
goes into steel making in normal times and more under war conditions.
Nickel steels are the most important of all the alloy steels and are
the most used.[66] They are used where unusual tensile strength is
required. Nickel-chromium steels are used in the manufacture of armor
plate.

[65] Report of the Royal Ontario Nickel Commission, 1917, p. 300.

[66] STOUGHTON, BRADLEY: “The Metallurgy of Iron and Steel,” 1911.

Ordinary nickel steels commonly carry about 3¹⁄₂ per cent. nickel.
“Highly nickeliferous steels carrying up to 40 per cent. nickel are
used for special purposes where non-magnetic qualities, resistance to
corrosion and, above all, no expansion or contraction, or any desired
expansion or contraction, with change of temperature, is important.”[67]

[67] Report of Royal Ontario Nickel Commission, 1917, p. 301.

Non-ferrous nickel alloys have found extensive uses, and probably
about 20 per cent. of the world’s production of nickel goes into them.
By far the most important are those formed from nickel and copper.
One, generally known as “cupro-nickel,” contains approximately 80 per
cent. copper and 20 per cent. nickel and is used largely for bullet
jackets and other munition purposes. Another, which has become well
known under the trade name “Monel metal,” contains 29 per cent. copper,
67 per cent. nickel, about 2.5 per cent. iron, and a small amount of
manganese. It is manufactured direct from the Sudbury matte. Monel
metal is used chiefly where a strong non-corroding metal is needed, as,
notably, in ship propellers.

It is estimated that about 2 per cent. of the nickel production is
used for electro-plating. To a large extent nickel plating prevents
corrosion of the metal plated.

Nickel is also used for storage batteries; for coinage; as a catalyser
in the hardening of oils or fats (solid fats being used for soap
making); for cooking utensils; and as a pigment for coloring ceramic
ware. It is doubtful whether these last-named uses would take more than
3 per cent. of the world’s nickel production.

Copper gives to steel properties somewhat similar to those given by
nickel, notably increasing the tensile strength. Silicon also imparts
similar properties to steel, increasing especially the toughness and
tensile strength. A considerable proportion of chromium makes steel
highly non-corroding. There is, however, nothing known that will take
the place of nickel in special steels having a zero or a predetermined
coefficient of expansion, such as “invar” or “platinite.”

Nickel possesses extraordinary power in giving its white color to
alloys of copper; hence its use in coinage. The other white metals
that might be used in its place are less plentiful and more expensive.
There is no other abundant metal or alloy having the good color, great
strength and resistance to corrosion possessed by Monel metal and like
alloys of nickel and copper.

Nickel salts are used as substitutes for metals of the platinum group
as catalysts in hardening oils and fats.

CHANGES IN PRACTICE

Production of nickel on a fairly large scale did not begin until the
mines of New Caledonia were opened in 1875. To handle these ores,
smelters and refineries were built in England and continental Europe.
As the ores are of the silicate type and free from copper, they were
easily treated by common processes of smelting with fluxes to get
rid of the gangue and then heating with charcoal for reduction to a
metallic condition. A pure metal was obtained which found a good market.

Production of nickel-copper ores in the Sudbury district began in 1887.
On account of the copper with the nickel in these ores, new processes
of refining had to be worked out and the trade prejudice against the
product had to be overcome. This took persistent effort for several
years. Only one of the first companies to operate in the Sudbury
district has survived to the present time. This is the Canadian Copper
Co., the producing subsidiary of the International Nickel Co.

Three new refining processes have been developed to handle
nickel-copper ores. The Orford Copper Co. (subsidiary of the
International company) uses the salt cake process. This process is one
of fusion with sodium sulphide, the copper sulphide concentrating on
top and the nickel sulphides at the bottom of the melt. Repeated fusion
of the “tops” and “bottoms” effects a good separation.

The Mond company had a process before it had any mines. This process
depends upon volatilization of the nickel by passing carbon monoxide
over the matte, which has been previously roasted and leached of its
copper content. Nickel carbonyl, Ni(CO)₄, is formed and metallic nickel
is thrown down by decomposition of this product, so that the nickel
obtained is pure.

The Hybinette process, a process depending on electrolysis, was first
worked out at the plant of the Orford Copper Co. on Sudbury matte.
It was used for low-grade ores at Fredericktown, Mo., and then later
for the Norwegian ores at Kristiansand. It is to be used in the new
refinery of the British-American Co. in Ontario.

Monel metal is made directly from Sudbury matte with the removal of a
little of the copper. It is known as a natural alloy, in contrast to
one made by combining the pure metals.

Increased use of nickeliferous iron ore for steel making will decrease
the amount of nickel that will have to be added in making such steel.
This will probably be overbalanced by the increased use of such steels.

GEOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION

Analyses of igneous rocks indicate that nickel is present in the
average igneous rock to the extent of 0.020[68] per cent. Of its
occurrence, Clarke says:[69] “Very frequently detected in igneous
rocks, probably as a constituent of olivine. * * * The presence of
nickel is especially characteristic of magnesian igneous rocks, and
it is generally associated in them with chromium.” Regarding copper
he says: “Minute traces of this metal are often detected in igneous
rocks, although they are rarely determined quantitatively.” It is
estimated[70] that copper is present in the average igneous rock to
the proportion of about 0.010 per cent., or only about half that of
nickel, and that zinc and lead are present in even smaller proportion.
Notwithstanding this greater abundance of nickel, the workable deposits
of copper, lead, and zinc are much more widespread and production
is correspondingly greater. “It can thus be said that nickel is
less amenable to concentration by the agencies that tend to produce
workable deposits than are the other metals mentioned (copper, lead and
zinc).”[71]

[68] F. W. CLARKE, “The Data of Geochemistry,” _Bull. 616_, U. S.
Geological Survey, 1916, p. 27.

[69] _Ibid._, p. 18.

[70] Report of Royal Ontario Nickel Commission, 1917, p. 95.

[71] _Ibid._

One would infer from the above that nickel deposits of consequence
would most likely occur in connection with igneous rocks, especially
those that are basic. This is indeed true; in fact, the only known
nickel deposits of commercial or prospective commercial value occur in
association with basic igneous rocks. The nickeliferous metallographic
provinces of the world may be said to lie within petrographic
provinces. Harker says:[72] “An examination of the rocks belonging to
one great period of igneous activity, and of their actual distribution,
enables us to distinguish areas of greater or less extent, within which
the rocks present a less or greater degree of consanguinity, the law
being that more marked specialization goes with narrower localization.”
On the basis of this law and the fact noted by Clarke and mentioned
above, nickeliferous metallographic provinces may be limited more
closely than simply to areas of basic igneous rocks. They may be said
to roughly coincide with areas of basic igneous rock characterized by
minerals of the olivine group, these minerals having formed as a result
of the high magnesium content of the rock magma.

[72] HARKER, ALFRED, “The Natural History of Igneous Rocks,” 1909, p.
89.

Nickel ores occur where there was an unusual segregation of the element
in the igneous rock at the time of solidification. In some places
further concentration by weathering has been necessary to make an ore
of the rock. In still other places, the concentration by weathering
has not been sufficient to make the nickel valuable in itself, but has
raised the iron content of the rock, and with it the nickel content, to
such an extent as to make the ore valuable in the first instance as an
iron ore and of additional value because of its nickel content.

Nickel is unique among the less rare metals in that a single district
contains a quantity of accessible, workable ore, far ahead of that in
all other known deposits of the world combined. This is the Sudbury
district of Ontario. The nickel ores there were segregated from an
enormous mass of igneous rock intruded under conditions favorable for
broad segregation and subsequently so eroded that large ore bodies are
accessible.

In those nickel ores and nickeliferous iron ores where weathering
has been a necessary agent in concentrating the nickel and iron
enough to make them commercially valuable, the original deposits were
nickeliferous igneous rocks--that is, they were similar to the rocks
associated with the nickel deposits of the sulphide type, but contained
much less nickel. The nickel-ore deposits of the New Caledonia region,
which rank next in productiveness to those of the Sudbury district, are
of this type. The Cuban nickeliferous iron ores best exemplify iron ore
deposits of this type.

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION

The nickeliferous ore deposits of the world may be divided into two
main types--the sulphide type, in which weathering has not been of
prime importance, and the garnierite or lateritic type, in which
weathering has altered and concentrated the nickel as well as the
chromium and iron of the original rock. In addition, nickel occurs
in some places with ores of precious and semi-precious metals in
veins. Nickel may be recovered from such ores as a by-product, but the
ores are never mined primarily for their nickel content. The brief
descriptions of the known deposits, grouped according to type, which
follow, have been taken from the descriptions of the world’s nickel
deposits in the report of the Royal Ontario Nickel Commission. A few
direct quotations from the text of the report are given.

=Deposits of the Sulphide Type.=--The Sudbury district is situated
in southeastern Ontario, _Canada_. In its broader outlines the
geology of this district is relatively simple. An immense mass of
nickeliferous rock was intruded as a “laccolithic sheet” or sill along
an unconformable plane of contact between flat-lying sediments and an
underlying complex of ancient rocks. During the intrusion and cooling,
or perhaps soon thereafter, the underlying rocks of the central part
of the laccolith, covering the reservoirs from which the magma came,
subsided. Long periods of erosion then planed down the region until
all that is left of the sill occupies a synclinal basin nearly 40
miles long and 10 to 15 miles wide. All of the rocks involved are of
pre-Cambrian age.

The laccolithic sheet is approximately 10,000 feet thick. It
differentiated on cooling into two kinds of rock--micropegmatite, a
rock of the granite group, now forming the upper part of the sill, and
norite, a gabbro rock, the lower part. The gradation between these two
rocks is rather abrupt. At the bottom of the sill, in some places lying
between the norite and the underlying rock and at other places entirely
within the underlying rock, are bodies of ore consisting of pyrrhotite,
pentlandite and chalcopyrite. These are segregated products of the
norite, which in some places solidified at the base of the sill and in
others were intruded as dikes in the underlying rocks or in previously
solidified portions of the norite. They constitute commercial ore
bodies where the sulphides form a preponderant part of the rock.

The ore bodies are classified as “marginal” and “offset.” The marginal
deposits occur along the contact of the norite with the underlying
rock. Frequently they lie entirely within the rocks adjacent to the
norite. The offset deposits occur where faults cut across the limbs
of the fold, forming zones of weakness into which ore or mineralized
norite was intruded.

The nickel-bearing mineral is pentlandite; the copper-bearing,
chalcopyrite. The other sulphide, pyrrhotite, is a sulphide of iron.
The ores mined to date average roughly 3.5 per cent. nickel and 2 per
cent. copper.

From the opening of the district in 1887 to the end of 1916 nearly ten
and one-half million tons of Sudbury ore had been mined and smelted;
and, from this, about 285,000 tons of nickel had been produced. It
is estimated that there are probably fully 100,000,000 tons of ore
reserves. Over a million and a half tons of ore were mined and smelted
in 1916.

The Alexo Mine is situated 150 miles due north of Sudbury. The ore
occurs at the contact of a large mass of peridotite (now altered to
serpentine), with a pillow-lava which the peridotite intruded. The
ore consists of sulphide minerals segregated from the intrusive mass.
It is of two types, one, a massive, pure sulphide occupying cracks
in dike-like relationship, the other, disseminated sulphide in
peridotite adjacent to the sulphide ore masses. The ore deposit has a
proven length of 700 feet, has been opened to a depth of 120 feet, and
drilling has shown ore to extend to a depth of 240 feet. The average
width may be taken as approximately 10 feet. By the end of 1916, ore
had been raised to the extent of 34,650 tons and more than that amount
had been developed. About 12,000 tons of ore were shipped in 1915,
averaging about 4.9 per cent. nickel and 0.6 per cent. copper. Several
hundred thousand tons are probably available in this deposit.

The nickel ore deposits of _Norway_ are similar mineralogically to
those of Sudbury. The deposits are small, their metal content is low,
and compared to the Sudbury and New Caledonia deposits they are of
little consequence. Up to 1909 there had been mined and smelted in
Norway about 400,000 tons of nickel ore. The hand-sorted ore carried
1.4 to 1.7 per cent. of nickel.

Deposits like those of Norway have been found in _Sweden_, but
they have not been worked in recent years. There is evidently a
nickeliferous metallographic province in the Scandinavian countries and
important ore deposits may yet be found there.

In the _United States_, near Gap, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania,
is a deposit of nickel ore of the sulphide type, which occurs as
a segregation from a 300-ft. dike of amphibolite. It was worked
spasmodically for copper throughout the 18th century. Nickel was
discovered in the ore in 1852 and 4,000,000 pounds of nickel are
estimated to have been produced up to 1882. The advent of New Caledonia
and Sudbury ores caused the closing of the mine. The ore as mined
carried 1 to 3 per cent. nickel and about one-third as much copper.

Near Julian, San Diego County, California, is a sulphide nickel deposit
that has never been commercially productive. Assays show the ore to
contain nearly 3 per cent. nickel or more.

A small deposit in _Tasmania_ has produced a few thousand tons of rich
ore. Diamond drilling has shown that little ore remains.

Nickel-copper sulphides have been found in connection with a large
intrusive of basic igneous rock in the Insizwa Range, _South Africa_.
No payable ore has been found.

Nickel sulphide deposits of unknown importance occur in _India_ and in
_Southwestern China_. Small deposits which were worked when nickel was
scarce occur in _Italy_, _Scotland_, _Germany_ and _Austria_.

=Deposits of the Garnierite and Lateritic Types.=--About one-third of
the surface of the island of _New Caledonia_ is occupied by serpentine,
this being the weathered product of basic igneous rock. “The ore,
noumeaite or garnierite, occurs as a hydrated silicate of nickel and
magnesia and may best be described as an alteration product of the
serpentine in which the magnesia and iron have been replaced by nickel.
* * * The workable deposits always occur on the saddle of spurs from
the main mountain ridge, at elevations of 400 to 2,500 feet, the
latter elevation being the more common. * * * The replacement of the
serpentine by nickel follows the joints and fractures in the serpentine
and the undecomposed blocks and boulders of serpentine are as a rule
covered by a shell of ore which has to be picked off.” The ores are
hand picked to bring them up to a grade profitable to treat. In the
past it has not been considered economical to smelt ore of lower grade
than 4.5 per cent. nickel nor to ship ore much below 6.5 per cent.

The ore bodies usually contain under 250,000 tons of ore. The largest
mine yet worked produced less than 600,000 metric tons (2,204 lb.) of
ore. Probably there still remains as much undeveloped ore as has been
mined in the forty years of production,--equivalent to 160,000 tons of
nickel. This would be equal to about four years’ output of the Sudbury
district at the 1916 rate of production. “There are large bodies of
lower-grade ores which it has not yet been found feasible to treat.”

Three large blanket deposits of nickeliferous iron ore occur on
elevated plateaus in _Cuba_. These are typical lateritic (residual)
deposits. The average depth of the ore is 15 feet and the combined
tonnage of the three deposits is placed at one and one-half to three
billion tons. The nickel content ranges from about 0.6 per cent. to
2.1 per cent. and shows progressive enrichment from the top downward.
Chromium is also present and shows similar enrichment. The presence of
nickel and chromium in the iron ores greatly enhances their value for
making special steels.

Iron ore on the island of Seboekoe, lying off the southeast coast of
_Borneo_, contains appreciable amounts of nickel and chromium. At least
300,000,000 tons of ore are contained in the deposit, which is a porous
limonite, about 15 feet thick, overlying serpentine.

In the _United States_, nickel deposits of the garnierite type occur in
_North Carolina_ and _Oregon_. Attempts to mine these ores have never
been successful.

Small nickel deposits of the garnierite type occur in _Egypt_,
_Germany_ (Prussian Silesia), _Greece_, _Madagascar_, _Russia_ and
_Spain_. Nickeliferous iron ores occur in Greece, and it is thought
that chromiferous iron ores on Mindao Island, in the _Philippines_,
may, on further exploration, prove to be nickeliferous.

=Nickel in Veins.=--Nickel occurs with other metals, precious or
semi-precious, in some vein deposits and is recovered as a by-product
in the treatment of ores from them. It is notably present in the
deposits at Cobalt, Ontario, and has been found in vein deposits in
the United States, France, Germany, Austria, Mexico and South America.
Several hundred tons are recovered annually in the refining of copper
produced in the United States.

Related to the vein deposit type of nickel-bearing ore are the galena
deposits disseminated through dolomite in southeastern Missouri. Iron,
copper, nickel, and cobalt sulphides occur with the galena. Years ago
nickel was recovered electrolytically from matte from these ores.

DEVELOPMENTS AND CHANGES IN KNOWN GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION

In 1900 New Caledonia supplied 65 per cent. of the world’s production
and Ontario 35 per cent. Since then the world’s production has
increased six-fold, and Ontario, by the end of 1916, was producing 80
per cent. of the whole. This shows the trend of the industry. Recent
discoveries of ore in the Sudbury district and construction of new
smelters and refineries in Ontario to treat the ores indicate an
increasing dominance of the industry by that district. New Caledonia
has not the large ore bodies and is too far away to compete favorably
with Ontario, though work will continue there.

[Illustration: FIG. 7.--Refined nickel produced from the ores of New
Caledonia and Ontario, for five-year periods; the amounts are for the
calendar year indicated.]

Statistics of production and ore reserves in Ontario and New Caledonia
are shown graphically in figures 7 and 8.

Isolated nickel ore bodies of the sulphide type--that is, segregations
from basic igneous rocks, as at Sudbury--have been found in a number of
widely separated places. There is a distinct probability that others
exist and may be discovered. Such undiscovered deposits might even
contain more accessible ore, in the aggregate, than the total of the
mined and unmined ores of the Sudbury district, but in the light of
present knowledge this seems a remote possibility.

Other deposits of the New Caledonian and Cuban types will probably be
discovered, but it is doubtful if as large deposits of those types
remain to be found. In these the nickel has remained in the material
left as residuum from the partial or complete weathering by solution of
the original nickeliferous rock. This material lies at the surface and
covers relatively broad areas. Bodies of it are therefore not usually
difficult of discovery. They seem to be found most abundantly in warm
latitudes, where solution weathering has most easily gone on under
conditions favorable for preservation of the residuum.

[Illustration: FIG. 8.--Nickel production, and nickel content of
reserves, in Ontario, New Caledonia, and Norway.]

The present known nickel and nickeliferous iron-ore deposits indicate
roughly the locations of perhaps all or nearly all of the nickeliferous
metallographic provinces of the world. It is in these provinces that
new deposits are most likely to be found. The wide-spread distribution
of these provinces is indicated by the following statement in the
Report of the Ontario Nickel Commission:

While competition is not to be feared (that is, for Ontario), it
would be futile to try to shut off the supply of nickel from almost
any of the great nations. * * * Nearly every important country has
supplies of nickel ore which can be worked if the demand is great,
thus ensuring a high price.

It is thought probable that the nickeliferous metallographic province
of eastern Canada, which includes the Sudbury district, contains the
greatest unknown nickel deposits, just as it contains the greatest
known one, and this for three reasons. The first and most obvious
reason is that the great nickel-ore bodies of the Sudbury district,
the isolated Alexo ore body, 150 miles north of the district, and the
appreciable content of nickel in the veins of the Cobalt and other
districts near by, indicate an unusually large nickel content in the
original magma from which the basic igneous rocks were derived. The
second reason is that the mantle of glacial drift effectively conceals
large areas of underlying rock and prevents easy discovery. The third
is that the wild and unsettled nature of the country inhibits the human
activities whereby accidental or other discoveries would be made.

POLITICAL CONTROL

The Sudbury nickel deposits and the Alexo ore body in eastern Ontario
are under the political control of the British Empire; the New
Caledonian nickel deposits are controlled politically by France, New
Caledonia being a French colony; and the nickel deposits of Norway and
Cuba are under the political control of those governments. The other
deposits of the world, as has been noted, are commercially unimportant.

COMMERCIAL CONTROL

Ownership of mines and undeveloped ore bodies in the Sudbury district
is divided between British and American interests. There are two
companies producing ore at the present time and a third is expected to
begin producing soon.

The first large company in the field was the Canadian Copper Co. This
is a subsidiary of the International Nickel Co., over 90 per cent. of
the stock of which is held in the United States. The Canadian Copper
Co. owns the following mines: Copper Cliff, Evans, Stobie, Crean Hill,
Vermilion, Creighton, No. 1, No. 2, No. 3, No. 4, No. 5, and No. 6.
Four of these were being worked in 1917--the Crean Hill, Vermilion,
Creighton and No. 2. In December, 1916, the president of the Canadian
Copper Co. gave the following estimates of reserves of payable ore in
three properties of that company: 10,000,000 tons in the Creighton;
2,000,000 tons in Crean Hill; and 45,000,000 tons in No. 3.

The Mond Nickel Co. is controlled by British interests. It owns the
following mines: Garson, Worthington, Levack, Victoria and Kirkwood.
The Levack has proven reserves of good ore amounting to 4,500,000 tons.
The reserves of the other mines are not given.

The British-America Nickel Corporation, Ltd., has $20,000,000 of common
stock, of which $14,500,000 is held by the British government in the
name of Alan Anderson, trustee. By the end of 1916, this company had
11,000,000 tons of workable ore blocked out. Its mines are the Murray,
Gertrude, Elsie, Blue Lake and Frood Extension. The reserves of the
Murray alone are put at 9,000,000 tons.

In the southeastern part of the district an ore body 7,500 feet long,
10 to 120 feet thick, and extending to a depth of 1,020 feet in one
place at least, has been found recently in diamond drilling operations
by the E. J. Longyear Co., of Minneapolis. This company and its
associates, all American, control the ore body. The ore tonnage of
this deposit is estimated at 6,000,000 tons above the 500-ft. level. A
few drill holes have gone to greater depths and found ore. It is not
possible to estimate the reserves of this deposit below the 500-ft.
depth.

The Alexo Mining Co. Ltd., which is mining the Alexo ore deposit north
of the Sudbury district, is a Canadian concern. An estimate of the
quantity of ore in this deposit is not available, but the deposit
is small compared to that of the Sudbury district. The total may be
several hundred thousand tons.

The largest and most important owners of nickel-holding lands in _New
Caledonia_, in relative order of the importance of their holdings,
are: (1) La Société le Nickel, a company which has been mining in the
island for many years. (2) The International Nickel Co., represented
in New Caledonia by its two subsidiary companies, The Nickel
Corporation and La Société Minière Caledonienne. The International
does not mine in the island, but some of its lands are worked on
lease by persons associated with La Société le Nickel. (3) Les
Hauts-Fourneaux de Noumea.[73]

[73] Report of Ontario Nickel Commission, 1917, p. 253.

La Société le Nickel was under control of the Rothschilds of France at
the time of the discovery of the Sudbury deposits. Mr. F. E. Merry, an
English metallurgist, in testifying to the Ontario Nickel Commission,
reported that Germans were in control of the company at the outbreak
of the war. The German firm of Krupp had also acquired some nickel
property in New Caledonia.

The International Nickel Co., the second largest holder of New
Caledonian nickel lands, is the same American firm which owns the
Canadian Copper Co.

Les Hauts-Fourneaux de Noumea is owned, at least since the outbreak of
the war, by French interests.

According to Mr. Merry, the nickel mines and smelters of _Norway_ were
also mainly in control of the same German group that had gotten control
of Le Nickel. It worked under the name “Metallgesellschaft.” One mine
and smelter reopened recently were under English control.

The nickeliferous iron ores of _Cuba_ are owned entirely by American
companies, principally by steel manufacturing companies, notably the
Bethlehem Steel Co.

All three companies producing or about to produce nickel in the Sudbury
district own their own smelting and refining plants. The International
has been smelting its ore in Canada and refining it in the United
States. It has a new refinery at Port Colborne, Ontario. The Mond
Nickel Co. which smelts in Canada and refines in England, has started a
refinery in Canada. The British-American Nickel Corporation has built
both a smelter and a refinery in Canada.

The United States Nickel Co. operates a refinery at New Brunswick, New
Jersey. Les Hauts-Fourneaux de Noumea and this company belong to the
same interests. They have a smelter at Noumea, New Caledonia; also a
refinery at Havre, France.

La Société le Nickel has a smelter at Thio, New Caledonia, and
refineries at Havre, France, and Erdington and Kirkintilloch, British
Isles.

No one refining process dominates the nickel industry of the world. The
two companies producing nickel from Sudbury ores are using entirely
different refining processes, which they individually control; and
the British-America concern, soon to begin producing, will use a
third process, the Hybinette, an electrolytic process on which it has
exclusive rights for North America. The Orford Copper Co., subsidiary
of the International, uses what is known as the “salt-cake” process,
but it also produces some nickel electrolytically.

The process of the United States Nickel Co. at New Brunswick, New
Jersey, being one of fluxing and reducing from matte produced at the
Noumea smelter, is not adaptable to copper-bearing sulphide ores.

The ores produced in Norway are smelted and refined in Norway by the
Hybinette process.

Obviously the nickel resources of the world are controlled by a few
companies. The chief one is the International Nickel Co., which has
the largest holdings at Sudbury, and the second largest holdings in
New Caledonia. The Mond and the British-America are the next most
important, and La Société le Nickel is fourth in importance. E. J.
Longyear Co. and associates do not aspire to become producers of nickel
and are in the market to sell their properties. For a new concern to
succeed it would have to develop a refining process of its own. The
alternative would be for it to sell out to or merge itself with a firm
that controls a refining process. There are no custom smelters or
refineries in America. The Mond company buys the Alexo ore because its
high magnesium content makes it a good fluxing material in smelting
Sudbury ores.

POSITION OF THE LEADING COMMERCIAL NATIONS

=United States.=--Though the United States has insignificant deposits
of nickel ore and therefore exerts little or no political control over
nickel mining, American capital plays an important if not the leading
rôle in the industry. Of the four companies holding the deposits of
the Sudbury district two are American, and these two possess what are
doubtless the largest reserves there. One of these, the International
Nickel Co., has the next to the largest holdings in New Caledonia.

=Great Britain.=--Of all nations Great Britain is in the strongest
position politically with respect to the nickel industry, because of
the Sudbury district being in Canada. It has used this control in an
endeavor to localize the business of refining Ontario nickel ores
in Canada, with the result that the International Nickel Co. is to
transfer its refining operations from New Jersey to its new refinery in
Ontario.

Commercially, British capital controls the two other companies having
holdings at Sudbury. In one of these,--the British-America Nickel
Corporation,--the government itself has a controlling interest.

The policy of the British government with relation to the Sudbury
nickel ores, which give the British an overwhelmingly dominant
political control over the world’s nickel, is highly significant as
showing that the government is aware of the necessity for commercial
as well as political control, in order to reap all the commercial and
strategic advantages of its good fortune. During the war, and before
the United States entered, great feeling was roused in Canada and
England by the German submarine, _Deutschland_, loading at New York a
cargo that consisted partly of metallic nickel, it being assumed that
this was originally Canadian nickel. The direct participation of the
British government in the Sudbury industry in such a way as to make the
government practically the dominant factor, and the transfer of the
refinery operations of the American-owned International Nickel Co. from
New Jersey to Ontario, mark a vigorous and aggressive nationalistic
policy which has attained its object without much delay.

=France.=--France owns the island of New Caledonia and has political
control of the nickel deposits there. Two of the three principal
companies holding New Caledonian ore deposits are presumably held by
French interests. The larger one, La Société le Nickel, was for a long
time controlled by the Rothschilds of France. It was reported later to
have gotten into German hands.

=Germany.=--Germany exercises political control over no important
nickel deposits. Before the war the German firm of Krupp had
obtained some New Caledonian nickel properties. A German group, the
Metallgesellschaft, is reported to have had control of La Société le
Nickel at the outbreak of the war, and also the mines and smelters of
Norway.

CHAPTER VII

TUNGSTEN

BY FRANK L. HESS

USES OF TUNGSTEN[74]

[74] Unless otherwise noted, the short ton of 2,000 pounds is used
throughout this chapter and “tungsten ore” means materials carrying
60 per cent. WO₃.

The essential uses of tungsten are as an alloy in high-speed tool
steel, for the making of filaments for incandescent lamps, for targets
and cathodes of Roentgen (“X”) ray tubes, and for electric contacts
for explosion engines or wherever an intermittent electric contact is
needed. Other uses are in saw and some other steels, as a constituent
of stellite, in a tungsten-iron alloy for valves in automobile
and airplane engines, for kenotrons and similar instruments, in a
manganese-chromium-tungsten-iron alloy for wire-drawing dies, in wire
cloth, luminescent screens for Roentgen (“X”) rays, mordants and minor
chemicals.

=Substitutes.=--The use of tungsten in high-speed steels is as standard
as the use of yeast in bread, and, though assiduously sought, no
substitute is known that satisfactorily takes its place. According
to report, in England and France molybdenum has been used to replace
about half of the tungsten in some high-speed tool steels, but this is
seemingly not a preferred method, being used only when the obtaining of
tungsten is difficult. In the United States the practice has had few
sponsors. The following quotation from the _Mining Journal_ (London)
for May 25, 1918, p. 318, shows that this sentiment is not unknown
abroad:

The manufacture of ferromolybdenum is stated to have been commenced
in Sweden, where the lack of ferrotungsten has forced the employment
of this substitute.

During 1917, 104 (metric?) tons of molybdenite was shipped from
Norway to Germany, where it probably was used as in Sweden. Henry E.
Wood reported finding molybdenum in the steel of a German helmet.
When tungsten was at the excessively high price of early 1916, many
experiments were made to find a substitute, but apparently without
full success, although lately several substitute steels containing
cobalt and chromium and especially intended for cast milling-cutters
and other multiple-edged tools have been placed on the market and
a cobalt-chromium-molybdenum steel and a uranium steel have been
offered for lathe tools. Stellite, the cobalt-chromium-tungsten alloy,
in which there is only one-third to one-half as much tungsten as
is used in high-speed steel, has grown in favor, and cooperite, a
nickel-zirconium alloy, is also a competitor, but the trade in the
combined list has made no appreciable impression on the demand for
tungsten steels.

A change in the manner of using tungsten steel, by which a thin plate
of high-speed steel is cemented to a more ordinary steel bar so as to
form the cutting edge of a lathe tool, has made the demand for tungsten
less than it would have been had the old practice been followed of
making the whole tool of high-speed steel.

CHANGES IN PRACTICE

No startling changes of practice in the metallurgy of tungsten are
known to have taken place, but there has been a steady betterment
of the art, improvement in the quality of ferrotungsten, a shifting
in localities of reduction, and a considerable change in the manner
of use. The wasteful, lazy demand for ores of high concentration
and of great purity common before the war has given way before more
enlightened and intelligent practice, until firms both in this country
and in England make a specialty of using low-grade or impure ores,
though seemingly much more advance has been made here than abroad.
One firm, the Chemical Products Co. (Washington, D. C.) was organized
specifically to buy ores carrying less than the 60 per cent. tungsten
trioxide (WO₃) demanded by other American firms, and ores containing
sulphur, copper, arsenic, bismuth, tin, antimony, phosphorus, or
other impurities to which most users objected. Two firms, the Black
Metal Reduction Co., and the Tungsten Products Co., both of Boulder,
Colorado, were organized to handle materials such as tailings carrying
as little as 1 per cent. tungsten trioxide, and they said that they
were able to pay for gold and silver in the ore.

Several firms make tungsten trioxide or tungstic acid (H₂WO₄) for
ferrotungsten makers. Firms have also made artificial scheelite (CaWO₄)
for the same trade, using off-color ores in the process. Powdered
ferrotungsten made by chemically precipitating an iron tungsten salt
from solution and reducing it to a metallic powder carrying 4 to 11
per cent. iron has been produced by several firms and seems to have
started a demand for powdered ferrotungsten, so that firms are now
finely grinding the massive ferrotungsten. Claims for better furnace
practice which greatly cuts down the consumption of current and makes a
saving of 90 to 96 per cent. instead of the usual 80 per cent. are also
made. Several firms are making ferrotungsten powder and tungsten powder
in iron tubes or other iron containers instead of in the graphite
crucibles used before the war.

In the milling of tungsten ores, the tendency in this country is to
get away from the uneconomic method of making concentrates very
high in tungsten trioxide (carrying more than 60 per cent. WO₃).
Few operators really know what the heads run, and the determination
of losses is mere guesswork. Some of the most careful operators in
the Boulder field before closing down at the beginning of 1919 were
making a high-grade product carrying nearer 50 per cent. than 60 per
cent. tungsten trioxide, and a lower grade product carrying about 20
per cent. tungsten trioxide, not attempting to raise its tenor. This
practice cuts down the losses largely. When the great shortage of
tungsten ore came in 1916, users were compelled to take lower grade
concentrates, and some improved their metallurgy accordingly. This
change has made the sale of 50 per cent. concentrates easier. Even in
England, 60 to 65 per cent. ores were accepted where formerly a content
of 67.5 per cent. or 70 per cent. WO₃ was demanded.

Formerly scheelite sold 50 cents per unit below other tungsten
minerals, even though freer from bothersome impurities, but with the
graduation from rule-of-thumb methods to more thoughtful, careful and
scientific practice, it came to command a premium. Huebnerite seems to
be still sold with and as “wolfram” in England, but in this country it
must be sold according to its composition, for to most metallurgists
the manganese is undesirable, though at least one firm now makes
ferrotungsten from huebnerite without prejudice or difficulty. This
growth in knowledge and technique has caused the price of the tungsten
minerals to rank about as follows in the order named: Scheelite,
ferberite, wolframite and huebnerite. This applies to tungsten used
in the manufacture of tungsten and ferrotungsten for steel making.
Scheelite is not wanted in this country for making filaments.

Before the war the United States imported considerable quantities of
German ferrotungsten, but metallurgists claim that the ferrotungsten
now made in this country is superior to any from Germany. For the
present, of course, the German export trade is dead. England, formerly
a small producer, is now making large quantities of ferrotungsten
and tungsten powder at a number of plants. One of the producers, the
High Speed Steel Alloys, Ltd., Widnes, near Liverpool, “is under
government assistance and is owned by 31 of the leading consumers
of Sheffield.”[75] The article quoted stated that the output was at
the rate of 500 tons of tungsten per annum. The Thermo-Electric Ore
Reduction Corporation,[76] Luton, was at the same time producing 140
tons of tungsten per month. The ferro produced carried 80 per cent.
and the powder 98 per cent. of metallic tungsten. Only one company in
the United States was producing as much as 60 tons of tungsten per
month during the same war period. The Thermo Electric Ore Reduction
Corporation owned mines from which it expected to produce each year
4,000 long tons of concentrates carrying 65 per cent. tungstic
oxide. There are at least seven other manufacturers of tungsten or
ferrotungsten in England.

[75] _Mining Journal_, London. “High Speed Steel Alloys, Ltd., Visit
of Inspection to the Works,” vol. 115, Nov. 25, 1916, p. 779.

JULIUS L. F. VOGEL has since written an article (_Min. Jour._,
London, vol. 20, p. 16, Jan., 1919) in which he says that government
aid, though proffered, was not accepted. This statement confirms the
government policy.

[76] _Mining Journal._ “Thermo-Electric Ore Reduction Corporation,
Ltd., Visit to the Luton Works,” vol. 115, p. 797, Dec. 2, 1916.

France had a number of ferrotungsten plants before the war, and these
are thought to be still in operation.

At the beginning of the war about half of the tungsten used in the
United States was introduced into steel in the form of ferrotungsten
and about half in the form of tungsten powder. This practice has
changed, so that now more than three-fourths of the tungsten used is
introduced as ferrotungsten, largely, it seems, because of the ferro
being now manufactured in purer form and partly because tungsten powder
could not be obtained for a while. At one time tungsten ores were put
in the charge and the tungsten alloyed directly with the steel; in
fact, tungsten steels were first made in this way, although the process
was patented in this country as new. The practice seems to have been
dropped because of the introduction into the steel of impurities that
may be eliminated when tungsten or ferrotungsten is made first.

In the making of tungsten steels a considerable change has taken place
through the increased use of the electric furnace. One considerable
producer, the Latrobe Electric Steel Co., makes all of its high-speed
tool steel in this way. The Vanadium Alloys Steel Co., one of the
larger producers, makes a large part of its steel in the electric
furnace, and the Crucible Steel Co. and some other steel companies are
understood to make a part or all of their steels thus.

The removal of tin, copper and other impurities from ferrotungsten by
grinding and chemical treatment has made possible the use of impure
ores in the production of high-grade ferrotungsten in the electric
furnace.

GEOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION

Tungsten, even more than tin, is found almost exclusively with granitic
rocks. In a few places tungsten ores are found in volcanic, sedimentary
or metamorphic rocks, but as is postulated with certain tin deposits,
many of these deposits may be explained on the supposition that they
are not far vertically above underlying granite.

Among the deposits themselves there is a considerable variety of types,
and they may be classed as follows: Segregation deposits, pegmatite
dikes, veins, replacement deposits, contact metamorphic deposits and
placers.

Segregation deposits are few and of little importance and constitute
those deposits in which wolframite is segregated in granite, like
biotite or hornblende. A closely related type is the occurrence of
tungsten minerals in aplitic granite, and this grades almost insensibly
into the second type, the pegmatites.

The pegmatites are also of comparatively small importance, but do yield
certain quantities of tungsten minerals. The pegmatites also grade
into the next type, the veins, which have heretofore furnished the
greater part of the tungsten minerals of the world. Closely connected
with the veins are the fourth type, replacement deposits, in which the
country rocks alongside the veins, though the veins may be very small,
are replaced by various minerals, including those of tungsten. The
only known large examples are the wolframite deposits near Lead, South
Dakota, which were considerable producers under the high prices of the
Great War.

Among the replacement deposits are to be noted also such deposits as
those in the Deep Creek Mountains, Utah, in which solutions following
cracks in monzonite have replaced the rock with a mass of feldspar,
quartz, tourmaline, apatite, scheelite, wolframite (very little),
bismuth, copper, and molybdenum minerals, which under other conditions
would be unhesitatingly called pegmatite.

Closely related to the replacement deposits are the contact metamorphic
deposits, the fifth type. These only recently have begun to be of
commercial importance, but promise to be among the greatest, if not the
greatest, producers of this country and possibly of other countries.
They are of the familiar kind--limestones or limey rocks which have
been invaded by granites bringing large quantities of watery or gaseous
solutions of silicon, iron, aluminum and magnesium, with less chlorine,
fluorine, potash and sulphur, and, in this case, tungsten. In the
Great Basin broad areas of limestone, extending from northwestern Utah
to the Sierra Nevadas and around their southern extremity, have been
thus intruded and metamorphosed. Some large deposits of scheelite have
already been exploited in the region and others remain to be worked.
Similar deposits occur in Korea, Japan and Tasmania, and probably
exist, though as yet undiscovered, in China, the Malay Peninsula and
other countries. The tungsten mineral in such deposits is invariably
scheelite.

Placers, the sixth type, are formed from all grades of deposits, but
their value depends largely on local conditions. They are both residual
and fluviatile deposits and have been large producers of tungsten
minerals, especially of wolframite. A very large proportion of the
Burmese output has been from semi-residual and stream placers, and the
Chinese output in 1918, the largest ever made by any country in one
year, was almost wholly from placers.

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION

The distribution of tungsten ores is far from being as wide as the
distribution of the granitic rocks, and some regions with large areas
of granite have almost no tungsten minerals. Among such regions are
the Scandinavian peninsula, large stretches of Canada, the eastern
United States, and Brazil.

The world’s known large tungsten fields are grouped along the shores
of the Pacific Ocean--not always close to it, but somewhere in the
great mountain masses paralleling its margin, and the western shore
is much richer than the eastern shore. In 1918, fully 92 per cent. of
the world’s tungsten came from the shores of the Pacific, 61 per cent.
coming from Asia, Australia, and Oceania, and 31 per cent. from North
America and South America. Eastern Asia alone furnished 56 per cent.
There is only one considerable tungsten-bearing area not situated close
to the Pacific, that of the Iberian Peninsula, mostly in Portugal but
partly in Spain. Of the less than 8 per cent. not produced around the
Pacific, that area yielded nearly 5 per cent. There are, of course,
small deposits in England, Germany and other places near the Atlantic,
but together they produce less than 3 per cent. of the world’s tungsten
ores. The huge continent of Africa has only negligible known deposits;
none of consequence are found on the borders of the Arctic, Antarctic
or Indian oceans except along the narrow Malay Peninsula dividing the
Indian and Pacific oceans, and only minor deposits are known in Siberia.

Considered as a single metallogenic province, the region making by
far the greatest production is in southeastern Asia; it includes the
Malay Peninsula, Burma, the Shan States, Siam, Tonkin, and southeastern
China. The second largest producing metallogenic province is the
Cordilleran, including Bolivia and the adjacent closely related areas
of Peru, Argentina and Chile, to which the United States and Mexico
would be a close third.[77] Portugal, Spain and Italy form the fourth
province, to which are closely related the Cornish-French producing
areas. Australia, including Tasmania, is next in importance and is a
distinct province, practically all the ores being found in the ranges
of the eastern side of the continent. Japan and Korea also form a
rather distinct province which may continue into Manchuria. Mexico,
as has been indicated, should be included in the same province as the
western United States. There are numerous small more or less isolated
areas, like Connecticut, Nova Scotia, Manitoba, etc., that are at
present of little importance and give no promise of future greatness.

[77] It may be quite justly objected that the idea of a metallogenic
province is considerably stretched to include the Boulder and Black
Hills deposits with those of the southwestern states and Mexico, but
for convenience they are here so grouped--with a frank confession of
the license taken.

PRODUCTION BY COUNTRIES

The world’s production of tungsten ores by metallogenic provinces and
political areas is shown in the following table:

TABLE 28.--THE WORLD’S PRODUCTION OF TUNGSTEN ORE, 1913 TO 1918, BY
METALLOGENIC PROVINCES AND POLITICAL AREAS[78]

In short tons (2,000 pounds) of concentrates containing 60 per cent.
WO₃.

-----------------------------+-------+-------+-------+
Province and area | 1913 | 1914 | 1915 |
-----------------------------+-------+-------+-------+
_Africa_ | | | |
South African province: | | | |
Rhodesia | 4| ...| ...|
Union of South Africa | ...| ...| ...|
+-------+-------+-------+
| 4| ...| ...|
| | | |
_Asia_ | | | |
Chino-Malayan province: | | | |
Burma | 1,891| 2,605| 2,963|
China | ...| ...| ...|
Dutch East Indies (Billiton| | | |
and Singkep) | 7| 1| 7|
Federated Malay States |[80]252|[80]292|[80]326|
French Indo-China (Tonkin) |[80]101| 119| 220|
Siam | ...| 301| 475|
Unfederated Malay States: | | | |
Johore[80] | ...| ...| 2|
Kedah | 32| 27| 14|
Trengganu[80] | 94| 160| 161|
| | | |
Indian province: | | | |
India (excluding Burma) | ...| ...| ...|
Japo-Korean province: | | | |
Chosen (Korea) | ...| ...| 74|
Japan | 272| 215| 411|
+-------+-------+-------+
| 2,649| 3,720| 4,653|
| | | |
_Australia_ | | | |
Australian province: | | | |
New South Wales |[80]191|[80]220| [80]93|
Northern Territory[79] | 217| 159| 366|
Queensland | 402| 270| 468|
South Australia | ...| ...| ...|
Tasmania | 76| 53| 106|
Victoria | 1| ...| 16|
Western Australia[80] | 1| 1| ...|
+-------+-------+-------+
| 888| 703| 1,049|
| | | |
_Europe_ | | | |
Erzgebirgan province: | | | |
Austria | 57| 62| [82]75|
Germany |[80]318|[82]100|[82]150|
Franco-Cornish province: | | | |
England | 204| 229| 370|
France | 301|[82]200|[82]200|
Iberian province: | | | |
Italy | ...| ...| ...|
Portugal | 1,241| 735| 1,029|
Spain | 186| 149| 208|
Russian province: | | | |
Russia | ...| ...| ...|
Scandinavian province: | | | |
Norway | 3| 4| ...|
+-------+-------+-------+
| 2,310| 1,479| 2,032|
| | | |
_North America_ | | | |
American province: | | | |
Alaska | ...| ...| ([83])|
United States | 1,537| 990| 2,332|
Canadian province: | | | |
Southeastern Canada | ...| ...| ...|
Southwestern province: | | | |
Mexico | ...| ...| ...|
+-------+-------+-------+
| 1,537| 990| 2,332|
| | | |
_Oceania_ | | | |
Oceanic province: | | | |
New Zealand[80] | 248| 228| 217|
| | | |
_South America_ | | | |
Brazilian province: | | | |
Brazil | ...| ...| ...|
Cordilleran province: | | | |
Argentina[80] | 679| 499| 201|
Bolivia[80] | 339| 330| 947|
Chile | ...| ...| 10|
Peru | 357| 235| 455|
+-------+-------+-------+
| 1,375| 1,064| 1,613|
+-------+-------+-------+
Total | 9,011| 8,184| 11,896|
-----------------------------+-------+-------+-------+

-----------------------------+-------+------------+----------
Province and area | 1916 | 1917 | 1918
-----------------------------+-------+------------+----------
_Africa_ | | |
South African province: | | |
Rhodesia | 2| 12| 37
Union of South Africa | 1| 9| 19
+-------+------------+----------
| 3| 21| 56
| | |
_Asia_ | | |
Chino-Malayan province: | | |
Burma | 4,166| 5,018| 4,919
China |[79]120|[79,80]1,500|[80]11,662
Dutch East Indies (Billiton| | |
and Singkep) | 52| [81]61| [81]61
Federated Malay States | 578| 794| 398
French Indo-China (Tonkin) | 183| 422| [82]450
Siam | 584| 800| [82]800
Unfederated Malay States: | | |
Johore[80] | 25| 2| 1
Kedah | 19| 139| 582
Trengganu[80] | 303| 225| 691
| | |
Indian province: | | |
India (excluding Burma) | 47| 69| 45
Japo-Korean province: | | |
Chosen (Korea) | 613| 992| [82]1,102
Japan | 770| 808| [79]651
+-------+------------+----------
| 7,460| 10,830| 21,362
| | |
_Australia_ | | |
Australian province: | | |
New South Wales |[80]296| [80]274| [79]325
Northern Territory[79] | 401| 427| 614
Queensland | 415| 406| 298
South Australia | 1| ...| ...
Tasmania | 119| 270| 416
Victoria | 1| 25| 4
Western Australia[80] | 4| 1| 5
+-------+------------+----------
| 1,237| 1,403| 1,662
| | |
_Europe_ | | |
Erzgebirgan province: | | |
Austria |[82]150| [82]150| [82]150
Germany |[82]351| [82]200| [82]200
Franco-Cornish province: | | |
England | 441| 270| 338
France |[81]182| [81]182| [81]182
Iberian province: | | |
Italy | 9| 1| ...
Portugal | 1,563| 1,742| [82]1,300
Spain | 468| 491| 4,741
Russian province: | | |
Russia | 36| [79]108| [82]150
Scandinavian province: | | |
Norway | 1| [82]10| [82]10
+-------+------------+----------
| 3,201| 3,154| 7,071
| | |
_North America_ | | |
American province: | | |
Alaska | 47| 32| 12
United States | 5,876| 6,112| 5,056
Canadian province: | | |
Southeastern Canada | ...| ...| 13
Southwestern province: | | |
Mexico | 13| 207| 165
+-------+------------+----------
| 5,936| 6,351| 5,246
| | |
_Oceania_ | | |
Oceanic province: | | |
New Zealand[80] | 298| 181| 190
| | |
_South America_ | | |
Brazilian province: | | |
Brazil | [80]7| ...| ...
Cordilleran province: | | |
Argentina[80] | 963| 1,251| 724
Bolivia[80] | 3,624| 4,646| 4,082
Chile | 2| ...| ...
Peru | 587| 471| 295
+-------+------------+----------
| 5,183| 6,368| 5,101
+-------+------------+----------
Total | 23,318| 28,308| 40,688
-----------------------------+-------+------------+----------

[78] Figures unaccompanied by footnote references are taken from
official sources or other authentic publications. In all cases
the original quantities have been reduced to their equivalent in
concentrates containing 60 per cent. WO₃.

[79] Figures partly official and partly estimated by the United
States Geological Survey.

[80] Exports.

[81] Figures estimated by the Allies when it was proposed to allocate
the tungsten ores of the world among themselves.

[82] Figures estimated by the United States Geological Survey.

[83] Less than half a ton.

DEVELOPMENTS AND CHANGES IN KNOWN GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION IN THE NEAR
FUTURE

=Asia.=--The increase of output from eastern Asia has been marvelous.
In 1913 it amounted to 2,497 tons and in 1918, as already stated, to
20,228 tons--more than 56 per cent. of the world’s production. As
elsewhere, production must decrease until the accumulated stocks in
the reducing centers are used, then production will again proceed. The
alluvial deposits of _China_ are by no means exhausted, the veins are
scarcely touched, the tungsten-bearing area is large and only partly
prospected, and such prospecting as has been done has been almost
wholly for placers; labor is cheap, and a large future output is sure.
More liberal ideas of trade and government are slowly taking root in
China and ultimately educated Chinese or trained foreigners will work
the deposits; the output for a long time will be large, though it may
never again be as large as it was in 1918.

So far as can be learned, the easily worked placers and the upper parts
of the veins in _Burma_ are becoming exhausted rather rapidly,[84] and
recourse must therefore be had more and more to the mining of those
parts of the veins below water level and in harder rock, and this
will probably mean a diminution rather than an increase in output.
_Siam_ seemingly should give an increased production, as the mines
are comparatively new, and there still should be opportunity for
discoveries. The _Federated Malay States_ and the unfederated states
(_Johore_, _Kedah_ and _Trengganu_) should produce at least as much
in the immediate future as in the past--given the demand and an equal
price.

[84] Burma Chamber of Commerce and Tavoy Chamber of Mines, “Memorial
to Sir George Barnes,” _Mining Jour._, London, vol. 121, 1918, May 4,
p. 261.

=Australasia.=--Like other British possessions, _Australia_ labored
under the handicap of a comparatively low fixed price for tungsten
ores during the war. This price, at first 55 shillings per long ton
unit c.i.f. London, was later raised to 60 shillings. During the
earlier part of the war the price paid in Australia averaged less than
one-half the price paid in the United States, and only a little more
than half that paid in regions other than the British provinces. In
consequence the Australian tungsten production did not increase during
the war as it might have done had prices been higher. The cream of the
known deposits is gone except in Tasmania, where contact metamorphic
deposits on King Island have quadrupled the Tasmanian output. The
tungsten minerals mined in Australia are largely wolframite with
smaller quantities of huebnerite and scheelite. The huebnerite seems to
be rarely recognized as such in the British market, but is all sold as
wolframite. Except for the contact metamorphic deposits on King Island,
Tasmania, the deposits worked are mostly veins, with some pegmatites.

In New Zealand, the production is wholly scheelite; it increased
considerably during the war until the last year--1918--when, apparently
from a lack of efficient labor, it fell to the lowest point since 1909.
The probabilities are that there will be a stoppage of output for the
present.

=South America.=--In _Bolivia_ the increase of production has been
great. The deposits seem to be wholly veins and derived placers.
The veins are closely connected with the tin deposits, and in many
veins tin and tungsten are associated, but many tungsten deposits
contain little or no tin. The tungsten minerals mined are ferberite,
wolframite, scheelite and some huebnerite. In some veins the minerals
are mixed and in others wholly separate. The mines are in and on both
sides of the eastern Cordillera of the Andes through a distance of
nearly 400 miles from a point near Puerta Acosta, on the northwest, to
Chorolque, on the southeast. Mining costs during the war rose greatly
in sympathy with the rise in other parts of the world. Wages did not
rise to great heights, but the cost of materials advanced decidedly.
Transportation conditions are always bad in most of Bolivia, and
heavily increase expenses. Because of circumstances the output is
extremely sensitive to a decrease in demand or prices, and hence it
fell quickly after the armistice, but should high prices come again, it
will probably again increase quickly. Some modern plants were placed at
mines before or just as the armistice was signed, and when world stocks
of tungsten are used and when there is again a demand, some ore will be
produced even at less than $10 a unit, though the average cost seems to
be about $12 a unit, at the mine.[85]

[85] HAZELTINE, ROSS, United States consul, La Paz. Report dated May
14, 1919.

The output of _Peru_, as now produced, seems to depend upon high prices
and with such prices could probably remain at the level of 1916 for
several years. The Huaura deposits are reported to be large, though of
low grade, and may under proper management yield much ore even at lower
prices. They were under the control of German firms during the war and
probably still are.

=North America.=--Until 1911 the _United States_ was the leading
tungsten-producing country, but in that year it was passed by Burma,
which kept the lead until 1916, when the United States again became the
principal miner of tungsten ore. In 1918 China entered the excessively
high-priced market with an output that exceeded by nearly 1,000 tons
the world’s production of any year before 1915. North America increased
its output from 1,549 tons in 1913 to 6,512 tons in 1917, but dropped
back nearly 1,000 tons (to 5,406 tons) in 1918. In the United States
the decrease of production was due almost wholly to the fall in price,
and only partly to exhaustion of deposits. In the Boulder, Colo.,
tungsten field some of its best ore bodies are worked out and the cost
of production has risen greatly owing to the impoverishment of others,
and the same thing is true in some other places, but it seems possible
that in the country as a whole the production can be made about equal
to what it has been before, _provided prices are equally high_, through
the discovery of the contact-metamorphic deposits of the Great Basin.

In _Mexico_ the tungsten deposits are seemingly a continuation of those
of southern Arizona. So far as known, all the Mexican deposits carry
scheelite, in places partly replaced by cuprotungstite. The known
worked deposits in the Sahuaripa district of Sonora are described as
veins containing scheelite with copper minerals and a pegmatite dike in
which are large masses of scheelite and molybdenite.

=Europe.=--European production increased about 50 per cent. between
1913 and 1918, mostly in _Portugal_, and the output of tungsten ores in
Portugal apparently did not reach its maximum. Both placers and veins
have been exploited and there seems to be placer material still to be
worked as well as veins that are said to be far from exhausted. The
official statistics of production given by Portugal during the greater
part of the war are declared by engineers conversant with the situation
to have been too low, because of ore being smuggled into Spain and
on board ships bound for England. On the other hand, in 1918 England
and France objected to the shipment of Portuguese ore to the United
States, but would not pay equivalent prices. The Portuguese government
therefore issued an order preventing the export of tungsten ore except
at fixed prices approaching the current American prices. American
owners could not work their mines successfully under the British-French
embargo, with the result that the output was probably much smaller than
in 1917. In spite of the uncertainties the official estimates have been
used as far as they are available, for no better figures are at hand.

As to the Spanish output, prophecy is difficult because the data
concerning the mines are meager. It seems probable that under similar
prices about the same output as in the past may be expected from the
English and French deposits. The English output decreased in 1917 and
increased only a little in 1918. No accurate data are available from
France. The German and Austrian deposits were probably worked so hard
during the World War that less is to be expected from them than they
have heretofore produced.

=Summary.=--The principal changes in the distribution of production
during the next few years would seem to be: Further development in
Korea; possible development in Manchuria; development of deposits in
southern China and Siam; further development in Bolivia; a tendency
in the United States to largely increased production from deposits in
the Great Basin; and development of both veins and contact-metamorphic
deposits in Mexico. Production will possibly decrease in the Atolia and
Boulder fields of the United States; and in Australia, Japan, Germany
and Austria.

POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL CONTROL

The actual control of the world’s tungsten deposits differs
considerably from that indicated by the production within political
areas. Actual control is justly obtained through ordinary competitive
buying, ownership by nationals (sometimes by governments) of deposits,
and through commercial alliance. Control through ownership of banks
and transportation lines may be just or it may be by coercion
and commercial brigandage, seizing ports for coaling and repair
stations--methods that are merely refinements evolved since the days
when “They sought their fortunes as they pleased abroad, the crown
annoying them with no inquiry to embarrass their search for Spanish
treasure ships, or their trade in pirated linens and silks.”[86]

[86] WILSON, WOODROW. “A History of the American People,” vol. 1, p.
25.

TABLE 29.--ACTUAL CONTROL OF THE WORLD’S TUNGSTEN OUTPUT IN 1917 AND
1918.

IN SHORT TONS OF 2,000 POUNDS

--------------------------+-------------------+--------------------
| 1917 | 1918
--------------------------+--------+----------+--------+----------
| |Percentage| |Percentage
|Quantity|of world’s|Quantity|of world’s
| | output | | output
--------------------------+--------+----------+--------+----------
British: | | | |
_Possessions_ | | | |
Burma and Shan States | 4,600 | | 4,870 |
Federated Malay States| 853 | | 920 |
Trengganu | 350 | | 350 |
Johore and Kedah | 200 | | 582 |
India | 75 | | 46 |
Australia | 1,404 | | 1,662 |
New Zealand | 241 | | 146 |
England | 265 | | 330 |
South Africa | 24 | | 37 |
+--------+ +--------+
| 8,012 | 28.4 | 8,943 | 24.9
| | | |
_Obtained through trade | | | |
and political pressure_ | | | |
Japan and Korea | | | |
(including ores for | | | |
France) | 790 | | None |
China and Hongkong | | | |
(including ores for | | | |
France) | 1,105 | | 900 |
Siam | 600 | | 600 |
Billiton and Singkep | 60 | | 60 |
Argentina } (including| | | |
Bolivia } ores for | 2,035 | | 950 |
Peru } France) | | | |
Portugal | 960 | | 800 |
Spain (including ores | | | |
for France) | 446 | | 425 |
+--------+ +--------+
| 5,996 | 21.3 | 3,735 | 10.4
Total ores under | | | |
British control | 14,008 | 49.7 | 12,678 | 35.3
| | | |
French: | | | |
France | 182 | | 180 |
Tonkin | 422 | | 450 |
Siam | 170 | | 190 |
Portugal | 650 | | 440 |
Bolivia (See Great | | | |
Britain) | ? | | ? |
Argentina (See Great | | | |
Britain) | ? | | ? |
+--------+ +--------+
| 1,424 | 5.3 | 1,260 | 3.5
| | | |
German: | | | |
Germany | 200 | | 200 |
Austria | 150 | | 150 |
Norway | ? | | |
Portugal | ? | | ? |
Spain | ? | | ? |
+--------+ +--------+
| 350 | 1.2 | 350 | 1
| | | |
American: | | | |
Mexico | 340 | | 326 |
Peru } | | | |
Bolivia } | 4,320 | | 4,680 |
Argentina } | | | |
Japan and Korea | | | |
(including some | | | |
Chinese ore) | 1,010 | | 1,650 |
China and Hongkong | 395 | | 9,300 |
Portugal | 130 | | 60 |
Siam | 30 | | 12 |
Domestic production | 6,144 | | 5,068 |
+--------+ +--------+
| 12,369 | 43.9 |21,150 | 59
| | | |
Japanese: (Quantity | | | |
smelted only) | | | |
China | ? | | 300 }|
| | | }|
Norwegian: | | | }|
Norway | 10 | | 10 }| 1.3
| | | }|
Russian: | | | }|
Russia | 110 | | 150 }|
+--------+ +--------+
Total | 28,178 | |35,832 |
--------------------------+--------+----------+--------+----------

Owing to the close relationships between some foreign governments and
private firms--as illustrated by the German government’s interest
in dye, potash, and shipping firms, and the British government’s
participation in nickel mining and ferrotungsten-making companies--it
is not practicable to draw a line between governmentally and privately
controlled deposits. In countries with weak governments, the deposits
owned by British subjects are to all intents and purposes British; but
foreign deposits owned by Americans are not necessarily under American
control; in fact, instead of helping and encouraging our pioneers in
foreign trade we are apt to harass them and destroy their business with
drastic tariff laws.

In effect, the preceding table merely shows where the ores of different
countries go for treatment; it is, of course, only a generalization,
for trade conditions constantly change. For instance, Japanese
electric furnaces are beginning to smelt tungsten ores, though at
present to the extent of only 10 to 15 tons of contained tungsten per
month, but it is conceivable that the output may be increased greatly.
Although Japan could control the disposition of its ore, it is given
credit for control only of its smelted ores. The exact distribution of
ores from Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, Portugal and Spain can not be given.

=British Control.=--During the war the British government demanded
and obtained all of the tungsten ores produced in its colonies and
possessions. This restriction was later lifted as regards to Canada,
and a new rule allowed Canada to ship tungsten ores to other Entente
nations, but as Canada was not a producer the license granted amounted
to nothing except as it eased the feelings of the Canadians. Scheelite
deposits had been discovered in Manitoba, however, that for a time
seemed to be potential producers. Nominally Siam has remained free
from British control because more or less under the zone of influence
of the French, but diplomatic pressure seems to have been exercised
at Bangkok. The Siamese ores mostly contain some tin and have gone to
Singapore for separation; and when once within the British possessions,
of course they could not be exported. The English control of Siamese
shipments, however, seems as complete as if the ores came from an
English province. Mr. Nassuer, of the Siamese American Trading Co.,
testified before the Tariff Commission at San Francisco, June 28,
1918, that his company wished to ship ore to the United States but the
British minister to Siam would give no permit. The company took the
matter up with our State Department and finally got permission to ship
10 tons.

In February, 1918, the Chemical Products Co., of Washington, D. C.,
protested to the Department of State at Washington with reference to
British interference with exportation of tungsten ore from Siam to the
United States, stating that the company was working under conditions
peculiar to itself in that it employed an expensive process developed
to handle low-grade ores obtainable at a much lower price than the
regular grades on the market; that it entered into an agreement with
an American working tungsten mines in Siam for the purchase of his
tungsten ore, only to find that through control of port privileges at
Singapore and Hongkong the British effectually prohibited it or any
other American firm from obtaining the material. Of course, this, like
other incidents mentioned, took place under the shadow of a desperate
war when strictness was to be expected, but the shipments asked were
to an ally from a country not openly under control of Great Britain.
Doubtless no such objections would be offered now, but the incidents
show the efficiency of these methods of controlling commerce.

In southern China, Hongkong being the port for Kwangtung and
Kwangsi, and parts of southern Kiangsi and Hunan, the British for a
while exercised control over the export of ores produced in those
districts,[87] refusing to allow the reshipment of ores unless they
were sent to England.

[87] ANDERSON, GEORGE E.: American Consul General, Hongkong, China.
“Tungsten from South China.” Commerce Reports, Nov. 9, 1917, p. 546.

Foreigners, including Americans of course, are not allowed to own
mining property in Burma, the Federated and Unfederated Malay States,
or Australia, territory producing nearly all the tungsten ores of the
British Empire.

In Argentina small tungsten mines are owned by English companies.[88]

[88] SHARP, RALSTON C.: “Wolfram Deposits in the Argentine.” _Mining
Magazine_, London, vol. 18, May, 1918, pp. 230-233.

In Bolivia the English and French governments during the war leased
mines directly, and came into direct competition with American business
men engaged in buying or producing tungsten ores.

British traders are constantly striving to increase their control of
Bolivian tungsten ores. At present the English seemingly have complete
control of the financial system of Bolivia, so far as foreign exchange
is concerned. An American interested in a tungsten mine in Bolivia
has informed the writer that it is almost impossible to do business
with English banks, because they insist that if they extend commercial
courtesies, even for pay, the recipient must buy only English mining
machinery. The buddle, which for dressing tungsten ore is obsolete
in other countries, is said to be still used in Bolivian mills under
English control. If miners do not wish to deal through English banks,
they are compelled to cable money to and from New York at considerable
expense. The American banking interests represented in Bolivia seem
conservative in advancing money on ore shipments, whereas German
and English representatives are said to advance up to 80 per cent.
of the market value of ores shipped. Mining corporations controlled
by English firms ship to England, and Americans can not compete for
the production. Such a firm is Aramayo Francke Mines, Ltd., which
produced 2,050 long tons of tin concentrates, 226 tons of wolframite
concentrates, and a considerable output of bismuth in the year ending
May 31, 1916. Control of the Bolivian mines by the English is not yet
dangerous to American interests, except through the banking system, but
entire control may be passed to them, to the Germans or the French,
through American tariff legislation.

In Portugal, English companies control a number of the mines, and
it has been alleged by at least two Americans[89] that the English
government, through its representations at Lisbon, for a period of more
than two years, prevented title passing to American companies. The
Thermo Electric Ore Reduction Corporation, Ltd., seems to be the chief
English owner of Portuguese tungsten mines.

[89] Personal communications.

In the Dutch East Indies, the British are understood to control the
present wolframite production of about 5 tons a month.

=French Control.=--French control of tungsten deposits is not large.
It includes the production of France and of Tonkin, a part of that
from Portugal, and a comparatively small interest in Bolivia. During
the war, control in Portugal was attempted by England and France. The
prices offered by the English and French were much below the market
prices at New York, and the Portuguese government stepped in and raised
prices to a point somewhat lower than those of the United States, but
20 per cent. higher than the prices offered by England and France.

=Japanese Control.=--Japan has within her own borders a considerable
number of tungsten deposits in the southern part of the islands, but
all are small. In Korea important deposits have been discovered and
actively worked, especially within the last two years. Deposits in
Manchuria are said to be controlled by the Japanese; little is known
of them, and if they exist they are probably small. Japanese ores have
largely come to the United States for several years. As has been said,
Japanese firms have erected electric furnaces in which a part of the
tungsten ores are reduced, probably the equivalent of 25 to 35 tons per
month of concentrates carrying 60 per cent. WO₃.

=American Control.=--The United States controls entirely the tungsten
deposits within its own borders and Alaska. Americans operating in
Mexico have produced 200 to 300 short tons of scheelite concentrates
per year, from deposits in the Sahuaripa district, Sonora. Wolframite
is said to have been shipped from Sinaloa to the United States, but its
real origin is unknown. Contact metamorphic deposits about 60 miles
southwest of Nacozari carry 0.7 per cent. WO₃ and 1 to 2 per cent.
copper. They are owned by Americans but are not now productive.

In Bolivia, Americans own some of the more important tungsten mines.
The American firms known to own tungsten properties there are W. R.
Grace & Co., local address, La Paz; Stewart, Wilson & Hepburn, Oruro;
Easley Inslee, La Paz; and C. Dillon, Oruro. Their total output is
estimated to amount to about 1,600 tons, out of a total output of more
than 4,000 tons for the country.

In southern China, American firms have largely developed the tungsten
trade, so that through this source the United States (or rather
American capital) controls, unless hindered, a yearly output of perhaps
9,000 short tons of tungsten concentrates.

In Siam one or two United States companies have attempted to produce
tungsten, but English influence during the war made difficult the
shipment of even small lots of ores to this country.

Because it offered higher prices than other countries, and because
the more direct and shorter trade route made trade with this country
advantageous to the Japanese, the United States largely controlled the
Japanese output of tungsten ore in 1918. This trade probably has been
somewhat curtailed and will be further diminished through the erection
of electric furnaces in Japan. The table following shows the tungsten
ores imported for consumption into the United States in 1918, but gives
a poor idea of the ores shipped from the countries of origin; Chinese
ores lag three months and South American ores about two months. The
table gives only the ores actually received during the year. Table 29
shows more nearly the ores shipped to the United States during the year.

Chinese ores are treated as averaging 67.5 per cent. WO₃ and other ores
65 per cent. WO₃.

TABLE 30.--TUNGSTEN-BEARING ORES IMPORTED INTO THE UNITED STATES
IN 1918, BY COUNTRIES AS LISTED AT PORTS OF ENTRY, AND BY PROBABLE
COUNTRIES OF ORIGIN

-------------------------------++------------------------------------
|| Probable origin and equivalent
As listed at ports || in 60 per cent. WO₃
------------+------+-----------++-----------------+------+-----------
| Quan-| || | Quan-|
| tity,| || | tity,|
| short| || | short|
Country | tons | Value ||Country | tons | Value
------------+------+-----------++-----------------+------+-----------
Argentina | 536|$ 730,722||South America, | |
Bolivia | 88| 122,357||including: | |
| | ||Argentina | |
| | ||Bolivia | |
Canada | 56| 115,863||Chile | |
| | ||Colombia | |
Chile | 1,251| 1,209,864||Costa Rica | |
| | ||Ecuador | |
China | 2,384| 2,068,636||Panama | |
| | ||Peru | |
Colombia | 56| 65,124||Salvador | 4,181|$ 3,746,299
Costa Rica | 18| 19,081|| | |
Ecuador | 6| 9,979||China, including:| |
| | ||Hongkong, | |
France | 29| 3,400||“Other British | |
| | ||East Indies;” | |
Hongkong | 3,595| 3,511,046||also Canada | 6,811| 5,708,616
| | || | |
Japan | 1,361| 1,700,332||Japan | 1,474| 1,700,332
| | || | |
Mexico | 264| 224,247||Mexico | 286| 224,247
| | || | |
“Other | | ||Portugal, | |
British | | ||including: | |
East Indies”| 19| 13,071||France | 61| 21,160
| | || | |
Panama | 37| 40,614|| | |
| | || | |
Peru | 1,827| 1,488,516||Siam | 12| 8,583
| | || | |
Portugal | 27| 17,760|| | |
| | || | |
Salvador | 40| 60,042||Unaccounted for | 157| 142,981
| | || | |
Siam | 11| 8,583|| | |
| | || | |
Unaccounted | | || | |
for | 145| 142,981|| | |
+------+-----------++ +------+-----------
|11,750|$11,552,218|| |12,882|$11,552,218
------------+------+-----------++-----------------+------+-----------

Unhindered by other governments, this country would have imported even
larger quantities of ore, because of its paying higher prices and being
more liberal regarding impurities.

The table shows that the United States imported 36 per cent. of the
tungsten output of the world; this amount added to the domestic
output makes a total of 17,921 tons, or 50 per cent. of the world’s
production. Owing to the lag in shipments from South America and China
the South American ores received in January and February were from
the output of 1917, as were the Chinese ores arriving up to the end
of March. Subtracting the ores arriving from the two regions during
the first two and three months, respectively, of 1918, and adding
the ores arriving during a like period in 1919, make the quantity
of ore controlled by the United States in 1918 (as shown on page
153) equivalent to 21,131 tons of concentrates carrying 60 percent.
WO₃, or 59 per cent. of the world’s production. These ores were all
controlled through the private initiative of American firms who
offered better prices and better terms than could be obtained abroad.
Probably a larger proportion could be handled in the future, should
interference not come from within our own borders. It is now proposed
to put a tariff of $10 a unit on tungsten ores without regard to
purity or quality, with a correspondingly high tariff of $1 a pound,
plus the 15 per cent. ad valorem duties now in force, on metal in any
form--element, alloy or salt; and such a bill has passed the House of
Representatives. Its advocates believe that the price, now about $7 a
unit in New York, will be raised to $17 a unit.

Hereafter the quantities of tungsten ore handled will be much smaller
than during 1916, 1917 and 1918; and will be confined to peace-time
needs unless some unforeseen war arises. England, according to
government estimates about January, 1920, had two years’ supply, and
France is probably as well supplied. The United States probably had on
hand an equivalent of quite 8,000 tons of ore carrying 60 per cent.
WO₃. Makers of tool steel figured on a consumption of 7,500 tons during
1919, but because of the lack of market for ore this was much too high;
and probably 4,000 tons is large enough, so that there will likely be
little market for new supplies for nearly two years, except as ore may
be bought speculatively. During this time, mines everywhere must remain
idle until a demand again arises, except for those mines required to
furnish tungsten for Germany, Austria and Russia and the small quantity
required by Sweden, Norway and Italy. If industries in Germany, Austria
and Russia recover so that they can buy and use tungsten, Germany will
have regained in the ores that will be eagerly offered by producing
nations needing a market, a part of the trade she has lost. Traders of
England, France and the United States will be glad to sell tungsten and
ferrotungsten, but Germany will undoubtedly reach out for raw material
in order that she may make as much use as possible of her abundant
unemployed labor. Should a tariff law like that now proposed be passed,
the United States will have cut off its foreign supplies and will have
ended its control of any considerable part of them. However, should a
high price be maintained, artificially or otherwise, the development of
other alloy steels for use in multiple-edged tools may have reached a
point where not so much tungsten will be needed.

=German Control.=--Germany had no considerable tungsten deposits at
home, and none in the foreign territory she held, but in 1913 her
control through business alliances covered about two-thirds of the
world’s output of tungsten ore. In that year, according to the German
official figures, 5,295 short tons of tungsten ores were imported. Most
of this probably carried 65 per cent. or more WO₃, equivalent to, say,
5,736 tons of concentrates carrying 60 per cent. WO₃. Adding the 106
tons of Saxon concentrates produced in that year shows that Germany
treated a total of approximately 5,840 tons out of a world’s output
of 8,864 tons, or about 66 per cent. of the total. The United States
in the same year produced 1,537 tons and imported 449 tons of unknown
content, but the whole was probably equivalent to more than 2,000 tons
of ore carrying 60 per cent. WO₃, leaving only about 1,000 tons for
other countries, most of which seems to have been treated in France.
This trade Germany lost when with Austria she started the World War.
With the cutting off of all shipments by ocean to Germany, most of the
foreign ores were denied her, but undoubtedly small quantities leaked
in through Sweden and Norway for some time after the war began. The
small output of Austria was always available, and it is said that a
considerable quantity of ore was smuggled across the border of Portugal
into Spain, thence by water to the western frontier of Italy, into
Switzerland, and from there shipped direct to Germany. A considerable
part of the Spanish production is said to have reached Germany in this
way also, and the “crippled” submarines that ran into Spanish ports
are reported to have carried out cargoes of tungsten for Germany.
From available data it is impossible to confirm or to disprove these
reports, and, in giving them, their doubtfulness is fully recognized,
but such possibilities must be acknowledged.

In the Allied countries and the United States, the German interests
were taken over by the governments, but in South America the German
firms still hold some control of tungsten-bearing properties. In
Bolivia four German firms are said to have an output of about 600
metric tons of ore a year. In Peru what is said to be the larger part
of the tungsten deposits has been controlled by firms thought to be
German, E. y W. Hardt and Carlos W. Weiss y Cia. In Argentina the Hansa
Mining Co., a German concern, is the principal producer. Its output
is said to be about 500 tons of concentrates a year, but even this
output is said to have come to the United States during the war. If the
United States is placed under a prohibitive tariff, Germany may easily
recover a large part of her control of the world’s tungsten trade.

PRODUCTION PLANTS AND PROCESSES

The spread of knowledge, particularly that regarding electric furnaces,
makes the control of the tungsten trade through secret processes or
superior skill extremely difficult, and so far as the United States,
Great Britain and France are concerned, gives little advantage to any
one. Japan is perhaps somewhat less advantageously placed. Smelting
plants are so easily, quickly and cheaply erected that they do not
offer any great chance for monopoly. Cheap power, high technical skill
and knowledge, originality and boldness in experiment, excellence
of organization, generous dealing with producers, an honest product
honestly sold, good transportation facilities, and broad sane laws are
the elements that will give control. The United States may have this
control through reasonable effort, but selfish laws may still more
easily wreck control of the larger part of the world’s trade, reduce
our tungsten business to a provincial scope, and make the product high
priced for all time.

WHAT CONTROL MEANS IN THE UNITED STATES

In years of good business before the World War, the United States
used an equivalent of 3,000 to 4,000 short tons of concentrates,
carrying 60 per cent. WO₃ per annum. When the war began there was a
lull while the attacked countries caught their breath and prepared
for a long struggle. After plans had been made, and the manufacture
of munitions had begun on a grand scale, the demand for tungsten rose
enormously. All kinds of ores were taken at fabulous prices. Ores
carrying tin, phosphorus, sulphur and bismuth, that before would not
have been considered by steel makers, were taken with avidity, and
there was a great scramble for deposits. In October, 1918, the United
States was using tungsten ores at the rate of 20,000 tons per annum.
Meanwhile prospecting had uncovered so many new deposits and they were
so actively exploited that great stocks of ores were accumulated in
the Entente countries. On the other hand, in this country many of the
known deposits showed signs of impoverishment, a number after being
worked profitably for a short time became wholly inoperative, and it
is likely that some of the deposits that have seemed to be the richest
will never again produce largely. Among the new discoveries were the
contact metamorphic deposits of the Great Basin, in California, Nevada
and northeastern Utah. They were partly developed, and several promise
well, but the irregularity of contact metamorphic ore deposits is
notorious.

In 1916 with prices ranging from $15 to $93.50 per unit, the United
States produced 5,969 tons of concentrates; in 1917 while still under
the impetus of the 1916 boom, with prices ranging around $25 per unit,
6,144 tons; and in 1918, with prices still averaging about $25 per
unit, 5,041 tons, although little was produced in December. Under a
price of $17 per unit, which tariff advocates think can be reached
by means of a tariff of $10 per unit, it seems improbable that the
United States can depend on a production of more than 3,000 tons per
annum for the next three years. There are, of course, possibilities of
a larger production and there are equal possibilities of a smaller.
Should another great war take place, an event that is not beyond the
range of imagination, the United States would probably begin by using
tungsten at the rate of 20,000 tons of concentrates per annum. Unless
the price were even more extravagant than the highest price in 1916,
$93.50 per unit, the United States could not produce half of its needed
concentrates, and the time required to reach even that output would be
far too long for safety. Of course, such a production would be much
better than none, but the United States should, for safety, have within
reach at least a year’s supply.

The Pacific, around the borders of which are the largest tungsten
deposits, is by many looked upon as the next large theatre of war, and
however vitally they were needed, the obtaining of supplies of tungsten
ores might become impossible though the blocking of trade routes.
It would, therefore, seem vastly better that, instead of putting a
premium on the quick depletion of our own supplies, which are already
too meager, we should use the rich low-priced ores now being mined in
the Orient. These cheap ores we may have in trade for the asking, and
it would be one of the best forms of national life insurance for the
government to store 10,000 tons of these ores while they may be had.

The argument is often made that by putting a high tariff on tungsten
ores we would have our own deposits so developed that quick production
could be made when needed; also that with the need we would find more
ores. Both arguments are specious. What is meant is not development but
removal. No one will open a tungsten mine to let the ores stand against
the country’s day of need. The finding of new ores is a probability,
but the quantity is wholly a question. Few tungsten mines of the United
States can be profitably worked at the present price of about $7 per
unit, and the mines are now closed. The number of persons dependent on
the mining of American tungsten ores is small, probably less than 900
in peace times. At present most tungsten miners have already obtained
other employment, and practically all could obtain employment fully
as profitably in other mines, many of which are short handed, so that
no great hardship would be worked. As a matter of national economy,
the United States can not afford to throw away its chance to buy cheap
tungsten ores while they are available. Aside from the question of
insurance and even of existence during another war, not to buy South
American ores is to throw away South American trade. In a degree this
is also true of Chinese and Japanese ores.

The metallurgy of tungsten, like that of other metals, is being
improved constantly, and should our ores remain in the ground for a
time they will be of greater absolute value when mined, for there
will be less waste in conversion. If our ores are mined now under an
artificially high price, we will always pay a high price for tungsten
ores, for when ours are used the ores in other countries will have
diminished in quantity and increased in cost; prices would be higher
and we would have to buy at the advanced rate. On the other hand, by
holding our markets open to cheap ores from any quarter, we will stand
on an equal footing with other countries and will always have a reserve
of high-priced ores available in an emergency.

There is but one crop of ore. Deliberately to turn over all the cheap
tungsten ores of the world to our competitors, allowing them this
advantage in making high-speed steels with which to compete in foreign
trade with our steels and with all products on and in which they are
used; to put a premium on the early depletion of our own deposits of
this indispensable metal; and to compel our use always of high-priced
ores--these would be economic crimes.

CHAPTER VIII

VANADIUM

BY R. B. MOORE

USES OF VANADIUM

The main use of vanadium is in steel. It is used where great toughness
and torsional strength are required, as in automobile parts, gears,
piston rods, tubes, boiler plates, transmission shafts, bolts, gun
barrels, gun shields and forgings of any kind which have to withstand
heavy wear and tear. The vanadium content of such steels varies from
0.1 to 0.4 per cent. Vanadium is occasionally used in certain tungsten
alloys for making high-speed tool steel, the introduction of a small
proportion of vanadium decidedly reducing the proportion of tungsten
required to give such alloys the desired hardness and toughness.

Arnold has given some illustrations of the effect of vanadium on steels
of different types:

One plain carbon steel containing about 1 per cent. of carbon had a
yield point of 35 tons per square inch, a maximum stress of 60 tons
per square inch, an elongation of 10 per cent. on 2 inches, and a
reduction of area of 10 per cent. The addition to this steel of about
0.6 per cent. of vanadium raised the yield point from 35 to 65 tons,
the maximum stress from 60 to 86 tons per square inch, still leaving
an elongation of 7 per cent. and a reduction of area of 8 per cent.

A steel containing 0.25 per cent. of carbon and 3.3 per cent. of
nickel gave a yield point of 33 tons, a maximum stress of 42 tons
per square inch, an elongation of 26 per cent. on 2 inches, and a
reduction of area of 53 per cent. A practically identical steel,
containing in addition about 0.25 per cent. of vanadium, gave a yield
point of 50 tons instead of 33, and a maximum stress of 68 instead of
42 tons per square inch. The elongation was 17 per cent. on 2 inches
and the reduction of area 36 per cent.

A steel containing 0.25 per cent. of carbon and about 1 per cent. of
chromium registered a yield point of 27 tons and a maximum stress
of 41 tons per square inch, with an elongation of 36 per cent. on 2
inches and a reduction of area of 55 per cent. The addition of 0.25
per cent. of vanadium raised the yield point from 27 to 40 and the
maximum stress from 41 to 55 tons per square inch. The elongation was
lowered from 36 to 26 per cent., and the reduction of area from 55 to
53 per cent.

Vanadium, therefore, differs from tungsten in having an extremely
beneficial effect, not only on tool but also on structural steel.
Arnold has shown that vanadium seemingly does not form a double carbide
with iron, but gradually takes the carbon from the carbide of iron
until, if about 5 per cent. of vanadium is present, Fe₃C can not exist,
and only a vanadium carbide, V₄C₃, containing 15 per cent. of carbon,
is present; and this constituent is constant, at least in tool steels
containing 5 to 14 per cent. of vanadium. The micrographic analysis of
such alloys has resulted in the discovery of three new constituents,
namely, vanadium pearlite, vanadium hardenite, and vanadium cementite.

Chromium-vanadium steels are the latest development in structural alloy
steels that have gained an extensive market. Almost all these steels
are made in the open-hearth furnace; the chromium and vanadium alloys
being added shortly before casting. In their physical properties these
steels are much like chrome-nickel steels, but they have a greater
contraction of area for a given elastic limit than the latter. The
greater part of the chrome-vanadium steels made goes into automobiles.
Some manufacturers prefer such steels because of their greater freedom
from surface imperfections, notably seams, which steels containing
nickel are prone to have if the ingots are at all unsound. These steels
are almost always used in the heat-treated condition, but even in
automobiles some frames, forgings and shafts are made of the steel in
its natural state.

Some chrome-vanadium steel is said to be used in armor plate of medium
thickness, which is not face-hardened but has high resistance imparted
by heat treatment.

Vanadium is also used to some extent in making bronzes, in medicine and
in dyeing.

=Substitutes.=--Several substitutes, chiefly titanium and molybdenum,
have been claimed to give the properties of vanadium in steel. Both
of those metals give to steel some of the properties that are usually
associated with vanadium, but neither one takes the place of vanadium
entirely.

CHANGES IN PRACTICE

The Primos Chemical Co. (see later) has its own patented method for
treating roscoelite, the ore found at Newmire, Colorado. This method
consists in roasting the ore with salt containing a little pyrite, and
is a method that is applicable to some extent to most vanadium ores
that do not carry lead. The American Vanadium Co. has a secret process
for the treatment of its Peruvian ores. This method has not been
published. The treatment of vanadinite, cuprodescloizite and carnotite
ores has been studied by the U. S. Bureau of Mines, at Golden,
Colorado. Whatever change in practice takes place is likely to be
mainly in the concentration of vanadinite and in the treatment of this
mineral and cuprodescloizite.

GEOLOGICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION

=Peruvian Deposits.=--The largest deposits of vanadium in the world,
and the most important, were until recently controlled by the American
Vanadium Co. of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which in 1919 was absorbed
by the Vanadium Products Corporation, allied to the Bethlehem Steel
Corporation. These deposits are at Minasragra, Peru, 20 miles from
Cerro de Pasco. The area lies along the western limit of a broad
anticline in Juratrias and Cretaceous rocks. A section shows the
series in this locality to be composed of green shales, thin beds of
limestone, and red shales. Vanadium is found only in the red shales.
The deposit proper appears to be a lens-shaped mass, 28 feet wide and
350 feet long. The ore contains several minerals. The mineral that
constitutes the large portion of the deposit is called “quisqueite”;
it is a black carbonaceous substance containing sulphur. There is also
a lesser quantity of a coke-like material. Neither of these contains
vanadium. The vanadium is mostly at the southern end of the ore body,
and to a depth of 20 feet is largely in the form of red calcium
vanadate, which is brighter colored then the calcium vanadate in
Colorado and Utah, and carries as much as 50 per cent. vanadium oxide.
It occurs in small pockets and fills the cracks and fissures in a fine
shale. Below this shale is the “mother lode,” which is 9 to 30 feet
thick, extends along the greater length of the deposit, and carries as
high as 10 per cent. vanadium oxide and nearly as much sulphur. On the
east and south sides, below the “mother lode,” is a hard blue-black
vanadium shale, carrying as much as 13 per cent. vanadium oxide and
4 to 5 per cent. sulphur. Patronite, the main vanadium mineral, is
greenish black and contains 19 to 24.8 per cent. vanadium oxide and
in places 50 to 55 per cent. of combined sulphur. The patronite
originally almost reached the surface and is most abundant in the north
half of the lens. The whole ore body is almost completely inclosed by
porphyry dikes and contains two or three intrusions. These deposits
are controlled by the American Vanadium Co., and its successor, the
Vanadium Products Corporation, through a concession from the Peruvian
government. They are large, but are by no means inexhaustible, and
as they are entirely local they are not likely to be duplicated. No
similar deposits are known, either in Peru or in any other part of the
world.

In 1917 the American Vanadium Co. treated 5,236 gross tons of ore, from
which it extracted 2,122,005 pounds of vanadic acid. From this vanadic
acid the company manufactured 4,925,014 pounds of ferrovanadium. The
company did not buy any ore in this country, but relied entirely upon
its Peruvian production.

=Other Foreign Deposits.=--The deposits in Peru are the only deposits
of any commercial importance outside of the United States. Vanadium
is found in South Australia, associated with carnotite and other
uranium minerals. Small quantities of vanadic oxide are obtained as a
by-product in the treatment of these ores.

Vanadium is also associated with uranium minerals in the Andijan
district, Central Asiatic Russia. The vanadium is usually found as
turanite, or copper vanadate; ferganite, an ortho-vanadate of uranium;
and as several other new minerals. The amount of ore seems to be
reasonably large, and this district may ultimately become a source of
both uranium and vanadium.

The lead ores of Mexico contain some vanadium, the best known deposits
being in the northeastern part of the State of Chihuahua. Other
deposits are reported in Zacatecas, Guanajuato, San Luis Potosi, and
Hidalgo.

=Deposits in the United States.=--The principal vanadium deposits of
the United States occur in a metallographic province covering southern
and southwestern Colorado, southeastern Utah, and parts of Arizona and
New Mexico. Uranium and radium characterize the same province.

Probably the largest deposits of vanadium yet discovered in the
United States are in southwestern _Colorado_ in San Miguel County.
These deposits were visited by Ransome and Spencer in 1899 and
their description, together with notes on the chemical analyses and
composition of roscoelite by Hillebrand, was published in 1900. Fleck
and French have also described the deposits. Fleck and Haldane later
published additional descriptions, with notes on mining operations.
Hess, in 1912, published an excellent description of these deposits
with notes on the possible origin, etc.

According to Cross and Purington, the country rock is composed of
Jurassic and Triassic sediments, divisible into three formations, the
Dolores below, La Plata above and McElmo above La Plata. The latter
is composed of two heavy beds of light-colored sandstone, separated
by a thin bed of limestone. The vanadium-bearing rock is the lower
sandstone. It is a light to dull green, and fine-grained. Occasionally
splotches of carnotite are found in the cracks and fissures, but the
uranium content is too small to be worth saving.

According to Hillebrand, the green vanadium mineral to which the
sandstone owes its color is not a chlorite, but is closely related to
the mica, roscoelite. The ore mined has an average content of 1¹⁄₂
per cent. V₂O₅. These low-grade roscoelite deposits can be mined at a
profit, because they are large and easily worked.

Undoubtedly these deposits have been feeling the effects of the rather
large production of the last few years, and the average grade of the
ore is now probably at least half of a per cent. lower in V₂O₅ than it
was a few years ago. There is still considerable ore untouched that
will average 1 per cent., or a little less. The British government for
several years, according to reports, has been interested in obtaining
control of vanadium deposits.

The Primos Chemical Co., with works at Newmire, Colorado, and Primos,
Pennsylvania, is mining these deposits, and in 1917 made this
production:

Treated 60,907,000 pounds of ore; from this was produced 496,731 pounds
of vanadium in the form of iron vanadate running about 34 per cent.
metallic vanadium. From this was produced 417,770 pounds of contained
vanadium in the form of regular 40 per cent. ferrovanadium. In 1918,
up to and including July, this company mined 17,449,000 pounds of ore,
from which was produced 149,343 pounds of contained vanadium in the
form of vanadate of iron and 133,666 pounds of contained vanadium made
in the form of 40 per cent. ferrovanadium.

In 1919 the Primos Chemical Co., was absorbed by the newly organized
Vanadium Products Corporation.

Vanadium ore has been discovered in Huerfano County, Colorado, near the
Sangre de Cristo Range. The vein is said to be well defined and 1 to 4
feet in width. A number of assays show 2 to 7 per cent. V₂O₅ content,
and others 2 to 4 per cent. copper. The ore is heavy, black and banded;
it contains small quantities of uranium oxide, but should be classed as
a vanadium, rather than a uranium mineral. There has been no commercial
production up to date.

In Eagle County, 7 miles southeast of the town of Eagle, a silver
ore has been found that carries vanadium. This was located mostly in
the Lady Bell mine. The ore, a dark-greenish sandstone similar in
appearance to the darker types of roscoelite ore found in San Miguel
County, assayed from 25 to 1,000 ounces of silver to the ton. The mine
has been largely worked out for silver, the vanadium being lost during
the smelting process. There is still, however, an appreciable amount of
vanadium ore left, as the low-grade silver ore was not mined or treated.

A considerable amount of vanadium is obtained as a by-product from
the treatment of carnotite (uranium and radium) ore. It is difficult
to say just what the yield from this ore is, but it is probable that
it averages about 200,000 pounds of vanadic oxide per annum. This is
produced by five or six operating radium companies. These deposits
are found in southwestern Colorado, around the Paradox Valley, and in
southeastern Utah, extending as far as the San Rafael Swell, southwest
of Green River, Utah.

There is considerable ore running one-half to 1 per cent. uranium oxide
which carries from 4 to 10 per cent. vanadic oxide. In the past this
ore has not been mined, because the extraction of radium from it would
not pay. With a strong demand and a high price for vanadium, at least
the higher grades of this ore could be mined at a profit. There is
considerable of such ore at certain localities north of the Paradox
Valley; unfortunately, these deposits are somewhat scattered and some
would involve not only long wagon hauls, but also transportation by
burro to wagon roads. Only the higher-grade ore could be handled in
this way at a profit, and the difficulty is to get enough to justify
building a treatment plant.

The writer has been told that there are deposits of this same type of
ore at Temple Mountain, 40 miles south of Green River, Utah.

A small vanadinite deposit, containing traces of wulfenite, has
been found near Klinefelter Station, on the main line of the Santa
Fe Railroad, near the eastern border of San Bernardino County,
_California_. The ore is largely calcite and is low grade, averaging
probably from 1 to 2 per cent. vanadic oxide.

A deposit of vanadinite in Sierra County, _New Mexico_, on the
Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad, was mined for a short period in
1912 and 1913. Besides vanadium, the veins contain galenite, copper
carbonates, barite, fluorite and other minerals. The ore was treated at
a mill close to the mine, but the whole undertaking was unsuccessful,
probably because the ore was so low grade, and because of metallurgical
difficulties. There are a number of other deposits of vanadinite in New
Mexico, but none of them have been commercially developed in any way.

Vanadinite is found in a considerable number of places in _Arizona_,
frequently associated with wulfenite, or lead molybdate. Indeed,
one of the difficulties of producing both vanadium and molybdenum
from vanadinite and wulfenite is the fact that the two minerals are
frequently so closely associated that, because of the slight difference
in specific gravity, it is not easy to separate them by mechanical
methods. At the Mammoth mine, in Arizona, the upper levels are richer
in vanadinite than in wulfenite, but at the lower levels, the reverse
is true. Undoubtedly a considerable amount of vanadinite could be
produced from this mine and others in the vicinity, but it is doubtful
whether it could be done at a profit, even at a high price for vanadium.

The United States Vanadium Co. has a mine 4 miles from Ray Junction,
Arizona, and at the mine a small mill to concentrate the ore, which
is low grade, and produces vanadium from the concentrates. The amount
of ore that can be obtained from this mine is somewhat doubtful. This
is the trouble with vanadinite as a whole; it exists over a wide
territory, but the deposits are all low grade and apparently are not
extensive in any one locality.

One of the most promising deposits, as regards increased production of
vanadium, is at the Shattuck mine, Bisbee, Arizona, where a large vug,
or cavity, is lined with a vanadium mineral, probably cuprodescloizite.
The ore carries about 8 to 10 per cent. vanadic oxide, in addition to
copper and lead. This seems to be one of the best opportunities for an
increased production of vanadium in this country. The Golden, Colo.,
station of the United States Bureau of Mines made a metallurgical study
of the treatment of this ore.

[Illustration: PLATE V.--Geographical distribution of the vanadium
deposits of the world.]

The distribution of the vanadium deposits of the world is shown in
Plate V.

POSITION OF LEADING COMMERCIAL NATIONS

The United States is peculiarly fortunate as regards vanadium products,
for it is practically the only producer of vanadium in the world, the
Peruvian deposits being under the control of an American company.
Therefore, England, France, Germany, Japan and other nations are forced
to buy of American companies.

DEVELOPMENTS AND CHANGES IN KNOWN GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION IN THE NEAR
FUTURE

The larger part of the vanadium that has been used in this country
has come from the mines of the American Vanadium Co. in Peru, but the
Primos Chemical Co. produced an amount of vanadium from its claims at
Newmire, San Miguel County, Colorado, that at least tended to give some
real competition to the American Vanadium Co. As already stated, these
claims are not nearly as rich or productive as they were, but they are
probably good for several years more. The ore from Peru can be counted
on probably for several years at something like the present output.
The same statement applies to carnotite ore, and it is likely that the
production of vanadium from carnotite may increase to some extent, as
the demand for radium is strong, and there may be a consequent increase
in the treatment of lower-grade carnotite. As this low-grade material
usually carries more vanadium, the production of vanadium from this
source may increase.

Vanadinite may prove to be a source of vanadium, although it is
doubtful whether any large quantity can be produced from this mineral.
As already stated, cuprodescloizite is probably the best source for an
immediate increase in production.

As regards foreign countries other than Peru, Russia is the only
one likely to produce any appreciable amount of vanadium ores, and
undoubtedly no such production will be obtained until industrial
conditions are more settled.

POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL CONTROL

The American Vanadium Co. holds its mines in Peru through a concession
from the Peruvian government. Thus at least two-thirds of the vanadium
production of the world is practically in the hands of the Peruvian
government, although the company operating is American.

Formerly the American Vanadium Co. was the only producer of vanadium
products and ferrovanadium in the world. The price of vanadium was then
somewhere around $5.00 per pound for the metallic vanadium content
of the ferrovanadium. Later the Primos Chemical Co. came into the
field, and the American Vanadium Co. cut the price. On account of the
large deposits of ore that the Primos Chemical Co. had in Colorado,
the result was simply a lowering of the price of ferrovanadium.
Undoubtedly, if it were not for this competition the price of vanadium
during that period would have been higher than it was, and if it were
not for the Primos Chemical Co., the American Vanadium Co. would
have had practically a monopoly of the whole vanadium production, as
the output from carnotite was not large enough to affect the market
seriously. As it was, these two companies controlled more than 90 per
cent. of the ore supply, and thus the recent change of ownership to
the Vanadium Products Corporation will enable the latter to fix the
price, as well as to regulate the consumption and thus prolong the
availability of a useful metal which otherwise would be likely to soon
become exhausted. The principal vanadium deposits of Chihuahua, Mexico,
are controlled by the Madero estate (Mexican).

This dominance of control of sources of supply has made control through
ownership of reduction plants, patents and secret processes of less
importance.

CHAPTER IX

ANTIMONY

BY H. G. FERGUSON AND D. A. HALL

USES OF ANTIMONY

The following summary of the _uses of antimony_ is taken from _Mineral
Resources of United States_, 1918.[90]

[90] BASTIN, E. S.: “Antimony in 1918,” _Mineral Resources of the
United States_, 1918. U. S. Geol. Survey, 1919.

Peace uses.--Metallic antimony unalloyed has few industrial uses.
In the form of fine powder, known as “iron black,” it is used for
producing the appearance of polished steel on articles made of
papier-maché or pottery. For these purposes it is precipitated by
the action of metallic zinc in an acid solution of antimony salts.
Antimony alloys readily with most heavy metals and the alloy is
harder than the two pure metals. Most of these alloys possess the
property of slight expansion on solidifying. Type metal is an alloy
of antimony, lead, and tin; babbitt, anti-friction, or bearing
metal is usually an alloy of antimony, tin, and copper. Britannia
metal, also known as “white metal,” is an alloy of antimony, tin,
and copper, with some zinc, and, rarely, small quantities of other
metals. It is used in making cheap domestic tableware, teapots, and
spoons. Antimony alloys find minor utilization in battery plates,
toys, cable coverings, and siphon tops. Lead-antimony alloy or hard
lead is used in making acid-resisting valves.

White antimony oxide, mainly the tetraoxide (Sb₂O₄), is used for
making opaque white enamel and other sanitary ware. In this use
antimony oxides compete with tin oxide. Antimony oxide, mainly
trioxide, is used as a coloring agent in the manufacture of glass,
as it is more readily fusible than tetraoxide and does not impart
opacity to the glass. Antimony oxides are further used as paint
pigments.

The red sulphides of antimony are used in vulcanizing and coloring
red rubber and also as paint pigments. The natural antimony
trisulphide, stibnite, enters into the composition of safety matches
or of the compound that is put on the match box.

Antimonate of lead containing an excess of lead oxide, known as
“Naples yellow,” is used in oil paints and in the glass and ceramic
industries. The antimony salt, tartar emetic (double tartrate of
antimony and potassium), and antimony fluoride are employed as
mordants in dyeing. Tartar emetic and antimony trioxide are employed
medicinally.

War uses.--Antimonial lead carrying 12 to 13 per cent. of antimony is
employed in the manufacture of shrapnel bullets. Smaller quantities
of liquated antimony sulphide are used in the primers of shells. For
this last purpose it is claimed the material must carry less than 2
per cent. of impurities insoluble in hydrochloric acid. Antimony
sulphide as a powder is used in the charge of some shells to produce
on explosion a white smoke which is of service in range finding.

During the war Germany used antimony to some extent as a substitute for
more important metals in the manufacture of currency, but shortage of
antimony itself did not allow this use to become important.

GEOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION

The geological distribution of commercial antimony depends, with a
few exceptions, upon the distribution of the principal ore mineral,
stibnite (antimony sulphide). Cervantite, sernarmontite and valentinite
are antimony oxides resulting directly from the decomposition of
stibnite near the surface, and with other oxidized products form the
chief ores of certain districts. Metallic antimony, also a result of
oxidation of the sulphides, is rarely found, and still more rarely is
it an ore mineral. Jamesonite, the sulphide of antimony and lead, is of
frequent occurrence and is the principal ore of one important deposit
in Mexico. Antimony is also recovered from the refining of antimonial
lead.

Stibnite occurs in quartz veins and related deposits. Many of the
important antimony deposits of the world occur in more or less close
genetic relationship with eruptives of Tertiary age. The ore often
gives way to pyrite with depth. A few important deposits occur in
connection with intrusive rocks formed at considerable depth and are
probably of contact metamorphic origin.

Although there is a wide diversity in the forms of the deposits and
the nature of enclosing rocks, stibnite shows a distinct tendency to
form replacements in limestone. The chief gangue minerals are quartz
and calcite. Of other sulphides pyrite is the commonest, but cinnabar,
realgar, chalcopyrite, galena, and sphalerite are often present as
accessories. A characteristic feature of stibnite deposits is the
relative scarcity of other sulphides; and it is equally true that
important sulphide deposits of other metals rarely contain stibnite.
An exception to the general rule is cinnabar, the sulphide of mercury,
which is a characteristic mineral of certain stibnite veins. Likewise
stibnite is one of the minerals most frequently associated with
cinnabar deposits.

Several of the most important antimony districts owe their production
of that metal to the presence of recoverable amounts of gold. This
is true of certain French, Hungarian, Australian, and South African
deposits.

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION, AND POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL CONTROL

Although antimony has been produced at times from a great many
localities in the world, in only a few countries have deposits been
developed to an important extent commercially. Under normal conditions
of consumption the potential supply of antimony ore is far in excess
of the demand. Consequently only those deposits that can be cheaply
worked and are favorably situated with regard to markets, or contain
appreciable amounts of other minerals, principally gold, have been
extensively exploited.

The antimony-producing countries of the world may be divided into three
groups as follows:

1. Chief producing countries in order of importance: China, France and
Algeria, and Mexico.

2. Countries in which production is irregular in normal times but in
which potential reserves are considerable, and production becomes
important at high-price levels: The former Austrian Empire, Bolivia,
Australia (Victoria), Burma, South Africa, Italy, Spain, and Asia Minor.

3. Countries in which normal production is small and in which known
reserves are probably less important: United States and Alaska,
Canada, Peru, Germany, Turkey (Asia Minor), Serbia, Portugal, Borneo,
Indo-China, and Japan.

Plate VI shows the geographical distribution of the chief antimony
deposits of the world.

The production statistics of the various countries are so little in
accord that it is impossible to give more than a rough comparison
between the important producers. As nearly as can be estimated
the output of antimony ore in 1913, the last year for which even
approximately complete statistics are available, amounted to about
20,000 metric tons of recoverable antimony. The consumption is even
more difficult to estimate, as customs figures for different countries
vary widely. The following table shows the relative importance of the
principal producing and consuming countries in terms of percentage of
the world’s output in 1913:

TABLE 31.--PERCENTAGE OF ANTIMONY PRODUCED AND CONSUMED

--------------------+----------+-----------
|Percentage|Percentage
| of | of
Country |production|consumption
--------------------+----------+-----------
Austria-Hungary | 4 | 4
France | 24 | 20
Germany | (small) | 20
Italy | 2 | 2
United Kingdom | 0 | 12
Serbia | 1 | 0
Asia Minor | 1 | 0
Japan | 0 } | 10
China | 51 } |
Algiers | 1 | 0
United States | 0 | 32
Mexico | 11 | 0
Australia (Victoria)| 4 | (small)
All other | 1 | (small)
| --- | ---
| 100 | 100
--------------------+----------+-----------

[Illustration: PLATE VI.--Geographical distribution of the antimony
deposits of the world. By H. G. Ferguson and D. A. Hall.]

In the following discussion of the world’s antimony resources,
political control is largely indicated by the country headings, under
which are summarized the essential features of the commercial control
of production, by ownership of mines and reduction plants, and by
trading interests.

North America.

_United States._--Antimony deposits occur in many places in the United
States, but during peace times the comparatively high costs of mining
in this country do not permit competition with the Chinese and Mexican
mines. A small production of antimonial lead from domestic ores was
made prior to the war and a small amount of antimony recovered as
a by-product of lead refining, but except for this the country was
entirely dependent upon imported antimony.

High prices following the outbreak of the war brought a quick response
in the production of antimony ores. The mine production of antimony
ore in 1915 was about 5,000 short tons containing 2,100 short tons of
metal, and in 1916 was 4,500 short tons containing about 1,770 short
tons of metal. The lower prices of 1917 were reflected in the decreased
output for that year, amounting to 1,060 short tons of ore containing
390 tons of metal. The 1918 production was 190 tons, containing about
50 tons of metal.

The chief producing states in order of importance were Nevada,
California, Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Arkansas. Utah and
Arizona yielded insignificant amounts. In Nevada the Sutherland mine,
in Humboldt County, was the principal producer. In California, the
greater part of the output was from two mines in Inyo and Kern counties
operated by the Western Metals Co., of Los Angeles, the ore being
shipped to San Pedro, near Los Angeles, for smelting. In Washington the
antimony was produced at the property of the Gold Creek Antimony Mining
& Smelting Co., in Okanogan County. In Oregon the Jim Dandy mine, near
Baker City, was the principal producer. In Arkansas one property in
Sevier County yielded a noteworthy output of ore in 1916 and also a
small quantity of metallic antimony at a local reduction plant. In
Alaska the production was mainly from the Fairbanks district, the ore
being shipped to Los Angeles and Seattle for smelting.

The ownership of mines within the United States does not play an
important part in the present control of the world’s resources,
inasmuch as production under normal conditions is insignificant. It
is possible that with the development of new uses for antimony, and a
greater demand for that metal, the reserves in this country may become
of commercial importance.

About 40 per cent. of the Mexican antimony output is controlled in the
United States. An American-owned smelter was built during the war at
San Luis Potosi. Ores from mines in this region have also been shipped
to the Western Metals Co. at Los Angeles. An American concern, the
Antimony Corporation, owns a large deposit of jamesonite, antimony-lead
sulphide, in Mexico, which constitutes an important reserve that has
not yet been developed. Antimony deposits in northern Mexico were
worked by American capital during the war. Prior to the year 1914
only one company in the United States had attempted the smelting of
antimony. During the war considerable activity prevailed, however, and
several companies undertook the smelting of foreign and domestic ores.
China, Bolivia, and Mexico were the principal sources of supply. The
success of all these enterprises has been only temporary, as under
normal conditions the high cost of production in this country prevents
successful competition with Chinese and Japanese metal. American
smelting interests exert little control on the antimony of the world at
present, and can not be expected to do so in the immediate future. The
smelter capacity of the country is estimated at 6,000 to 7,000 tons of
metal per annum, all of which is now idle. One company, the Antimony &
Compounds Co. of America, is closely connected with a French company,
La Lucette.

_Canada._--Antimony production in Canada has been extremely irregular.
During periods of high prices a considerable output was obtained, the
years of maximum production being 1898, with shipments of 1,344 short
tons of ore, and 1907, with 2,016 short tons. Mining ceased in 1910 and
was not resumed until 1915. In 1915, 1,341 tons of 40 per cent. (metal
content) ore were produced; in 1916, 885 tons of 42 per cent. ore; and
361 tons in 1917.

The principal producing district is at West Gore, Nova Scotia, where
the ore in addition to its antimony content has a tenor of 2 to 4
ounces of gold per ton. Other regions that have produced antimony ore
are New Brunswick (York County), British Columbia, Quebec, and Yukon
Territory. In British Columbia (Slocan District) and Yukon Territory
(Chieftain Hills) antimonial lead ores are also worked. The Nova Scotia
ores, which furnished the bulk of the production, have been exported to
England since 1915; the earlier production went to Germany. The small
production of refined antimony came chiefly as a by-product of lead
refining at the smelter of the Consolidated Mining & Smelting Co., at
Trail, B. C.; a small amount of antimony was also smelted from antimony
ores by the New Brunswick Metals, Ltd. (formerly the Canadian Antimony
Co.) at Lake George, N. B. Canada appears to be in about the same
position as the United States with reference to antimony mining. High
prices, continued over a long period, will bring out a considerable
production, but no output is to be expected at peace-time prices.

_Mexico._--Antimony deposits exist in many parts of Mexico and there
has been a considerable production for many years. As in other
countries, the output increased largely during 1915 and 1916. The
production of metallic antimony for 1917 is reported as 2,141 metric
tons. In 1914 there were exported to England 1,543 long tons of crude
antimony and regulus; there were no exports to England in 1918, but
1,449 short tons of ore and 2,660 of metal were shipped to the United
States.

The principal mines are in the Sierra Catorce, in the states of San
Luis Potosi and Queretaro. The ores are mixed sulphides and oxides and
carry 5 to 50 per cent. antimony.

A smelter with an annual capacity of 6,000 tons of metal was built at
Wadley in 1900, and most of the production formerly went to England,
but since 1915 has been marketed in the United States. The smelter and
most important mines are owned by Cookson’s, of England, through a
subsidiary, the Republican Mining & Metal Co. American interests own
other properties in the same region, and during the war a smelter was
constructed at San Luis Potosi by the International Mining & Metal Co.
In western Sonora, near the Gulf of California, there are deposits of
oxidized ores that furnished a considerable part of the ore imported
into the United States. These are owned by American capital.

A large deposit of lead-antimony ore (jamesonite) at Zimapan, Hidalgo,
owned by The Antimony Corporation, an American firm, has not yet
reached the producing stage. Other deposits of possible importance
are known in the states of Guerrero, Durango, Sonora, Mexico, Baja
California, and elsewhere.

Political disturbances during the last few years have prevented an
output of antimony commensurate with the probable capacity of the
deposits. Production will probably be maintained in the future, even
during periods of low prices.

South America.

_Bolivia._--The output of Bolivia was negligible before the war, but
under the stimulus of high prices large amounts of high-grade ore were
produced in 1915 and 1916. This ore was shipped principally to England,
until an embargo was placed on Bolivian ore in 1918. The ore is high
grade, that shipped averaging over 50 per cent. antimony, but the veins
are small and become unproductive at shallow depth. It is possible that
the known deposits have been largely exhausted; and although demand as
strong as that of 1916 might result in new discoveries of importance,
it is not likely that Bolivia can be an important producer when prices
are under normal conditions.

Exports of ore amounted to 17,923 metric tons in 1915 (as against 186
in 1914); to 22,748 tons in 1916; and to 18,340 tons in 1917; but in
1918, for reasons given above, shipments dropped to 3,070 tons. From 75
to 90 per cent. of the ore went to England, and most of the remainder
to the United States, except for about a thousand tons a year to
France.

_Peru._--During the antimony boom of 1906-1907 a small amount of
antimony was produced in Peru. No further production was made until
1915, when 522 tons of high-grade ore was mined. In 1916 the production
rose to 1,876 tons of 60 per cent. ore. The 1917 production was 902
tons. Although deposits are known in many parts of the republic, over
90 per cent. of the production has come from the department of Puno, in
southern Peru. Up to the present, profitable mining has been possible
only during periods of high prices, but the deposits are said to be
extensive, and it is possible that improved transportation facilities
would result in some production under normal conditions.

Europe.

_Austria-Hungary._--The most important antimony deposits of the old
Austrian Empire are those of Hungary and Bohemia. Others of minor
importance are in Carniola, in Austria. The Hungarian deposits in
1913 furnished 11,017 tons of ore containing 1,038 tons of metal; for
the rest of Austria the output was 1,270 tons of ore, but only 89
tons of metal. The low antimony content of the Hungarian deposits is
compensated by the gold content, and these deposits have produced much
more regularly than those of the other parts of the empire. So far
as known the reserves are fairly large, but production can hardly be
expected to increase greatly.

The productive capacity of both the Hungarian and Bohemian deposits
is probably enough to supply local needs in normal times, and allow a
surplus for export when economic conditions are favorable. Prior to
the war, exports of regulus went to Germany and small amounts of ore
were exported to France and England. During the war the Central Empires
probably depended largely on the Austro-Hungarian deposits for their
antimony supplies. All mines were worked by the government. It is known
that certain mines that had been abandoned resumed operations.

_France._--France is the most important antimony-producing country in
Europe and also controls important productive deposits in Algiers and
Indo-China.

The French deposits are numerous but for the most part small. The most
important of these is La Lucette, in Mayenne, where stibnite associated
with auriferous pyrite has been mined for many years. This deposit was
considered to be approaching exhaustion, but recent work is reported
to have developed new ore bodies. The La Lucette company has recently
extended its holdings in other parts of France, has bought properties
in Algiers and the Transvaal, and in 1911 leased a smelter at Barcelona
for the treatment of ores purchased abroad. The La Lucette company
is also to some degree associated with the American firm of Antimony
& Compounds Co. of America. Undeveloped deposits are known in Tunis,
Morocco, French Guinea, and Madagascar.

French control of foreign supplies is not of great importance. In
addition to its holdings in the Transvaal, the La Lucette company
purchases some foreign ores. In 1913, 4,440 tons of antimony ore was
imported from China, and 205 tons from Turkey. Foreign control of
French deposits is limited to a few companies. An Italian company,
Minière Fonderie d’Antimonio, owns concessions in France and Corsica,
from which the production before the war was about 3,500 tons of ore
per year. The great Belgian smelting company, Société de la Vieille
Montagne, owns the most productive Algerian deposit--the Hamman N’
Bails mine; and an unimportant Algerian mine was, prior to the war,
owned by Beer, Sondheimer & Co., a German firm.

In 1913, France produced 20,872 metric tons of ore carrying about 32
per cent. metal content. The smelter output in 1913 was 6,390 tons of
regulus and oxide. France is normally an exporter of metallic antimony,
the average annual exports during the period of 1910-1914 amounting
to about 2,000 metric tons. The principal purchasers were United
States, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, and Russia. According to recent
information, the surplus production of antimony in France is now so
large that the industry can hardly continue to exist on a paying basis
unless the producers come to an understanding among themselves. It
is clear, however, that to be effective, any agreement among French
producers must be either backed by a high protective tariff or must be
extended to include their principal foreign competitors.

_Germany._--In Germany the antimony output is too small to affect
appreciably the world’s market, but a few localities have possibilities
of production when the price of antimony is sufficiently high. One
plant in the Eifel district in 1915 was producing 25 to 30 tons of
regulus and 60 to 70 tons of oxide a month. There was, however, a
production of antimonial lead from the smelters that may amount to
1,000 tons or more of antimony a year. This is derived in part from
German ores, especially the lead-zinc ores, and in part from ores of
foreign origin.

Germany’s interest in the antimony market is chiefly that of the
smelter and middle man. Average annual imports, 1910-1913, were as
follows: Ore, 3,668 tons; metal, 3,398; salts, 668. The exports
averaged, ore, 566 tons; metal, 331; salts, 1,226. The principal
purchasers of metal were the United States and Russia; and of salts
Russia and England.

German interest in foreign deposits was not extensive. The
Metallgesellschaft seems to have had some connection with an Italian
company, the Minière Fonderie d’Antimonio, owning mines in Italy and
France, and Beer, Sondheimer & Co. was recorded as the owner of one
Algerian mine.

_Great Britain._--Although deposits were formerly worked in Cornwall,
Devon, and elsewhere, no antimony has been mined in England since
1892, but before the war England was the chief smelting center of
the world, and several brands of British antimony, such as Cookson’s
and Hallett’s, had a world-wide reputation. Deposits of considerable
importance exist in many of the British possessions.

Cookson & Co., of Newcastle, control mines in the Catorce district, San
Luis Potosi, Mexico, and operate a smelter, the output from which was
shipped to England for further refining until 1915, when the supply was
in large part diverted to the United States.

England, through her smelting interests, has played an important
part in the antimony trade of the world. Seven smelters in England
refine ore and crude metals that come chiefly from China, but also
from Mexico, Australia, and Hungary, and, during the war, in large
quantities from Bolivia and Spain. The better British brands have been
considered more pure than other grades, and before the war virtually
monopolized American markets.

British trading interests have exerted important control both in
securing raw material for British smelters and in obtaining markets
for British metal. Until 1914 the Chinese Eastern Antimony Co., a
subsidiary of Cookson & Co., held contracts for the production of the
Wah Chang Mining & Smelting Co., the most important antimony producers
in China. In 1914, the Wah Chang Co. established an independent selling
agency in the United States. During the great demand for antimony in
1915 and 1916, British interests secured the greater proportion of the
output of Bolivian mines and completely controlled the industry of that
country.

_Italy._--Italy is the third important antimony producer of Europe.
The principal deposits are those in the southern part of the island of
Sardinia. During the war, however, the Tuscan deposits were reopened
and there has been also a small production from Sicily. The grade of
the ore is low, probably on the average less than 25 per cent., and the
production, which was 7,609 tons of ore in 1900, had fallen in 1913 to
1,822 tons. War conditions stimulated the industry, and in 1915, 1916,
and 1917 the production averaged over 5,000 tons annually, although the
imports of metallic antimony also increased, being as follows: 191 tons
in 1914; 825 in 1915; 155 in 1916; and 1,247 in 1917.

The low metallic content of the ore, together with the fact that in the
Sardinia deposits the calcite gangue makes recovery more difficult,
renders it probable that under peace-time conditions and prices, Italy
will not become an important factor in the world’s antimony production.

The chief producing company, Minière Fonderie d’Antimonio, was, prior
to the war, closely connected with the German Metallgesellschaft, and
the richest Sardinian ore went to Germany for smelting. Besides mines
in Italy, this company owned several productive deposits in France.

_Portugal._--A small amount of antimony ore, 100 tons in 1912 and 19
tons in 1913, is produced in Portugal. Exports in 1916 exceeded 4,000
tons.

_Russia._--Antimony and argentiferous lead-antimony deposits are known
in the Urals and were under development in 1912. Antimony deposits also
occur in the Amur province and in many localities in Siberia. In 1915,
67 tons of regulus was imported into England from Russia. Possibly,
however, this represents an overland shipment of Chinese material.

_Serbia._--Serbia contains several antimony deposits of considerable
promise. The production, however, has been small. No data are available
since 1912. The output of regulus and oxide, which amounted to 4,725
metric tons in 1904, had decreased to 297 metric tons in 1912. The
greater part of the product was formerly shipped to the United States.
Plants at two of the mines are capable of a considerable output should
conditions warrant it. It seems unlikely, however, that the Serbian
deposits will play an important part in determining the control of the
world’s production.

_Spain._--Antimony deposits are known in many localities in Spain. Most
of these are irregular and have been repeatedly worked and abandoned.
A few, however, offer some promise of a continued output. The annual
production has scarcely exceeded 500 metric tons of ore, even under the
stimulus of war conditions (516 tons in 1916, and 502 tons in 1917).
The smelter production in 1916 was 425 tons. Shortly after the outbreak
of the war there were three smelters, the most important being operated
by the French company, La Lucette.

Before the war Spain imported annually 800 tons of antimony ore from
France, and over 100 tons of salts of antimony was exported annually to
Germany.

Asia.

_Borneo._--British Borneo was formerly a producer of considerable
importance, and much ore was exported between 1859 and 1894, mainly
to England. The deposits then remained idle until 1914, when 870 tons
of ore was exported; in 1915 the exports amounted to about 360 tons.
It is probable that no important output at peace-time prices is to
be expected, although the country is largely unexplored. The Borneo
company (British) seems to have been the principal if not the only
producer.

_China._--With all her vast mineral resources China has been able to
obtain an important position in the world’s markets with regard to but
few metals. Of these antimony is the most striking example, for since
1908 over 50 per cent. of the world’s total antimony production has
come from China. In 1913 the output was estimated to be the equivalent
of 10,800 tons of metallic antimony, that of the whole world being
about 20,000 tons. The Chinese industry being well-established, it
was able to respond rapidly to the great demand of the war. Exports
increased from 14,361 short tons of regulus and crude antimony,
and 4,795 tons of ore, in 1913, to 38,142 tons and 8,667 tons,
respectively, in 1917.

Antimony is found over widely scattered areas in the central and
southern provinces, but chiefly in the provinces of Hunan, Yunnan,
Kweichow and Kwangsi. In Hunan the deposits have been most extensively
exploited, probably 90 per cent. of the total production of China
coming from the region about Changsha, the center of the smelting
industry. Here, in the Hai-Keng-Shan district, in 1915 about 70
companies mined antimony along the outcrop of the deposits. The ore,
remarkable for its purity, occurs as pockets and bunches, mainly of
stibnite, in a flat bed of dolomitic limestone. Several local smelters
produce liquated sulphide, and the output of the district is about
1,000 tons monthly of crude antimony averaging about 70 per cent.
metallic antimony. All regulus manufacture is controlled by the Wah
Chang Co. In the Panshi district the ore occurs as fissure veins in
slates, shales, and quartzites. The output consists of about 400 tons
monthly of 30 per cent. ore, all of which is shipped to Wah Chang Co.
at Changsha for treatment.

The only district in Yunnan where antimony is dealt with commercially
is near Chihtsun on the Tongking-Yunnan Railroad. The Pao Hua Co.,
connected with the Wah Chang Co., owns a French-constructed plant and
produces high-grade regulus.

The Wah Chang Mining & Smelting Co. virtually controls the production
of antimony ore, regulus, and crude in the Province of Hunan. This
company operates smelters in Changsha and owns low-grade mines. It
possesses a complete monopoly, granted by the Peking government, for
the manufacture of regulus in Hunan and owns the patent rights in China
for the Herrenschmidt furnace, the most successful means of reducing
low-grade antimony ores. The mines themselves are mostly native-owned,
and worked in a small way.

Prior to the war, exports of Chinese antimony were chiefly in the hands
of English, French, and a few German firms. The New Chinese Antimony
Co. (also known as the Chinese Eastern Antimony Co.) a subsidiary of
Cookson & Co., of England, held a contract for the entire output of the
Wah Chang Co. This contract was broken shortly after the war began,
although the Wah Chang Co. paid a percentage on all sales to the New
Chinese Antimony Co. for a year thereafter. The Wah Chang Trading
Co. was organized as a direct selling agency in New York, and has
established a large business in this country.

With present high scale of wages for labor, and prices for material,
it is difficult to see how this country can compete with China in the
production of antimony. Adverse exchange conditions due to the high
price of silver have probably nearly doubled the cost of production
in China and wages in that country have advanced. In spite of this,
however, China can manufacture antimony far more cheaply than is
possible in Europe or America; and probably, also, more cheaply than in
Japan.

Chinese antimony suffered from lack of advertising before the war,
being largely excluded from this country by the British metal, but
has now become firmly established in our markets, and its quality has
proved equal to the best English grades.

_India._--Since the war, small amounts of antimony have been produced
in Burma and Mysore. The total Indian ore production was 1,040 tons in
1916 and 130 tons in 1917. The most productive region was the Amherst
district of Burma. Here the ore reserves are said to be considerable,
but the inaccessibility of the district has made production impossible
except at high prices. The production from Mysore was only 26 tons in
1916.

_Indo-China._--There are productive deposits of possible future
importance in French Indo-China. In 1916 these produced 1,437 tons
of antimony ore with a metal content of 642 tons. Smelters were
operated by the firm of Schön & Rhay, and both native and Chinese ore
was treated. In 1914 and 1915, 883 and 630 tons of antimony ore were
exported to France.

_Japan._--Very little antimony ore has been produced in Japan since
the development of the Chinese deposits, although, as in most other
countries, there was a renewed development during the war. The smelting
of Chinese ores in Japan has become extremely important; and the
smelter production, which was only 32 tons in 1914, rose to 8,189 tons
in 1915, and to 10,633 tons in 1916. It was 6,562 tons in 1917. The
production of metal and crude from domestic ores was only 186 tons in
1915 and 286 tons in 1916. It is probable that as long as cheap ore is
available in China little production from Japanese deposits is to be
expected.

Japanese ownership in Chinese mines is probably small, as practically
all Chinese antimony bought by Japan has been purchased in the open
market in the form of crude and ore. Since 1914 Japan has played an
important part in the smelting of Chinese ore and matte, and in this
regard has ranked second only to China. Prior to that time, however,
production was insignificant. China is now in a position to supply
direct the major part of the world’s requirement of metal, having
largely extended her facilities for treating antimony ores, and it
is doubtful whether Japanese smelters will long be able to compete
successfully.

_Turkey._--The antimony production of the Turkish Empire comes from
Eastern Asia Minor in the vilayets of Brussa and Smyrna. The productive
district of Allchar, formerly in European Turkey, passed to Serbia
after the last Balkan War. The deposits seem to be rich and capable
of greater development. Bad government, lack of transportation
facilities, and excessive export duties seem to have retarded
production. Some mines were the property of the Sultan, and development
was hindered by excessive royalties. Most of the mines seem to be
owned or leased by Greeks. Deposits of antimony ores associated with
argentiferous lead ores are reported in the vicinity of Karahissar, in
Armenia. In 1914 the concession for these was held by the Asia Minor
Mining Co., presumably a British corporation. Undeveloped deposits of
possible importance occur in the islands of Mytelene and Chios, now in
Greek ownership.

Little information is available as regards production. In 1911 the
Djinli Kaya mine produced 1,500 tons of 50 per cent. ore. The 1912
production of Asia Minor is reported as 677 tons of ore. Exports of
antimony ore from Turkey to Great Britain were as follows: 1910, 303
(metric) tons; 1911, 773 tons; 1912, 1,108 tons; and in 1913, 408 tons.
Some ore was also shipped to Austria, and, in 1913, 205 tons went to
France. It seems probable that, given good government and improved
transportation facilities, an increased production could be obtained
from the region even at peace-time prices, for according to the best
available information the deposits are large and much of the ore is
high grade.

Africa.

_Algiers._--The Algerian deposits are probably capable of considerable
development, as is shown by the response to the increased demand in
1915 and 1916. The ores are nearly all oxidized and contain various
rare antimony minerals. Prior to the war the chief production consisted
of antimonate of iron, mined together with lead and zinc ores at Hamman
N’ Bails. During the war large deposits of oxides were developed and
were supplying antimony at the rate of 300 tons per month during the
early part of 1918. In 1912, there was produced 4,661 tons of ore; in
1913, 582 tons; in 1914, 1,100 tons; in 1915, 9,022 tons, and in 1916,
28,473 tons. Apparently the ore produced carries around 40 per cent.
antimony (metallic content).

The mine of Hamman N’ Bails is owned by the great Belgian smelting
company, the Société de la Vieille Montagne; and the La Lucette company
(French) owns the productive Ain Kerma oxide deposits. Prior to the
war, the German firm of Beer, Sondheimer & Co. was listed as the owner
of one of the less important mines.

_British South Africa._--Several antimony deposits are known in British
South Africa, seemingly the most promising being those of the Murchison
Range in the northern Transvaal. Here auriferous stibnite occurs as
veins and replacements in limestone over a considerable area. The ore
as mined carries 3 to 6 dwt. gold and 7 to 10 per cent. antimony. Sales
and shipments of concentrated and crude antimony were as follows: 1913,
48 tons; 1914, nothing; 1915, 91 tons; 1916, 722 tons; and 1917, 617
tons.

The principal mine of the range, the United Jack, was purchased
in 1917 by the La Lucette company (French). In 1916 there were
four producing mines in the district. The antimony deposits of the
Steynsdorp district, near the Swaziland border, were under development
in 1916, and antimony deposits are known in the Forbes Reef district in
Swaziland. Antimony ores are found over a considerable part of southern
Rhodesia, and this district would probably be capable of a considerable
output with better transportation facilities and continued high prices.
Ore production in 1916 and 1917 was 38 and 15 tons. Some of the mines,
such as the Hope Fountain, near Bulawayo, are chiefly gold producers,
antimony being a by-product.

=Australia.=--The only antimony-producing district of any importance
in Australia is the Costerfield district of Victoria. Here stibnite
and antimony oxides occur in quartz veins cutting Ordovician slates.
The antimony concentrates, which average about 48 per cent. antimony,
and also contain about 2¹⁄₂ ounces of gold per ton, are shipped to
England. The annual production is rather regularly 2,500 to 3,000 tons
of concentrates.

TABLE 32.--WORLD’S PRODUCTION OF ANTIMONY (1912-1917)

Approximate recoverable metal content of ore produced, metric tons;
antimonial lead ores not included

-----------------+------+----------+----------+----------+
| | | | |
| | | | |
| 1912 | 1913 | 1914 | 1915 |
-----------------+------+----------+----------+----------+
United States | 0| 0 | 0 | 1,760 |
Canada | 0| 0 | 0 | 420 |
Mexico | 3,500| 2,340 | 1,570 | 200[91]|
| | | | |
Bolivia | 40| 30 | 70 | 7,170 |
Peru | 0| 0 | 0 | 260 |
| | | | |
Austria-Hungary | 1,350| 840 | [92]| [92]|
Germany | 0| 0 | [92]| 700 |
| | | | [91]|
France | 2,290| 5,170 | [92]| [92]|
Italy | 310| 360 | 110 | 720 |
Spain | 170| 0 | 0 | 100 |
Portugal | 40| 10 | [92]| [92]|
| | | | |
Serbia | 300| 250[91]| [92]| [92]|
| | | | |
Algiers | 940| 180 | 320 | 2,740 |
British S. Africa| 0| 30 | 0 | 50 |
| | | | |
China |10,800|11,000 |15,900 |10,500 |
Japan | 70| 20 | 30 | 180 |
India | 0| 0 | 0 | 0 |
Indo-China | 110| 0 | 0 | 160 |
Borneo | 0| 0 | 300 | 120 |
Asia Minor | 270| 240 | [92]| [92]|
| | | | |
Victoria | 580| 960 | 890 | 1,300 |
New South Wales | 30| 10 | 20 | 320 |
Queensland | 0| 0 | 0 | 80 |
West Australia | 0| 0 | 0 | 0 |
+------+----------+----------+----------+
Total |20,800|21,440 |24,400[93]|35,400[93]|
-----------------+------+----------+----------+----------+

-----------------+----------+----------+-----------------------------
| | |Principal
| | |financial
| 1916 | 1917 |control
-----------------+----------+----------+-----------------------------
United States | 1,420 | 310 |United States
Canada | 300 | 120 |Great Britain
Mexico | 450[91]| 2,730 |Great Britain and United
| | |States
Bolivia | 9,100 | 7,340 |Great Britain
Peru | 930 | 450 |Peru
| | |
Austria-Hungary | [92]| [92]|Hungary
Germany | [92]| [92]|Germany
| | |
France | [92]| [92]|France
Italy | 1,080 | 960 |Italy
Spain | 170 | 160 |France
Portugal | 1,000 | [92]|?
| [91]| |
Serbia | [92]| [92]|?
| | |
Algiers | 8,940 | [92]|France
British S. Africa| 380 | 300 |Great Britain and France
| | |
China |42,800 |31,000 |China (Japan), Great Britain?
Japan | 280 | [92]|Japan
India | 400 | 50 |Great Britain
Indo-China | 510 | [92]|Great Britain
Borneo | [92]| [92]|Great Britain
Asia Minor | [92]| [92]|Turkey (Greece)
| | |
Victoria | 1,320 | [92]|Great Britain
New South Wales | 310 | 150 |Great Britain
Queensland | 80 | [92]|Great Britain
West Australia | 20 | 10 |Great Britain
+----------+----------+-----------------------------
Total |78,700[93]|54,300[93]|
-----------------+----------+----------+-----------------------------

[91] Incomplete data; actual production probably larger.

[92] No data.

[93] Totals for years 1914-1917 include estimates of production of
countries from which data are lacking.

The Hillgrove district, in New South Wales, was formerly of
considerable importance, the highest annual output being 2,450 tons of
ore in 1906. Recent production has been slight, and although a very
large increase took place with the stimulus of war prices, the 1917
production was valued at only about 5 per cent. of that of Victoria.
Insignificant amounts of antimony ore have recently been produced in
Queensland and Western Australia. New Zealand yielded a small amount
during the boom of 1906 and 1907, but no production is recorded since
1910.

Imports of antimony ore into Great Britain from Australia in 1915
amounted to 3,854 tons.

Statistics of production (1912-1917) are given in the table preceding.

POSITION OF THE LEADING COMMERCIAL NATIONS

=The United States.=--The United States is the largest consumer of
antimony in the world, requiring under normal conditions between 7,000
and 8,000 tons of new metal, most of which, before the war, came from
England. The consumption during the war was about double this amount,
and was derived chiefly from the Orient, South America, and Mexico.
The United States must remain dependent upon foreign sources for its
supply, unless a much higher tariff is placed upon imports. Even under
such conditions it is doubtful whether domestic mines would prove
adequate to supply more than a small part of the country’s needs.

Chinese and Japanese antimony has largely replaced the British product
since 1914 and has become so well established that it will probably
continue to hold American markets. Chinese antimony in particular has
shown itself equal in every way to the best British grades. With a
somewhat higher level of prices the importation of ore from Mexico and
South America may be undertaken by reducing plants in this country,
as the experience gained by several companies during the war has made
possible the production of high-grade metal.

=England.=--No figures as to the actual consumption of antimony in
England are available. Judged from a balance of imports and exports,
the normal consumption is about 4,500 tons annually. During the war
consumption was enormously increased for the manufacture of munitions.
English smelters are entirely dependent on foreign ores, most of which
in the past have come from China, with smaller amounts from Mexico and
Australia. The position of the industry, at least in so far as export
trade is concerned, is threatened by the strong position of the Chinese
industry acquired during the war, as represented particularly by the
activities of the Wah Chang Mining & Smelting Co. Two-thirds of the
English antimony exports went to the United States before 1914. It
does not seem probable that England will be able to fully recover this
market, now dominated completely by Chinese and Japanese antimony.

=France.=--France is the only world power that possesses important
resources of antimony within her boundaries. Including her Algerian
mines, she is entirely independent of outside supply. Inasmuch as
certain of the French deposits contain important amounts of gold, and
the principal Algerian mine contains lead and zinc, the production of
antimony in France will probably continue to be of some importance, and
it is probable that she will continue to export antimony as before the
war, though probably to a less extent.

=Germany.=--Germany, prior to 1914, consumed about 20 per cent. of
the world’s annual output of antimony. Her own resources of antimony
are insignificant, and German interests in foreign deposits have not
been widely extended but were rather those of smelter and middleman,
raw material being drawn chiefly from China, and metal and salts being
exported to the United States, Russia and Great Britain. During the war
Germany drew largely upon Hungary for antimony supply, but it is known
that this source could not adequately meet the demand.

=Japan.=--Japan’s actual consumption of antimony has never been large
and before the war was confined largely to the production of “white
metal” boxes, trays, and other articles. During the war her importance
in the antimony trade rested upon her ability to supply a large
part of the needs of the Allies, principally Russia, and later the
United States and Canada. How long after the war she will be able to
retain her position is uncertain. Favorable freight rates to Japanese
shippers, and the fact that the present high price of silver and the
consequent exchange conditions affect adversely Chinese production may
enable Japan to continue a factor in the antimony trade.

RECENT CONDITIONS IN THE INDUSTRY

Owing to the very high prices prevailing for antimony during 1915
and 1916, caused by a greatly increased demand for antimony for the
manufacture of munitions, several countries became large producers.
The most important among these were Bolivia, Mexico, and Algeria, but
Victoria and the United States, Peru, Burma, and Spain all contributed
substantial amounts. With the possible exception of Algeria--whose
principal mines yield considerable lead and zinc and are situated near
to French reduction plants--and of Mexico, none of these countries will
be important factors in the production of antimony at the usual low
prices prevailing for that metal.

The sudden ending of the war found the belligerents with large stocks
of antimony on hand, the English holding, according to figures
published by the British Ministry of Munitions on March 1, 1919,
4,325 long tons of regulus. There is reason to believe that the other
Allies had stocks of the same order of magnitude, and if so there
must have been about a year’s supply available on April 1, 1919, as
the 1913 consumption of antimony amounted to only about 20,000 tons.
In addition there were large supplies of alloys and antimonial lead
available and more will undoubtedly be obtained by salvage operations.
It may be expected, therefore, that until these are absorbed the
production of antimony will be even less than that of pre-war years.
At present there is little inducement for mining. Costs of mining have
increased everywhere. China, the largest producer, faces a particularly
difficult situation, for the higher price of silver has resulted in
doubling costs of labor and local supplies. If silver prices remain
high after the demand for primary antimony has recovered, the other
antimony-producing countries, not on a silver basis, will have a
corresponding advantage over China in the matter of production.

SUMMARY

The peace-time consumption of antimony is limited rather by the
relatively restricted uses to which antimony is put than by any lack
of potential supply. As a consequence, steady production has been
maintained only from those districts in which working expenses are low
and markets readily available, or in which the deposits contain other
metals of value. Modern warfare, however, creates a special use for
antimony--in the manufacture of shrapnel--which requires many times
the amount of antimony necessary for ordinary peace uses. In the case
of each of the three important wars of the last twenty years, the Boer
War, the Russo-Japanese War and the Great War, the curves of antimony
prices and production have risen sharply in accordance with the demand,
and have fallen as rapidly after the need for munitions was past.

China has for long been the most important source of antimony and will
doubtless retain that position for many years. Steady though less
important production has been maintained in France, Austria-Hungary and
Mexico, while several other countries produced important amounts as a
result of the largely increased demands of the war. Chief among these
were Bolivia, Algeria, and Australia.

England dominated the antimony market prior to 1914 through her large
smelting interest, trade agreements in the Orient, and selling agencies
in America--the principal consuming country. Since that time, however,
Chinese interests have become independent, and Japan has become of
importance in the antimony smelting and trading field.

The United States possesses limited antimony resources which can be
exploited only at very high prices, and is dependent almost entirely
upon outside sources of supply. In the past this supply has been drawn
largely from England, but more recently from the Orient and Mexico.

Germany has insignificant antimony resources of her own, and depended
for her supply during the war upon the Hungarian deposits, which were
apparently inadequate to meet the demands. Her interests prior to the
war were chiefly those of the smelter and middleman, and did not extend
very largely to foreign deposits.

The United States, France, Germany and Great Britain normally consume
85 per cent. of the antimony of the world, and of these France alone is
independent of foreign sources of supply.

The antimony trade of the world is largely controlled by a few
companies, of which the most important are: Cookson’s (British), Wah
Chang Co. (Chinese), and Société de La Lucette (French). The Mitsui
Co. (Japanese), largely through shipping interests, has a considerable
share in the Chinese and Japanese antimony trade.

CHAPTER X

MOLYBDENUM

BY R. B. MOORE

USES OF MOLYBDENUM

Molybdenum is used in the manufacture of ferro-alloys for making
steel. As wire, it is used for supporting the filament in incandescent
electric lamps. The wire is also employed for winding electric
resistance furnaces and for this use has proved cheaper and better
than platinum because of the quicker heating and higher temperatures
attainable. The metal has been successfully substituted for platinum
and for platinum-iridium in electric contact-making devices. Molybdenum
compounds are used in chemistry, particularly ammonium molybdate for
the determination of phosphorus. Fast colors in a variety of shades may
be produced on leather by employing molybdenum tannate in conjunction
with logwood extracts. It has been employed for color glazes in
porcelain and in coloring silks and rubber.

The addition of molybdenum to steel increases the elastic limit without
diminishing the ductility. Molybdenum can be substituted for a certain
percentage of tungsten in high-speed steel, as a rule one part of
molybdenum taking the place of two to three parts of tungsten.

GEOLOGICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION

Up to about 1916, practically all of the molybdenite concentrates
produced came from Queensland, New South Wales, and Norway. Shortly
after the opening of the war, interest was shown in the production
of molybdenite in Canada, principally in the provinces of Ontario
and British Columbia. During 1917 and 1918 there was a great deal of
interest in the United States in molybdenum ores, and at the present
time this country can probably produce molybdenite concentrates in
quantity equaling if not exceeding the rest of the world put together.
Some molybdenum is produced by Spain and Peru.

=Australia and Norway.=--The first official record of a production of
molybdenite in _Queensland_ was in 1900, when the output amounted to
12.3 short tons of high-grade material. The production gradually rose
to 119 tons in 1906, and has not varied materially since that date,
although the selling prices for concentrates increased considerably.
The bulk of the material was mined at Wolfram Camp, in the Chillagoe
field, 120 miles southwest of Cairns, in Northern Queensland. The mines
at Bamford, in the same field, are credited with a small output. With
the molybdenite ores are bismuth-tungsten ores, so that all three
metals are produced.

The production of molybdenite was first reported in _New South Wales_
in 1902; in that year the output was 17 short tons. The total output
to the end of 1914 was 498 short tons, valued at $264,000. The chief
producing molybdenite mines are at Whipstick, in the Pambula division,
at Kingsgate, in the Glenn Innes division, and near Deepwater, in
the Deepwater division. Molybdenite is also being produced at Rocky
River, in the Tantafield division, and in the Bathhurst division. The
production at all of these localities has not been large--in no one
year exceeding 100 tons of concentrates.

In _Norway_, the production of high-grade molybdenite concentrates has
averaged about 30 tons per annum since 1902. In 1906, an output of
1,129 short tons was reported. This probably refers to ore mined and
not to concentrates produced.

The chief molybdenite districts in Norway are the provinces of Lister,
Mandal, and Nedenes, on the extreme southern end of the peninsula. The
district of Fjotland, in the former province, is probably richer in
molybdenite than any yet discovered in Norway. A mine at Knaben, in
this district, has been the largest and probably the only successful
producer in Norway. This mine, owned by George G. Blackwell & Sons, of
Liverpool, England,[94] has made an average output of about 25 short
tons per annum.

[94] Reported taken over by a Norwegian company. U. S. Commerce
Reports, September 24, 1918.

TABLE 33.--PRODUCTION OF MOLYBDENITE IN QUEENSLAND, NEW SOUTH WALES AND
NORWAY

----+----------------+----------------+----------------
| Queensland |New South Wales | Norway
+------+---------+------+---------+------+---------
|Weight| |Weight| |Weight|
|(short| Value |(short| Value |(short| Value
Year| tons)|(dollars)| tons)|(dollars)| tons)|(dollars)
----+------+---------+------+---------+------+---------
1902| 45.9| 26,770 | 16.8| 8,960 | 22| 16,100
1903| 26.9| 10,220 | 32.5| 21,960 | 34| 21,400
1904| 23.6| 13,010 | 28.3| 13,270 | 33| 17,400
1905| 70.8| 41,340 | 21.7| 12,200 | 51| 16,300
1906| 118.9| 74,330 | 36.6| 23,350 | 1,129| 14,200
1907| 74.0| 41,080 | 24.2| 17,340 | 33| 12,900
1908| 98.7| 44,960 | 9.5| 4,520 | 39| 13,400
1909| 103.9| 45,120 | 31.5| 15,810 | 33| 12,100
1910| 118.6| 58,640 | 53.2| 27,580 | |
1911| 111.4| 64,610 | 23.1| 12,610 | 2| 800
1912| 114.6| 84,420 | 63.3| 18,030 | 23| 5,400
1913| 74.3| 92,460 | 88.3| 33,100 | 13| 3,200
1914| 87.1| 185,830 | 68.8| 55,720 | |
----+------+---------+------+---------+------+---------

The production of molybdenite in Queensland, New South Wales and
Norway, by years, is shown in the preceding table.

Figures for more recent years indicate the total production in
Australia of about 330 short tons per annum and 110 short tons in
Norway in 1916. In 1917 the output in Norway was three times the 1916
figures.

=North America.=--As already stated, the chief molybdenite deposits in
_Canada_ are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. They are
low grade and of course need concentration. The Canadian and British
governments have been much interested in the concentration of these
ores and the Canadian government has a mill engaged in experimental
work and in commercial concentration. The Department of Mines has spent
a good deal of time in experimentation, believing that molybdenite has
an important future in metallurgy.

The production in 1917 was about 80 short tons of high-grade
concentrates and was undoubtedly larger in 1918.

Canada when properly prospected may produce a good deal more
molybdenite than now.

In the _United States_ are a very large number of small molybdenum
deposits, scattered over the western states from Washington to
Arizona and from Colorado to California. There are two common
minerals--molybdenite, or molybdenum sulphide, and wulfenite, or lead
molybdate. Generally speaking, molybdenite is found in the northern
states, and wulfenite in the southern states, but this rule is not
without exception. In Arizona and New Mexico, the principal mineral is
wulfenite, but there are some fairly large deposits of molybdenite,
probably the best being at the Leviathan mines, in Copper Canyon,
Mohave County, Arizona. This is the only molybdenite deposit that is
being worked in New Mexico or Arizona. It is in the Cedar Valley mining
district about three miles southeast of Copperville and about 25 miles
east of Yucca. This ore carries a good deal of copper, as well as small
traces of gold and silver. Some analyses have shown 2 or 3 per cent.
MoS₂ and 1¹⁄₂ to 2 per cent. copper with 0.02 ounce of gold and 1 to 4
ounces of silver per ton. The percentage of molybdenite is undoubtedly
above the average, which does not exceed 1 per cent. The country
rock is medium-grained gray granite, consisting of quartz, feldspar,
biotite, muscovite and small amounts of other accessory minerals, such
as zircon and apatite. The company has erected a mill and has succeeded
in making a satisfactory separation of the copper from the molybdenite.

The largest possibilities in Arizona and New Mexico are in mining
wulfenite. This mineral is widely scattered over these two states,
especially Arizona, and is, to a great extent, associated with
vanadinite. One of the greatest difficulties in concentrating wulfenite
has been the separation from vanadinite. The Bureau of Mines has
worked on this problem for some time with partial success.

The most important deposit of wulfenite is at the Mammoth and Collins
mines, in Pinal County. They were originally gold mines, and when the
value of molybdenum became evident, Colonel Randolph, owner of the
Mammoth mine, decided that it would be worth while to run the tailings
dump for wulfenite. He converted his mill to this purpose, and not only
ran the Mammoth dump but also the dump at the old Yuma mine, in Pima
county. The total amount of concentrates produced by Colonel Randolph
and others in the vicinity during the three years 1916 to 1918 are
probably represented by 1,000 to 1,200 tons of wulfenite concentrates.
While these operations were going on, they represented practically
the only production of molybdenum concentrates in this country except
on a very small scale. One other operating company is the Rowley
Copper Mines Co., Gila Bend, Arizona, the ore being wulfenite and
the principal impurity barite. The company has succeeded in making
satisfactory concentrates, which carry, however, a considerable amount
of barite. The Golden, Colo., station of the Bureau of Mines has run
some tests on this concentrate and has made a partial separation of the
barite and wulfenite.

Molybdenite is found in a considerable number of places in Colorado,
Montana, Washington, Nevada, Utah, Texas and other western and
northwestern states, but the largest occurrence is in Colorado.
Generally speaking, the individual deposits in the West are not large
enough to warrant the building of a mill for any one of them, and as
the deposits are widely scattered, it is difficult to find a place
where a custom mill could obtain a sufficient amount of ore. This
is one of the chief difficulties in producing a large tonnage of
molybdenite concentrates, outside of Colorado.

Probably the largest deposits of molybdenite in the world are at
Climax, Colorado. These deposits are on the southwestern slope of
Bartlett Mountain, Summit County, about 15 miles from Leadville.
Outcrops are practically continuous across the whole length of the
mountain and at places are one hundred to two hundred feet thick. The
ore is rather granular and not flaky molybdenite, the average grade
running about 8 per cent. MoS₂.

There are two operating companies, the Climax Molybdenum Co., a
subsidiary of the American Metal Co., of New York and Denver, and
the Molybdenum Products Co., of Denver. Both of these companies have
erected mills having daily capacities of 200 tons. The mill of the
American Metal Co. started continuous operation about March, 1918,
and that of the other company was completed shortly afterwards. Both
companies claim that they can enlarge the capacity at short notice.
The writer was in the mine of the American Metal Co. Evidently a
considerable part of the mountain is molybdenite, and without doubt,
a very large tonnage can be produced. The Jackling interests recently
acquired the adjoining properties owned by the Pingree Mines Co., but
in 1918 had not built a mill or carried out any serious development
work.

Another very large group of deposits of molybdenite lies near Empire,
Clear Creek County, Colorado, on the eastern slope of Red Mountain,
at an altitude of about 11,000 to 12,000 feet. The deposits are 14
miles from the Empire station of the Colorado & Southern Railroad and
are owned by the Primos Chemical Co., of Primos, Pennsylvania. The
ore-bearing bodies consist of three veins of low-grade ore. The ore
zone, that is, the ground included between the footwall of Vein No. 1
and the hanging wall of Vein No. 3 where cut by the tunnel, is about
200 feet wide. The veins vary greatly in width and are not particularly
well defined, thin veinlets and stringers of ore running into the
walls. The Primos Chemical Co. has worked these mines off and on for
several years. About three years ago it built a mill near the mine, but
production has been rather intermittent. This company has probably used
all of its concentrates for making ferromolybdenum at its own works in
Primos, Pennsylvania.

A small mill has been erected at Pitkin, Colorado, in connection with
the mine at that place owned by the Pennsylvania Molybdenum Mines Co.,
of Johnstown, Pennsylvania. A number of other deposits of considerable
interest are found in Colorado, especially around Breckenridge,
Summit County. Here the pegmatite veins consist largely of muscovite
and quartz, with some feldspar, and carry biotite, chalcopyrite and
accessory minerals. The difficulty here is to separate the molybdenum
from the copper minerals and also from the mica, most of which floats
with the molybdenite.

Most of the developed molybdenum deposits of _Mexico_ are in the State
of Sonora. In the Sahuaripa district of eastern Sonora, the mineral
occurs with scheelite in rich pockets containing very large pieces of
pure mineral. Some molybdenum ore has been shipped from the Montezuma
copper district to the Empire Smelting & Refining Co., of Deming, New
Mexico. Molybdenum is reported in several other Sonora localities. Near
Coyame and Marquez, northeastern Chihuahua, the mines of the Compañia
Minera Aurora y Anexas produce molybdenum ore. Wulfenite is found
abundantly with the lead ore of the Cuchillo Parado mine in the same
district. The Jibosa copper mine of the American Smelters Securities
Co., near Jimenez, Chihuahua, seems to carry considerable oxide of
molybdenum, molybdite. It is not commercial at present.

Molybdenite deposits are also reported in the states of Sinaloa,
Oaxaca, Hidalgo, and Jalisco.

RESERVES

As the production of molybdenum ores in the past in all countries has
been relatively small, probably none of the deposits have been worked
out and an increased output can be obtained. This applies particularly
to the United States. All of the work that has been done so far has
been on an experimental basis, and possibly the only mine whose tonnage
will be decreased by past production is the Mammoth mine, near Mammoth,
Arizona, and there is no certainty that this mine can not continue
to produce as much for some time in the future as it did during its
period of operation. Just what production can be obtained in the United
States is somewhat uncertain, but it is probable that the deposits at
Climax, Colorado, will yield at least one thousand tons of ore a day
for several years and possibly for a good many years. The deposits
of the Primos Chemical Co. near Empire, Colorado, are also extensive
and should give a large output for some time to come. The rest of the
deposits mentioned are small compared with these two, but the total
production of all of them might be large, were a steady market assured
and custom mills erected.

TREATMENT OF ORES

In concentrating wulfenite ores some form of table concentration, with
the addition of slimers, is generally used. The metallurgical treatment
of the concentrates varies and is still very much in the experimental
stage. There is opportunity for the development of a process that will
give the patentee a considerable advantage over competitors. The Bureau
of Mines has been working on this problem and has recently devised a
method that seems to be as efficient as any other and possibly has some
additional advantages.

In the treatment of molybdenite the same methods are almost universally
used. First the ore is crushed to the required fineness and the
molybdenite is separated by flotation, largely oil flotation. The
metallurgy of the concentrate, now more or less standardized, involves
roasting the concentrate to the oxide and treating this oxide in an
electric furnace for the production of ferromolybdenum. With small
improvements, this practice is likely to be maintained for some time to
come.

POLITICAL CONTROL

The political control of the molybdenum deposits of the world is
determined by the geographical location. At present most of the known
deposits are controlled by the United States and Great Britain, the
latter controlling those in Canada and Australia. The British and
Canadian governments actually have a government mill in Canada.

COMMERCIAL CONTROL

The Knaben mines, in Fjotland, the most famous and probably the only
successful molybdenum mines in Norway, were acquired in 1905 by an
English company, the Blackwell Developing Corporation. Later a newly
organized Norwegian company, with head office in Christiania, took over
the mines at a price of 2,500,000 crowns.

In _Mexico_ the large molybdenum deposit in the Sahuaripa district of
eastern Sonora is owned by George Fast, of Douglas, Arizona. The Lucky
Tiger-Combination Gold Mining Co., of Kansas City, Mo., (American)
owns the deposits in the Montezuma district. Another American company
has acquired deposits near Poza, Sonora, about 20 miles north of
Hermosillo. A deposit located 35 miles from the port of Topolabampo,
northwestern Sinaloa, is owned by an American. The Compañia Minera
Aurora y Anexas, operating molybdenum mines near Coyame and Marquez,
northeastern Chihuahua, is owned by the Madero estate. The ore has been
shipped to Leonard Worcester, El Paso, Texas, agent for the estate and
also purchaser for L. Vogelstein & Co., New York, formerly a branch of
the German metals combine.

In the _United States_, during the war the claim was made a number of
times, both privately and in the press, that German interests were
trying to obtain control of the molybdenum deposits of the country.
This was due to the fact that the American Metal Co., which operates
at Climax, Colorado, as the Climax Molybdenum Co., and which has some
other molybdenum deposits, was formerly controlled by German interests.
It is true that the majority of the stock of the American Metal Co.
was owned in Germany, but Mr. Palmer, the Alien Property Custodian,
took charge of this stock, and the affairs of the American Metal Co.
were readjusted to changed conditions. The principal stockholders of
the Primos Chemical Co. were four brothers by the name of Boericke.
Before the war they had strong German connections, but outside of their
deposits at Empire they made no special effort to get large molybdenum
holdings in this country and did not seek to get a combination of any
of the operating companies. The Primos Chemical Co. has since 1919
been taken over by the Vanadium Products Corporation, affiliated with
the Bethlehem Steel Corporation. The Molybdenum Products Co., Denver,
Colorado, which owns a part of the molybdenum deposit on the slope
of Bartlett Mountain, near Climax, and operates a 200-ton mill, is a
subsidiary of E. J. Longyear Co., exploring engineers, of Minneapolis,
Minnesota. Both companies are owned by American stockholders.

In _Canada_ and _Australia_ it is certain that no one large interest
has control, as the ore comes from a number of more or less independent
small mines.

A large number of patents have been issued in connection with the
concentration and metallurgy of molybdenum. None of these is vital to
production; most are valueless, and even those that have a distinct
value do not necessarily give control to the owner of the patents or
secret processes.

In order to insure a steady demand for molybdenum, the prime requisite
is a definite knowledge of the properties and uses of molybdenum steel.
In the past this has been lacking, and at present it is not possessed
by the majority of operators and steel makers. Europe should assist
materially in supplying this deficiency. Molybdenum steel at the
present time is in the same position as vanadium steel was a number of
years ago--it is on trial. This uncertainty caused a very decided slump
in the demand for molybdenum concentrates in the spring of 1918. A
control of molybdenum is more likely to come through the manufacture of
molybdenum steel than through processes connected with the production
of concentrates or ferromolybdenum.

POSITION OF LEADING COMMERCIAL NATIONS

At present the _United States_ has the largest potential supply of
molybdenum ores of any country in the world. In addition it has three
of the largest and most modern mills that are handling ore from any
molybdenum deposit. It is in a favorable position to equal or surpass,
for some time, any other country, in output of molybdenum concentrates.

Before the war _Great Britain_, through political control of the
Australian and Canadian deposits, was the world’s leading producer.
Some molybdenum came from _Norway_, but the amount was small as
compared to the output of Australia, Norway producing in 1913 only
13 short tons and Australia 162.6. In both Canada and Australia the
known deposits have not been worked to capacity and new deposits will
probably be discovered with proper prospecting, so that the future
molybdenum production under British control promises to increase. The
Canadian and British governments are much interested in the development
of the molybdenum resources of the dominion.

_France_ is entirely dependent upon England and the United States,
although it might be able to get a small amount of concentrates direct
from Norway.

_Germany_ was much interested in molybdenum before the war. During the
war it probably did not import any molybdenum concentrates at all, and
as the world production before that time was small it is not likely
that there was any reserve on hand in the empire in 1919.

_Japan_ has no molybdenum deposits as far as is known, and probably is
not specially interested at present in the use of this metal.

The distribution of the chief molybdenum deposits of the world is shown
in Plate VII.

[Illustration: PLATE VII.--Geographical distribution of the molybdenum
deposits of the world. By R. B. Moore.]

SUMMARY

Molybdenum commands attention because of its growing importance as a
steel alloy metal. Although the metallurgy and properties of molybdenum
steels are not thoroughly understood and their use is not widespread,
especially in this country, accumulating evidence indicates that
molybdenum will eventually become one of the common alloy metals.
It is used in the form of wire as supports for incandescent light
filaments and in electrical apparatus, and may become essential in
the manufacture of special steels. It cannot be easily replaced in
chemistry, and for its other applications it is better and cheaper than
other materials.

Up to 1915 practically all of the molybdenum produced came from
Queensland, New South Wales, and Norway. At present more important
deposits are being developed in Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia,
Canada, and in Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, and other western
states. The mineral is widely distributed and the discovery of
additional deposits is likely if the demand is sufficient to encourage
prospecting. The United States has deposits large enough to meet
all domestic needs and also to produce a surplus for export. Some
molybdenum is obtained from Mexico, Peru, and Spain, but the United
States, Great Britain (Canada and Australia), and Norway control the
important deposits.

The largest molybdenum deposit in the United States, located at Climax,
Colorado, is owned by the Climax Molybdenum Co., a subsidiary of the
American Metal Co. (formerly German), and by the Molybdenum Products
Co., of Denver, an American company. Other deposits in Colorado are
owned by the Primos Chemical Co., a company that had strong German
connections before the war, but has been taken over by the Vanadium
Products Corporation, an American company. Other producing deposits of
the United States are owned by American citizens.

The Knaben mines, the most important in Norway, have been owned since
1905 by an English company, but, according to a report, they have
been acquired by a Norwegian company. A number of the deposits of
northern Mexico are owned by Americans. Others are owned by the Madero
estate (Mexican). The Canadian and Australian deposits are controlled
by small, independent operators. Both the United States and Great
Britain have ample supplies of molybdenum; France produces none and is
dependent upon other countries; Germany, which was much interested in
molybdenum before the war, probably has no large stocks on hand.

CHAPTER XI

RADIUM AND URANIUM

BY R. A. F. PENROSE, JR.

Radium is a metal and is a product of the disintegration in nature of
the metal uranium. Both radium and uranium are elements. Radium has
been isolated in its metallic state, but is not used in that form and
is known better in the form of its salts, among the most important of
which, so far as their uses are concerned, are the bromide, chloride
and sulphate.

Wherever uranium occurs in nature, radium is associated with it in
certain definable quantities. Uranium can contain, however, only a
certain maximum amount of radium at a time, and when it has reached
this stage, the radium and uranium ratio is said to be in equilibrium.
In this condition the amount of radium per gram of uranium has been
calculated by Rutherford to be 3.4 × 10⁻⁷ gram. This corresponds to 1
gram of radium element to about 3,000 kilograms of uranium element, or
1 part of radium element to about 3,000,000 parts of uranium element.
Uranium minerals as mined are usually impure and carry only a small
percentage of uranium elements, so that the ratio between radium and
the crude uranium ore may be 1 to several or many times 3,000,000.

The production of radium from uranium is usually stated in milligrams
or grams, and even in the richest ores there is usually only a small
fraction of a gram to a ton, while in the ordinary lower-grade ore
there are only a few milligrams to a ton, corresponding to a small
fraction of a grain to a ton. Less than twenty years ago it was
estimated that probably not one gram of radium element in the form of
its refined salts had been extracted in the world. Today a great many
times, perhaps a hundred times or more, this amount has been extracted
and is in use. The annual production of radium today in the world is
probably several grams. The annual production of uranium in the world
is probably several hundred pounds.

The unique position of uranium as the source of radium in nature makes
it necessary to discuss both materials together.

=Uses of Radium.=--Radium is a heavy white metal which is very
unstable, and alters rapidly in the air. It is not used in its metallic
stage but only in the form of its salts. A few years ago these salts
were supposed to have a general beneficial effect in the treatment of
cancer and other malignant growths, but more recent investigations
seem to confine their influence to only certain forms of these
afflictions. Their influence in other diseased conditions is often very
marked, but the full extent of the field of usefulness of radium for
medical purposes has not yet been very clearly defined.

In recent years radium has been applied to other important purposes,
especially in luminous paint for watches, clocks, compasses and other
instruments; and this use has so greatly increased in recent years,
especially for military purposes, that it now consumes more radium
than is used in medicine. Radium salts are more or less luminous
when seen in a darkened room, and this quality is often increased
by the admixture of certain other materials, notably zinc sulphide.
Hence their value in luminous paints. Radium salts also cause certain
minerals to fluoresce, notably the zinc minerals willemite and
sphalerite. In Germany, where radium during the war became scarce
on account of the shortage of the ores from which it is extracted,
radium salts are said to have been preserved for medical purposes, and
mesothorium and other radioactive substances used in making luminous
paints.

=Uses of Uranium.=--Uranium is a heavy white metal, which slowly
tarnishes on exposure to the air. The chief use of uranium today is
as a source of radium. For many years before the discovery of radium,
however, uranium compounds were used in a small way in coloring glass
and porcelain, in photography, in reagents for chemical analysis, in
mordants for dyeing and for other minor purposes. The use of uranium
metal in small quantities in steel manufacture has been tried with some
degree of success.

ORES OF RADIUM AND URANIUM

=General Statement.=--The principal uranium minerals at present known
in nature, which are therefore the principal sources of both uranium
and radium, are carnotite and uraninite, with the impure amorphous form
of uraninite known as pitchblende. Torbernite, autunite and some of the
rarer uranium minerals have produced a little radium and uranium.

Carnotite and uraninite or pitchblende as mined for ores are generally
more or less mixed with other materials and are rarely found pure. The
uranium in the ores is usually stated commercially, for convenience,
in the form of the uranium oxides represented by the formula UO₂ +
2UO₃, briefly expressed as U₃O₈. Most carnotite ore varies from 1 per
cent. to 3 per cent. of U₃O₈; a 5 to 10 per cent. ore is considered
high grade; a 20 to 40 per cent. ore is remarkably rich. Uraninite and
pitchblende ordinarily contain more uranium than carnotite contains,
and even in the impure forms in which they are mined as ores, they
often show this greater uranium content. The ordinary uraninite and
pitchblende ores carry from 2 to 3 per cent. to 8 or 10 per cent.
U₃O₈, and a 20 per cent. ore is very high grade, though some ore runs
60 or 70 per cent.

=Carnotite.=--Carnotite is an amorphous, soft, powdery material,
sometimes more or less coherent and of a talcose or waxy character,
generally of a brilliant canary yellow color, though sometimes
discolored by iron, organic matter and other substances. It is
essentially a hydrous potassium uranium vanadate. Some authorities
believe that carnotite is not a distinct mineral, but a mixture of
different minerals.

=Uraninite and Pitchblende.=--The terms uraninite and pitchblende
are often used synonymously to designate the same mineral, but more
properly the term uraninite is a general name for all forms of the
mineral and especially for the purer and distinctly crystalline
variety, and the term pitchblende is applicable to the impure amorphous
form. It is black or grayish black in color, opaque, and often has a
submetallic glossy or pitchlike luster. Uraninite is often remarkably
lacking in distinctive characteristics, so that its presence might
frequently be overlooked. For this reason it seems possible that this
mineral, now known in only comparatively small quantities, may some
time in the future be found more abundantly.

Uraninite, like carnotite, has a somewhat indefinite formula, but
is essentially a combination of the two uranium oxides UO₂ and UO₃,
in which UO₂ seems to act as a base and UO₃ as an acid. A number
of both the rarer and commoner elements are often associated with
them. The relative amounts of the two oxides vary considerably in
different specimens, especially in the impure form of pitchblende,
and no definite formula can at present be given. In pitchblende a
notable amount of water, perhaps sometimes in chemical combination,
is often present. Several other minerals much rarer than uraninite
or pitchblende are related to them in composition, among them being
cleveite, bröggerite and nivenite.

=Other Ores.=--Though carnotite, uraninite and pitchblende are the
most abundant of all the radium and uranium materials in nature,
and produce almost all the radium and uranium of commerce, yet many
other minerals contain both metals, and though as yet known only
in such limited quantities as to be of small commercial value, may
in the future be found in quantities of importance. Among them may
be mentioned tyuyamunite, a hydrous calcium uranium vanadate often
associated with the hydrous potassium uranium vanadate described above
as carnotite; autunite, a hydrous calcium uranium phosphate; torbernite
or chalcolite, a hydrous copper uranium phosphate.

GEOGRAPHICAL AND GEOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION OF RADIUM AND URANIUM

The only regions of the world that have as yet produced any large
amounts of radium and uranium minerals on a commercial scale are
Colorado, Utah and Austria. Cornwall, Australia and Germany have
produced a small quantity of these minerals. They are known in small
quantities in France and Portugal, and have been reported in India
and German East Africa, but in these regions they have not yet become
commercially important. They occur sparingly, so far as yet known, and
practically as only mineralogical curiosities, in Connecticut, North
Carolina, Canada, Norway and many other regions, but may in the future
be found in larger quantities.

Minute quantities of radium or its products of disintegration occur in
almost all rocks and in the atmosphere, and in the waters of the sea
and land, but in such small amounts as to be unavailable as a source of
these substances. The source of all radium of commerce at the present
time is in the certain few uranium minerals already mentioned. They are
found in formations of various geologic ages, from recent superficial
deposits to the older crystalline rocks, but show a tendency toward
certain modes of occurrence, such as in southwestern Colorado and
southeastern Utah as an impregnation in sandstone; in eastern Colorado,
Cornwall, Austria and South Australia as one of the gangue minerals
in veins of other ores; in North Carolina, Canada, Norway and West
Australia in pegmatite or other feldspathic dikes.

RADIUM AND URANIUM RESOURCES OF THE UNITED STATES

=General Statement.=--The commercially important deposits of ores of
radium and uranium in the United States are, so far as yet known,
confined to the carnotite regions of southwestern Colorado and
southeastern Utah, and the pitchblende deposits of Gilpin County,
in eastern Colorado. In Connecticut, North Carolina and elsewhere,
uraninite, pitchblende and other uranium minerals have been found;
and near Mauch Chunk, in Pennsylvania, small quantities of carnotite
have been discovered, but these occurrences are, so far as known, in
quantities too small to be of commercial value.

=Colorado and Utah.=--The carnotite deposits of southwestern Colorado
and southeastern Utah are the most important sources of radium and
uranium in the world. In Colorado the largest quantities of ore have
come from many mines in Montrose County, especially in Paradox Valley,
while Mesa, San Miguel, Dolores, Rio Blanco, Routt and other counties
have been producers. In southeastern Utah the ores are carnotite, as
in southwestern Colorado, and occur especially in Grand, Emery and
San Juan counties, but have not been worked to the same extent as in
Colorado.

The carnotite of Colorado and Utah occurs as an impregnation in
sandstones and shaly sandstones, mostly in the McElmo and the La
Plata formations, lying at the top of the Jurassic beds and below the
Cretaceous sandstones and conglomerates of the region. The deposits
seem to have been formed by the precipitation of carnotite from
solution along certain strata of these formations, and the material
occurs along bedding planes, in fissures and small cavities, in layers
or irregular masses from a fraction of an inch to several inches in
width, and sometimes as a general impregnation of the sandstone for
several feet in thickness. It seems to be especially abundant in strata
impregnated strongly with vegetable or animal matter, and is often in
unusual quantities in lignitized or petrified trunks of trees. This
phenomenon suggests the influence of organic matter in precipitating
and segregating the carnotite.

The rocks carrying the carnotite lie horizontally or dip at low angles
in most parts of the Colorado region; in Utah they lie often in the
same way, but occasionally dip at steep angles. Where they appear on
the surface, the carnotite sometimes impregnates certain strata for
several hundred feet or more along the outcrops, but more generally
it occurs in spots along them, with little or no carnotite in the
intervening spaces. As these outcrops are followed into the hillsides,
the ore appears to be even more irregular in its distribution than on
the surface, and in many or most cases it becomes much scarcer the
further it is explored underground, until within 10 to 40 or 50 feet
from the surface it often mostly or entirely disappears. There are
exceptions to this feature, but the gradual and often rapid decrease
in quantity and grade of the carnotite ore as it is followed into a
hill is generally recognized. This fact suggests that the carnotite
may have been redissolved in the sandstone and carried to the surface
by capillary action in this arid climate, forming rich, superficial
efflorescences.

In many of the carnotite deposits, vanadium minerals occur
independently of the vanadium in the carnotite, but this association
is not always observed. They occur in sandstone and often give it a
dark-gray or blackish color.

In eastern Colorado several mines near Central City, Gilpin County,
have produced limited quantities of pitchblende. Among these are the
Kirk, the Wood, the Belcher, the Alps, the German and the Calhoun
mines. The pitchblende occurs as a subordinate constituent in the
gold-bearing veins of that country. The veins intersect old metamorphic
rocks intruded by igneous rocks. The mines of Gilpin County are today
producing little if any pitchblende, and the total production has
been small, amounting in all probably to only a few tons. Much more
pitchblende, however, was let go to waste in former days when the mines
were worked for other ores and the value of uranium was not recognized.

=Production.=--The United States is today by far the largest producer
of radium and uranium ores in the world, and is also the largest
producer of manufactured radium and uranium compounds. Before the
war, England, France and Germany, especially Germany, imported large
quantities of American ores and extracted the radium in a refined state
as its different salts, much of which was returned to the United States
for sale. Now, however, American ores are almost entirely treated in
the United States, with the exception of a little shipped to England
and possibly to France. The Standard Chemical Co., of Pittsburgh, was
a pioneer in this work, and others quickly followed, among them the
National Radium Institute, of Denver; the Schlesinger Radium Co., of
Denver; the Chemical Products Co., of Denver; the Cummings Chemical
Co., of Lansdowne, Pa.; the Radium Luminous Materials Corporation, of
New York, and others.

Before the discovery of radium in 1898, but little attention was given
to uranium ores in America, though some little pitchblende was shipped
from the Central City, Colorado, region for use in making uranium
compounds. Shortly after the discovery of radium, however, mining was
begun on the carnotite of southwestern Colorado, and from 1900 to 1910
several companies were formed to work these ores both in Colorado and
Utah. The pitchblende of Central City also began to attract renewed
attention. For a few years active work was done in prospecting for
it, but the quantities have so far proved to be small. A few tons
probably represent the total amount derived from these mines since the
search began. In the meantime, however, the production of carnotite
increased rapidly until 1915, when it greatly decreased on account of
the curtailment of shipments to Europe. In the latter part of 1916,
however, the production increased again, on account of the increased
consumption of ore in this country, and in 1918 the production was very
active, largely on account of the increased use of radium not only in
medicine but especially in luminous paints.

The amount of radium and uranium ores produced in the United States, or
in fact anywhere, during a given period, is difficult to determine, on
account of the different bases on which reports are made, but it may be
said that the tonnage is small compared with that of ores of commoner
metals, a few thousand tons being a large amount of carnotite, and
simply a few tons or pounds being a large amount of pitchblende. Though
the mining of radium and uranium ores in the United States began about
1900 or shortly before, no very large quantities were produced until
1912, when about 1,100 tons were mined, consisting chiefly of Colorado
carnotite. The production gradually increased to several thousand tons
yearly, practically all of which is carnotite from Colorado and Utah.

RADIUM AND URANIUM RESOURCES OF EUROPE

=Austria.=--The most important radium and uranium ore in Europe
at present is the uraninite or pitchblende found in the mines of
Joachimsthal, in _Bohemia_. It occurs as a subordinate gangue mineral
in certain silver veins of that region which intersect metamorphic and
igneous rocks, and has been actively worked ever since the discovery of
radium by M. and Mme. Curie in 1898. Before that time the mineral had a
certain value as a source of uranium compounds.

These Austrian mines are second to those of the United States as a
source of radium and uranium, but their production equals only a very
small part of that of this country. Until the Great War this production
was controlled largely, if not wholly, by the Austrian government,
and as the production is said still to continue, it is probably still
controlled in the same way.

=England.=--Next in importance in Europe to the uraninite or
pitchblende ore of Joachimsthal as a source of radium and uranium,
is the similar ore in some of the mines of _Cornwall_, England. It
occurs as a subordinate mineral in the gangue of some of the old
tin and copper mines, in veins intersecting metamorphic and igneous
rocks, especially at St. Just, St. Ives, Grampound Road, St. Austell
and elsewhere. The production and treatment of the ore has been under
private or corporate auspices and the amount produced has not been
large.

=Germany.=--In Germany the production of radium and uranium ores has
always been insignificant. A small quantity of such ores has been
produced at Schneeberg, Johanngeorgenstadt, Annaberg and elsewhere.
Before the war, Germany was a large producer of manufactured radium and
uranium compounds, but they were derived mostly from imported American
ores.

=Other Localities.=--With the exception of Joachimsthal and Cornwall,
Europe has produced but small quantities of radium and uranium
minerals. A little uraninite or pitchblende has been found in other
localities in Austria, such as Przibram and elsewhere, and sparingly
in _Norway_. Autunite and other uranium minerals have been found in
small quantities near Autun, _France_, and near Sabugal and Guarda, in
_Portugal_, but no important quantities have been produced.

RADIUM AND URANIUM RESOURCES OF AUSTRALIA, INDIA AND AFRICA

=Australia.=--In _South Australia_ carnotite, autunite, torbernite and
other rare uranium minerals occur in regions of metamorphic and igneous
rocks at Radium Hill, near Olary, and at Mount Painter, in the Flinders
range. A few hundred tons of ore containing these minerals have been
mined by private or corporation interests. Most of this has been sent
to Woolwich, near Sydney, _New South Wales_, or to England, for the
extraction of the radium. Since the war started no very active mining
operations in such ores have been carried on in the South Australian
region.

At Cooglegong, in _Western Australia_, the uranium mineral fergusonite
and to a less extent the uranium mineral euxenite occur in the surface
detrital material of the region. At Wodgina the minerals mackintoshite,
thorogummite and pilbarite, all hydrous silicates of uranium, thorium
and lead, occur in an albite pegmatite dike. No important quantities of
these Western Australia ores have yet been produced.

=India and Africa.=--Radium and uranium minerals have been reported in
_India_ and _German East Africa_, but no important quantities have yet
been produced.

PROSPECT OF FUTURE DISCOVERIES OF RADIUM AND URANIUM ORES

The prospect for increased discoveries of radium and uranium minerals
at the present time seems best in the carnotite regions of Colorado and
Utah. The workable deposits seem to be more or less superficial, and
perhaps no large quantity of ore may be found in any one spot, yet the
great extent of the region in which the formations carrying carnotite
occur, will supply an immense aggregate amount of ore.

Increased discoveries of uraninite, pitchblende and other uranium
minerals in Europe seem possible, even though that continent has
already been well explored for them. Moreover, new discoveries of
different radium and uranium minerals may very likely be made in
still other parts of the United States than those mentioned, and in
less explored parts of the world, especially certain regions of South
America, Australia, Asia and Africa. Many of these minerals, especially
pitchblende, have no very distinctive features when first observed, and
might readily be overlooked many times before their true nature was
discovered. Hence the possibilities of future discoveries.

CHAPTER XII

ZIRCONIUM

BY H. C. MORRIS

USES OF ZIRCONIUM

As early as 1830 an attempt was made to use zirconia buttons, heated
to incandescence, for lighting the streets of Paris. In 1885 an
incandescent gas mantle of zirconium oxide was patented, but was
replaced in a few years by thorium. About 1900 zirconia was used in the
Nernst glower, and it has also been used in place of lime and magnesia
as the incandescing material in the Drummond light. It is also said to
be used in the Bleriot light, and its use in flares has been suggested.

During the past few years Dr. C. M. Johnson has succeeded in
manufacturing laboratory ware made from zirconium minerals mixed with
other refractories. Filtering crucibles, muffles, combustion tubes
and boats, pyrometer protection tubes, and Kipp generators are now
on the market, competing in price with German porcelain and fused
silica. Zirconia crucibles are made from the fused material ground
in a suitable mill. The powder is pressed or molded into shape with
an organic binder, such as starch, or perhaps, better still, with a
plastic cement made by grinding the fused material to 20 mesh, when
it becomes colloidal in the presence of water. After drying, the
articles are burned at a very high temperature (2300 to 2400°C.) until
contraction ceases.

Fused zirconia has a high thermal endurance; is not affected when
heated to redness and plunged into cold water, its coefficient of
expansion being as low as 0.00000084; and its resistance to crushing
is many times that of quartz glass. Its hardness is between that of
corundum and quartz; its specific gravity 5.89, and porosity below
1 per cent. Its melting point is 2950°C, but 0.5 per cent. impurity
reduces that by 100°C. Platinum, with a melting point of about 1750°C.,
can be melted to a mobile liquid in zirconia crucibles, and it is
claimed that the boiling point of pure iron has been determined in
similar crucibles.

Chemically, zirconia is very inert, being highly resistant to acids,
fused alkalies, fused quartz, or molten glass. Possibly no other
material known to chemists possesses such a combination of desirable
refractory properties. Its one undesirable characteristic is its
tendency under certain conditions at high temperatures, in the presence
of nitrogen or carbon, to become converted into nitride or carbide.

An instructive paper entitled “Zirconia as a Refractory,” by E. H.
Rodd, was published in the Journal of the Society of Chemical Industry,
June 15, 1918.

Zirconium oxide as an opacifier has been thoroughly investigated by
Hartman[95] and by Grunwald[96] with promising results; and a number
of foreign patents have been granted on the use of the oxide in white
ceramic enamels. Zirconia seems to be especially suitable for the
manufacture of refractory bricks, or it can be applied as a lining or
surfacing to other less desirable refractories. Continental practice
along this line is said to have been much more highly developed than
practice in this country, one example quoted being actual practice
tests of a Martin Siemens furnace with a zirconia-lined hearth. After
four months of continuous operation at high temperatures the hearth was
still in good condition and gave promise of lasting at least an equal
length of time without renewal. Statistics compiled from these tests
showed a saving of about 50 per cent. in actual maintenance costs in
favor of zirconia over the other refractories ordinarily used for such
purposes. Bradford[97] quoted Podszus[98] as claiming to have made
a furnace with the pure oxide which had first been fused in an arc
furnace and then ground; and in which temperatures of 2400° to 2500°C.
were obtained by firing with gas and oxygen.

[95] HARTMAN, AUGUSTUS, Zirconemail: Dissertations Arbeit: Techn.
Hochschule, Munich, 1910.

[96] Ueber Zirkonoxyd in der Emailindustrie: Sprechsaal, No. 5, 1911.

[97] BRADFORD, LEOPOLD, Birmingham Metallurgical Society (British).

[98] Podszus, Zeitsch. angew. Chem., Jahrg. 30, 1917, 1, pp. 17-19.

The most important question regarding zirconium at the present time
has to do with the remarkable properties that some of its advocates
claim it imparts to steel. That the Germans have had this use in mind
for some time is evidenced by the numerous patents they have obtained
covering the use of zirconium and its alloys.

Zirconium has been obtained in the amorphous and the graphitic state;
and Wedekind has produced a metal of 99.8 per cent. purity resembling
white cast iron in appearance, with a hardness of 7.8 (Mohs); specific
gravity 6.40; specific heat, 0.0804; heat of combination, 1958
calories; and melting point, 1530°C.

Numerous alloys of zirconium have been made and a number of foreign and
domestic patents have been issued covering various alloys, both ferrous
and non-ferrous. It is stated that ferrozirconium is finding a limited
application in the steel industry as a scavenger for removing nitrogen
and oxides. An English patent, No. 29,376, covers the use of zirconium
as a scavenger, the alloy containing 20 per cent. of the element and
being used in an amount equal to about 1 per cent. of the weight of
steel treated.

Another alloy containing 40 to 90 per cent. zirconium, the rest being
mainly iron, is said to be free from metalloids and oxides, and
malleable and ductile. Alloys covered by United States Patent No.
1,151,160 are claimed to be highly resistant to oxidation and chemical
reagents. They have a metallic lustre and take a high polish, are
readily malleable and ductile, and it is suggested that they may find
an important application in filaments for electric lamps, as they are
said to have the property of selective radiation. A typical analysis
of some of the alloys claimed to have been produced under this patent
shows Zr. 0.65 per cent., Fe 26 per cent., Ti 0.12 per cent. and Al 7.7
per cent.

A widely circulated statement to the effect that zirconium has been
used in Germany in the production of steel for armor plates and
armor-piercing projectiles has not been substantiated, so far as the
writer knows, by any records of analyses.

The use of zirconium for alloying in steel is so new that, pending
definite determination by disinterested competent authorities of the
exact properties, if any, which zirconium imparts to steel, judgment as
to its value for this purpose should be withheld.

Zirconium carbide has been patented for filaments for incandescent
electric lamps and it has also been used as an abrasive. Tried as
a pigment, zirconia has been found to have good covering power and
should be considered where protection from acids, alkalies, or gases
is particularly desired. The basic acetate has been used for weighting
silk, and the pure oxide is used as a substitute for bismuth subnitrate
in X-ray work.

GEOLOGICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION

Zirconium occurs in nature in commercial quantities as a mixed oxide
and silicate known as baddeleyite, sometimes called brazilite, and
as the silicate, zircon. Baddeleyite, as supplied to the trade,
usually carries 80 to 85 per cent. ZrO₂. The silicate, zircon, carries
about 65 per cent. ZrO₂. The oxide deposits, containing as they do a
higher percentage of zirconium and the ore being more pure and easier
to reduce, will in all probability become the principal source of
zirconium.

The principal known deposits of zirconium ores are in Brazil, India and
the United States, the countries being named in the relative order of
their commercial importance.

=The Natural Oxide.=--The natural oxide, baddeleyite, or brazilite,
occurs only in _Brazil_ in commercial quantities and is described in
_Mineral Foote-Notes_ by Meyer,[99] who writes as follows:

[99] MEYER, H. C., _Mineral Foote-Notes_, November, 1916, p. 29.

There are but few commercial deposits of the unusual ores which
present more interesting geologic as well as economic features than
do the deposits of natural zirconium oxide in Brazil. The Caldas
region (visited in 1915 by the writer) in which these zirconia
deposits occur, is situated partly in the State of Minas Geraes and
partly in the State of Sao Paulo, approximately 130 miles north
of the city of Sao Paulo. It is a mountainous plateau, the main
elevation of which is about 3,600 feet. The surface is undulating,
presenting differences in level of from 300 to 600 feet.

The whole area is bounded on all sides by ridges rising abruptly
from 600 to 1,200 feet above the general level and forming a roughly
elliptical enclosure with a major axis of approximately 20 miles
in length and a minor axis of 15 miles. This peculiar arrangement
of the higher ridges is very significant when coupled with the
fact that the predominant rock of the plateau is a phonolite and
the presence of highly mineralized thermal water of considerable
medicinal value.[100] No thorough geological survey has been made of
this area with a view to determining the origin of the zirconia. The
character of the ore, however, and the formation, seems to point to
pneumatolitic agencies. A careful study of the relationship of the
large masses of coarsely crystalline nephelite-syenite in this area,
with pronounced segregations of eudialyte, might throw some light
upon this subject.

[100] DERBY, O. A., “Nepheline-rock in Brazil:” _Quart. Jour. Geol.
Soc._, August, 1887.

Zirconia ore can be roughly divided into two classes:

First, alluvial pebbles ranging in size from one-half inch to three
inches in diameter, generally carrying about 90 per cent. to 93 per
cent. zirconium oxide. These pebbles, known as favas and having a
specific gravity ranging from 4.8 to 5.2, are found along small
stream beds and on the talus slopes of low ridges.

Second, zirconia ore proper, or zirkite (a trade name), which ranges
in shade from a light gray to a blue black, the lighter colored
material carrying a higher percentage of zirconium silicate, as
evidenced by analyses, which in some cases show a minimum of 73 per
cent. zirconium oxide. The blue-black ore generally carries from
80 per cent. to 85 per cent. zirconium oxide. By careful sorting,
however, a uniform grade carrying about 80 per cent. is produced.

Prior to the investigations of Derby and Lee, this ore was considered
identical with baddeleyite. It has now been shown, however, that
it is a mechanical mixture of three minerals; namely, brazilite,
zircon, and a new and unnamed zirconium silicate carrying about 75
per cent. zirconium oxide. This new mineral has the same crystal form
as zircon (67 per cent. ZrO₂) but is readily soluble in hydrofluoric
acid, while zircon is not affected, this being a characteristic
differential test. The finely powdered mineral, on being treated
with a weak solution of hydrofluoric acid, leaves a residue of
minute, perfect, pyramidal crystals of zircon, the brazilite and new
zirconium silicate going into solution. Several large outcrops of the
ore occur on the extreme westerly edge of the plateau, one or two
isolated boulders weighing as much as thirty tons. This very cursory
examination of the zirconia deposits makes it unsafe to venture any
conjecture as to the quantity of ore available. Suffice it to say,
however, that the deposits have been traced for a distance of fifteen
miles between Gascata and Caldas, and if surface indications are of
any significance, are of vast extent.

The oxides have also been found in the State of _Montana_, and in
_Ceylon_, _Sweden_, and _Italy_, but none of these occurrences are of
commercial importance.

=The Silicate.=--The simple silicate, zircon, is found in seashore
and river concentrations of monazite sands, associated with ilmenite,
garnet, rutile, and various other heavy minerals usually found in such
places.

An important concentration of zircon occurs along the coast of
_Brazil_, in the states of Bahia, Espirito Santo, and Rio de Janeiro,
where cusps of the beaches are protected on the north by granite
headlands and bordered by Tertiary bluffs, which are cut by various
streams and lagoons that constantly furnish fresh material for the
concentrating action of the tides and waves.

Probably the next most important occurrence of zircon is in _India_, in
the beach sands of the province or state of Travancore at the extreme
southwestern end of the Hindustan peninsula.

Next in importance is an occurrence in the _United States_ at Pablo
Beach, Florida, where not only the beach sands, but the dunes bordering
them, contain appreciable quantities of the following minerals in their
relative order of abundance: ilmenite, garnet, epidote, zircon, rutile,
and other heavy minerals including monazite.[101]

[101] HESS, FRANK L., Letter of May 1, 1918.

Other occurrences in this country, most of which are of academic
interest only, are in Colorado, at St. Peter’s Dome, near Pike’s Peak;
in Idaho, in the Clearwater region and elsewhere in black sands and in
certain granitic rocks; in Sussex County, New Jersey, at the Williams
mine, where zircon occurs abundantly in magnetite; in New York at Lyon
Mountain, Clinton County; at a few places near Crown Point; abundantly
in pegmatite at Old Red Mines, Mineville, Essex County, and in numerous
places in Orange County on the south, and St Lawrence County on the
north. In North Carolina, in Burke, McDowell, and Rutherford counties,
zircon occurs in monazite sands, and also in Henderson County near
Zirconia and in Fredell County near Sterling.

Large crystals of zircon occur in a small pegmatite area in Comanche
County, Oklahoma, in the southwestern portion of the Wichita National
Forest. Oregon has many localities in which the presence of zircon has
been noted, chiefly in black sands, old and present beaches, placer
gravels, etc., and the same is true of Washington. In Virginia, zircon
is found in pegmatite in Aurelia County, and in sandstone near Ashland,
not far from Richmond.

Zircon is also found in _Norway_, the _Ural Mountains_, _Ceylon_,
_Australia_, and _British South Africa_.

POLITICAL CONTROL

The important zirconium resources of the world are controlled
politically, in the order of their commercial importance, by Brazil,
Great Britain, and the United States.

=Brazil.=--A number of years ago John Gordon, an American mining
engineer, became interested in deposits of monazite sand on the coast
of Brazil in the vicinity of Prado, Bahia. A thorough investigation
of all the known monazite deposits of the world showed that those in
Brazil were by far the most desirable, and that those in Travancore,
India, were second in commercial importance.[102]

[102] See Chapter XIII.

Other firms exporting zirconium minerals from Brazil, in addition to
Gordon & Rogers, of 141 Broadway, New York, are Suffern & Co., of
135 Broadway, New York; S. R. Scott & Co., 39 Broadway, New York;
Foote & Co., Philadelphia, Pa.; P. S. Nicholson & Co., Caixa 91, Rio
de Janeiro; E. J. Lavino & Co., Bullitt Building, Philadelphia, Pa.;
Luiz de Rezende & Co., Rua Ouidor, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and Chas.
Spitz, also of Rio de Janeiro, who is agent for the Société Minière, a
French company in which Rezende & Co. are said to have a considerable
interest. Sometime ago the firm of A. C. de Freitas & Co. of Hamburg,
Germany, had a contract from the Brazilian government on monazite sands
and agreed to export at least 1,200 tons annually. How much zircon that
company exported is not known. The de Freitas properties are now being
worked by the Société Minière (French).[103]

[103] Production figures 1902-1916 for the United States and Brazil
are given in Table 34.

Until very recently, zirconium has been of minor interest in this
country, the monazite sands having been exploited for their thorium
contents only, not for zirconium. However, Germany and Austria seem to
have placed considerable value upon zirconium-bearing sands, and, as
shown by the attached table, more was produced in 1913 than in all the
time prior, and practically all the material produced during that year
went to Germany. This is in accord with the efforts of Germany, just
before the war, to obtain tungsten and molybdenum, and is an evidence
of preparations long before hostilities began.

=India.=--Before the war, the German users of monazite were in control
of the Travancore, _India_, deposits. That control of course ceased and
the contracts were cancelled. The India Office decided that, in the
future, all directors of the company must be British born, and that the
company must be ready at all times to sell monazite sand to British
firms, direct, at a fair price.

=United States.=--It is hardly probable that the deposits in the
_United States_ will be able to compete, on a commercial basis, with
the Brazilian ores; but, if the necessity should arise, this country
can produce, within its own borders, enough zirconium to manufacture
many thousand tons of zirconium steel. The cordial commercial relations
between the United States and Brazil will probably protect this country
from any undue restraint on exports from South America.

=General.=--All of the large countries interested have facilities for
making the ferro-alloy. Numerous alloys of zirconium have been made,
and a number of patents, both foreign and domestic, have been issued
covering various alloys, both ferrous and non-ferrous. No secret
processes, as such, are known to the writer.

TABLE 34.--PRODUCTION OF ZIRCONIUM MINERALS IN THE UNITED STATES AND
BRAZIL, 1902-1916[104]

----+------------------+--------------------
| United States | Brazil
+------------+-----+------------+-------
| Quantity |Value| Quantity | Value
Year|(short tons)| |(short tons)|
----+------------+-----+------------+-------
1902| ... | ...| 12 |$ 3,947
1903| 1¹⁄₂ |$ 570| 7 | 1,947
1904| ¹⁄₂ | 200| 9 | 3,935
1905| 4 | 1600| 18 | 5,506
1906| ¹⁄₂ | 248| 26 | 5,041
1907| | 46| 38 | 8,756
1908| 0 | 0| 275 | 15,151
1909| 1 | 250| 117 | 11,838
1910| 0 | 0| 128 | 23,271
1911| 1¹⁄₂ | 802| 45 | 16,169
1912| 0 | 0| 43 | 14,772
1913| 0 | 0| 1,119 | 54,767
1914| 0 | 0| 237 | 14,903
1915| 0 | 0| 8 | 2,915
1916| 0 | 0| 104 | 16,647
----+------------+-----+------------+-------

[104] Adapted from _Mineral Resources_, U. S., 1916, Part II, U. S.
Geol. Survey, 1917, pp. 377-386.

SUMMARY

The principal use for zirconium ores at present is determined by the
refractory properties of the oxide, zirconia. Refractory bricks and
shapes for furnace linings, chemical ware, and other heat, acid, and
alkali resisting articles are made of zirconia, and are finding a
limited market.

The recent interest in zirconium is due to the remarkable properties
which it is said to impart to steel. Its real worth, or function, in
that direction is yet to be definitely determined, and tests conducted
by the Bureau of Mines, Bureau of Standards and others are being made
to ascertain the facts.

The best and most available source of supply at present is Brazil,
where the natural oxide, baddeleyite, occurs in considerable quantities
in the states of Minas Geraes and Sao Paulo. The deposits have not
been explored sufficiently to make any reliable estimate of tonnage
possible, but, judged from their surface showing, they are of vast
extent. The silicate, zircon, is found in Brazil, India and in the
United States in commercial quantities.

The important deposits of zirconium minerals are controlled by Brazil,
Great Britain and the United States, but the actual ownership of many
of the deposits is unknown. This is particularly true of the oxide
ores.

CHAPTER XIII

MONAZITE, THORIUM, AND MESOTHORIUM

BY R. B. MOORE

USES OF MONAZITE

Practically the only use of monazite has been as a source of thorium
salts. In extracting these, by-products are recovered, such as cerium,
lanthanum, and other rare earths. Thorium salts are used almost
exclusively for the manufacture of Welsbach mantles, which consist of
99 per cent. thorium oxide and 1 per cent. cerium oxide. For this use
there is no known substitute. The one other use of thorium salts is
in ordinary chemical laboratories, but this use is very limited. The
fluoride and other salts of cerium are used in connection with the
flaming arc, their presence giving increased luminosity.

Mesothorium is a radio-active element always found in thorium minerals.
Until quite recently it has been thrown away in the manufacture of
thorium nitrate; but it is now being produced as a by-product, and
is useful as a substitute for radium in luminous paints, and for
therapeutic purposes.

GEOLOGICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION

The principal sources of monazite are Brazil and India, although it
has been mined successfully in the United States in the Carolinas and
in Idaho. It has been found in Swaziland, Africa, and in Australia,
and also, to a limited extent, in native rock and in placers in
Ekaterinburg, Russia.

Monazite is usually found in the gravels of small streams or bottom
lands, although it is sometimes found in the soil of hillsides. In
Brazil and India it occurs mainly in the beach sands of the sea
coast. In places it is found in small crystals in gneiss, granite and
pegmatite rocks. As these rocks become disintegrated, the crystals
are washed into streams and with other heavy sands are deposited in
the stream beds. On the coast of Brazil, the monazite grains from the
crystalline rocks of the coastal mountains are concentrated by the
waves of the sea.

=United States.=--The deposits of the Carolinas cover an area of
several hundred square miles east of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
In North Carolina, the counties of Cleveland, Burke, Alexander,
Rutherford and Lincoln furnish the richest deposits. In South Carolina
the only deposits of value are in the counties of Cherokee and
Greenville. Practically all of the monazite mined in the Carolinas is
derived from gravels in streams and bottom lands, the miners usually
following the stream courses. The gravels vary greatly in thickness,
and it is therefore difficult to make a true estimate of the average,
but in general the monazite-bearing gravels are between 1¹⁄₂ and 2¹⁄₂
feet thick. The top soil in the bottom lands averages 3 to 6 feet thick
and may be 7 feet or more.

The deposits in the State of Idaho are near Centerville and Idaho
City. In the future, under more favorable conditions of price,
transportation, etc., these deposits may possibly become a commercial
source of monazite. Almost all of them contain small quantities of
gold. The gravel beds are considerably thicker than those in the
Carolinas, and with the gold content might be more profitable were it
not for labor being higher priced.

Monazite has been found in Colorado, in the Newland Gulch district,
20 miles south of Denver, where it occurs in gravels that carry
considerable gold.

=Brazil.=--There are three kinds of monazite sand deposits in Brazil;
the deposits within the government lands along the coast; deposits
lying behind the government coastal lands, which are private state
possessions or belong to private parties; and inland deposits. The bulk
of the monazite is derived from coast sands in the states of Espirito
Santo and Bahia, the sand being washed by means of oscillating tables
or sluice boxes. The coast lands are the property of the federal
government for 33 meters inland, measuring from the point where the
sea waves wash the beach at mean high tide. This uncertain method of
marking property has of course given rise to disputes when boundaries
are established.

At a few places along the coast strips of monazite-bearing sands lie
directly behind the government land, and some of these might be worked
profitably were it not for the fact that it has been difficult to prove
to the federal government that these sands were not taken from the
nearby government land. One French concern has exploited such lands
in the State of Rio de Janeiro. Along the banks of the large rivers,
such as Parahyba, there are great quantities of black sands with traces
of monazite. Near Sapucaia such deposits have been worked by a French
concern. Many of the inland deposits can not be exploited on account of
the expense of transportation of the products, as the deposits are many
miles from a railroad.

=India.=--India is the newest source of monazite sands, the deposits
lying on the sea beach like those in Brazil. The deposits are in
the Travancore district near the southwestern end of the Hindustan
peninsula. Very little information is available concerning these
deposits.

CHANGES IN TREATMENT PRACTICE

The general method of treatment employed until quite recently has
involved leaching the concentrate with concentrated sulphuric acid,
thus getting the thorium, cerium, and other rare earths in solution and
separating them from the silica, zircon, ilmenite and other insoluble
products. From this stage different companies used slight variations in
practice, such variations being kept strictly secret, although they all
involved the precipitation of the thorium as oxalate by means of oxalic
acid.

At the outbreak of the war the price of sulphuric acid went to four or
five times the original cost, and the increased price of oxalic acid
was practically prohibitive. Consequently the manufacturing companies
had to change their entire procedure and to use chemicals that they
could obtain at a reasonable price. In this difficult undertaking the
companies were successful, and at least one company devised a process
that was considerably more efficient than the old one.

At present mesothorium is being produced as a by-product by the Lindsay
Light Co. and the Welsbach Co., the process used by the latter company
having been originated by the Colorado Station of the United States
Bureau of Mines. This process is cheap and extremely efficient, and
will no doubt enable the Welsbach Co. to compete commercially with
any other manufacturer of mesothorium. Of course as the process was
developed by the Bureau of Mines it will ultimately be made available
for anyone, but as mesothorium can only be made at a profit as a
by-product of thorium nitrate, anyone who manufacturers mesothorium
must first establish a thorium industry.

POLITICAL CONTROL

The important monazite resources of the world are controlled
politically by three nations: the United States, Great Britain (India)
and Brazil. The deposits of the United States, in normal times,
probably can not be worked successfully in competition with the foreign
deposits without the protection of a high tariff.

COMMERCIAL CONTROL

=United States.=--The widely scattered monazite deposits of the United
States are of importance only during a period of abnormally high prices
or during the restriction of imports from Brazil and India. The known
reserves are small and the deposits will probably never be an important
factor in the world monazite market. As far as the writer knows, all of
the American deposits are controlled by American capital.

The manufacture of thorium nitrate in this country is closely
controlled by two large companies, the Welsbach Co. and the Lindsay
Light Co.; they own the only two commercial plants of any size in the
United States.

All of the manufacturers of mantles in the United States, with one
exception, must obtain their thorium nitrate from one of these two
companies. As these companies supply practically all the thorium
nitrate requirements of England and France, they control the thorium
industry. The only other manufacturer of thorium nitrate in this
country is the Block Co., of Chicago, which uses about 15 tons of
monazite a year, making sufficient thorium nitrate for its own
production of mantles. The Welsbach Co. uses about 1,200 tons of
monazite annually and the Lindsay Light Co. about half that amount.
The Welsbach Co. has contracts for the delivery of monazite, up to its
requirements, from Brazil; the Lindsay Light Co. has obtained all of
its monazite from India.

Most of the processes used, including those used by the Welsbach Co.
and the Lindsay Light Co., are secret. As thorium can be extracted from
monazite in more ways than one, a secret process does not necessarily
mean commercial control unless such a process is in every way efficient
and the company owning it is willing to get into a commercial war.

=Brazil.=--As the Brazilian deposits have for so many years been the
chief source of the supply of monazite, the history of their commercial
control is practically a history of the commercial control of the
monazite industry. About 27 years ago, John Gordon, an American now
residing in New York, found monazite on the coast of Brazil. He brought
large quantities to Hamburg, Germany, and was able to obtain a monoply
of the monazite sand.

At that time the manufacture of thorium nitrate, the principal
product of the monazite sand, was confined in Europe to a few large
chemical firms in Germany and the Welsbach Co. in Vienna. They not
only supplied the European market with thorium nitrate, but also sent
large quantities to the United States. The American Welsbach Co. early
manufactured thorium nitrates from sands mined in the Carolinas, a
protective duty of 6 per cent. making this possible.

In 1902 Mr. Gordon agreed to supply the four large German manufacturers
and the Austrian manufacturers with monazite at a price of $150 a ton
and a profit on the manufactured nitrates. A close combination thus
formed, known as the German Thorium Convention, prevented other thorium
manufacturers from acquiring any of the mineral mined by Mr. Gordon,
and raised the price of thorium nitrate 100 per cent.

For a considerable period Mr. Gordon exported the sand from the coast
lands of Bahia, near Prado, Brazil, without interference. Finally the
Brazilian government became acquainted with the value of the resources
and decided that no private individual or state government had the
right to mine, sell, lease, or remove any monazite on so-called state
lands without the consent of the federal authorities. In 1908 the
government advertised that coast lands in the State of Espirito Santo
would be leased to the highest bidder for the exploitation of the
sands. A contract was thus obtained for the firm of A. C. de Freitas
& Co., of Hamburg, Germany. By the contract the firm agreed to pay to
the Brazilian government a rental equal to 50 per cent. of the selling
price of the monazite sands and to export at least 1,200 tons annually.

To avoid trouble the German Thorium Convention arranged later that
half of its supply should be furnished by Mr. Gordon and half by the
de Freitas company. A new convention was formed by the four German
chemical manufacturers with Mr. Gordon and the de Freitas company,
preventing firms in other countries that had started to manufacture
thorium nitrate from getting raw material. Consequently great efforts
were made to find and develop new deposits of monazite. The high
price for thorium nitrate made possible the mining of monazite in
the Carolinas and its export to Germany, especially to one German
manufacturer who was not in the German Thorium Convention.

Ultimately there was an overproduction of thorium and in 1906 the price
dropped 50 per cent. Monazite mining declined in all localities where
the cost of mining was high, and production in the Carolinas and the
interior of Brazil practically stopped.

During the four or five years antedating the war the German
Incandescent Gas Light Co., of Berlin, succeeded in controlling the
largest manufacturers of thorium nitrate in Europe, except those in
France. It controlled both the English and Australian companies and
became the active competitor of the so-called Thorium Convention, which
at that time had lost much of its power. Mr. Gordon still has extensive
interests in Brazil, but he does not have a monoply. The exportation
rights from Brazil are in the hands of Luis de Rezende & Co. (Rio de
Janiero), Mr. Gordon, and others. Luis de Rezende & Co. is mainly a
French concern, but has Brazilian and Portuguese stockholders. The
company controls the French company, Société Minière, associated with
the Welsbach Co.

As noted above, one French company has exploited monazite deposits in
the territory immediately behind the government lands in the State of
Rio de Janeiro. Another French company has worked the black sands along
the Parahyba River, near Sapucaica, which contain traces of monazite.

=India.=--Before the war, the German manufacturers of thorium nitrate
exercised as close control over the monazite deposits of Travancore,
India, as over those of Brazil. Only a limited quantity of the sand
was sold to gas-mantle manufacturers and other consumers in the United
Kingdom, and then at a price nine times the price paid by the German
consumers. Such a monoply of the supplies of raw material made the
German monoply of the thorium nitrate industry almost complete.

According to S. J. Johnstone, in an address at the annual meeting of
the Society of Chemical Industry in July, 1916, the Germans obtained
practical control of the Travancore monazite deposits in the following
manner: A lease for working these deposits was granted some years ago
by the Travancore Durbar, with the approval of the Government of India,
to the London Cosmopolitan Tin Mining Co., which contracted to sell the
whole of its output to a German firm. Soon after the outbreak of war
it was found that the whole of the preference shares and 11,000 of the
ordinary shares of the Travancore Minerals Co. were held in trust for
the Auer company, of Berlin.

The India Office decided that in the future all directors of the
company working the concession must be British-born and that the
company, must be ready at all times to sell monazite sand direct, and
at a fair price, to British firms. German contracts were canceled. A
second company, Thorium, Ltd., obtained a 20-year lease to work 150
acres in Travancore for monazite sand, and is exporting the sand and
manufacturing thorium nitrate from it at works in England. A great deal
of Travancore monazite has been imported by American companies.

POSITION OF THE UNITED STATES

As outlined above, it can be readily seen that the United States is
dependent upon Brazil and India for its raw materials, as domestic
deposits are not large enough to furnish the required supply and cannot
be worked in competition with the more cheaply mined foreign deposits.

The average concentrate obtained in the Carolinas runs about 3¹⁄₂ to
4 per cent. thorium oxide; that obtained in Brazil averages somewhat
over 8 per cent. Under such conditions it is difficult for the Carolina
monazite to compete with that from Brazil or from India. In addition,
a very considerable amount of the Carolina monazite available has been
removed. The old workings are more or less covered up and the whole
industry has become completely disorganized.

Whilst these deposits were being mined and operated farmers were in
the habit of making their own concentrate in crude sluice boxes.
The product thus obtained averaged about 35 per cent. monazite. The
concentrates were then sold to a refinery, where it was best treated by
electromagnetic separators, such as the Wetherill machine. The final
product obtained from these machines was ready for chemical treatment
for the extraction of the thorium.

Practically the same treatment is given to the monazite from Brazil
and India. As the concentrate obtained is of much higher grade, the
additional charges for freight and duty, which are not borne by the
Carolinas product, are more than offset. Undoubtedly, unless a very
high tariff is placed on the monazite from Brazil and India, our
future supplies will come from these two sources, at least for some
time. It is very doubtful whether with a high tariff the Carolina
deposits could furnish the monazite required in this country, even for
a few years, and under the most favorable conditions it would take some
time, possibly six months to a year, to revive the industry.

The Allies and practically the whole world are dependent upon the
United States for the manufactured products, thorium nitrate and gas
mantles. Whether this monoply will continue is doubtful, as there is
a movement in England to encourage both the thorium nitrate and the
gas-mantle industry.

CHAPTER XIV

COPPER

BY F. W. PAINE

INTRODUCTION

One country stands pre-eminent as the world’s great producer of copper,
and that is the United States, whose production was 60 per cent. of the
total world output in 1917. Iron, coal, oil and copper are fundamental
raw materials of which the United States produces more than any other
country, but only in copper and in oil is the output greater than that
of all other countries together. In copper this has been true since the
early nineties. American copper, English gold, Russian platinum and
Chilean nitrate are common phrases in world markets; as common as the
commodities themselves.

No other country produces or has for many years ever produced one-sixth
as much copper as the United States. While the world output of copper
has been increasing, at the average rate of 5 per cent. annually for 10
years up to 1914 and three times as rapidly since then, the relative
importance of the United States has not declined. On the contrary it
has increased at a greater rate than the total world output. Certain
individual countries, it is true, have since 1914 increased their
output faster than the United States, but there is no indication that
the United States will lose its present dominating leadership.

Because of the magnitude of the copper industry of the United States,
great refining plants have been built up here. American capital also
has gone largely into Canadian, Mexican and South American copper
properties. As a result the United States now imports nearly one-third
as much copper as is produced (18 per cent. of the total world output
in 1917). Thus American capital controls, through refining in addition
to ownership of mines, 78 per cent. of the world’s copper production.
This control should also be equally strong as regards selling.
Obviously, a large part of our domestic, and, as regards statistics,
all the imported copper, is exported in finished form--copper ingots
and bars, brass, electrical machinery, etc. But as regards selling and
even mine ownership in Mexico and South America, there is considerable
German control; although the important mines of Canada, Mexico
and South America are owned by either American, British or French
interests, except those owned by local foreign capital.

TABLE 35.--GEOGRAPHICAL AND FINANCIAL CONTROL OF THE WORLD’S COPPER
MINES

(Production in Metric Tons)

-----+---------+------------------+---------+-----+---------+
Per-| | | | Per-| |
cent-| | | |cent-| |
age | Average | |Estimated| age | |
of |1916-1917| | capacity| of | Owned by|
World|output of| |output of|world| U. S. |
total| copper |Country of origin | copper |total| capital |
-----+---------+------------------+---------+-----+---------+
| |_Western | | | |
| |Hemisphere_ | | | |
59.2| 868,903|United States | 928,000| 57.5| 899,000|
3.3| 49,168|Canada | 58,000| 3.6| 28,000|
3.4| 49,478|Mexico | 65,000| 4.0| 49,000|
1.0| 14,000|Cuba | 10,000| 0.6| ... |
0.2| 2,000|Venezuela | 2,000| 0.1| ... |
4.8| 70,000|Chile | 110,000| 6.8| 86,000|
3. | 43,620|Peru | 45,000| 2.8| 45,000|
0.4| 6,000|Bolivia | 12,000| 0.8| 6,000|
-----+---------+------------------+---------+-----+---------+
75.4|1,103,169|Total Western | | | |
| |Hemisphere |1,230,000| 76.2|1,113,000|
| | | | | |
| |_Eastern | | | |
| |Hemisphere_ | | | |
3.2| 47,500|Africa | 58,000| 3.6| ... |
2.5| 36,550|Australia | 43,000| 2.7| ... |
7.9| 112,900|Japan | 125,000| 7.7| ... |
2.9| 42,000|Spain and Portugal| 42,000| 2.6| ... |
1.3| 18,500|Russia (estimated)| 18,000| 1.1| ... |
4.8| 71,000|Central Powers | | | |
| |(estimated) | 71,000| 4.4| ... |
1.4| 19,000|Norway | 19,000| 1.2| ... |
0.1| 1,000|Sweden | 1,000| 0.1| ... |
0.4| 6,250|Other countries | 6,250| 0.4| ... |
| | | | | |
-----+---------+------------------+---------+-----+---------+
24.6| 354,700|Total Eastern | | | |
| |Hemisphere | 383,250| 23.8| |
-----+---------+------------------+---------+-----+---------+
World| | | | | |
Total|1,456,869| |1,613,250|100 |1,113,000|
100%| | | | | 69[106] |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
-----+---------+------------------+---------+-----+---------+

-----+---------+------------------+------------+-----------+
Per-| | | | |
cent-| | | | |
age | Average | | | |
of |1916-1917| | Owned by | Owned by |
World|output of| | British | German |
total| copper |Country of origin | capital | capital |
-----+---------+------------------+------------+-----------+
| |_Western | | |
| |Hemisphere_ | | |
59.2| 868,903|United States | 29,000 | |
3.3| 49,168|Canada | 30,000 | |
3.4| 49,478|Mexico | Idle | 2,500 plus|
1.0| 14,000|Cuba | ... | 2,000 plus|
0.2| 2,000|Venezuela | 2,000 | |
4.8| 70,000|Chile | 2,500 | 4,500 plus|
3. | 43,620|Peru | | |
0.4| 6,000|Bolivia | | ... |
-----+---------+------------------+------------+-----------+
75.4|1,103,169|Total Western | | |
| |Hemisphere | 63,500 | 9,000 |
| | | | |
| |_Eastern | | |
| |Hemisphere_ | | |
3.2| 47,500|Africa | 58,000[105]| ... |
2.5| 36,550|Australia | 43,000 | |
7.9| 112,900|Japan | ... | ... |
2.9| 42,000|Spain and Portugal| 40,000 | ... |
1.3| 18,500|Russia (estimated)| ... |18,000(?) |
4.8| 71,000|Central Powers | | |
| |(estimated) | ... |71,000 |
1.4| 19,000|Norway | 10,000 | ... |
0.1| 1,000|Sweden | ... | ... |
0.4| 6,250|Other countries | 250 | ... |
| | | | |
-----+---------+------------------+------------+-----------+
24.6| 354,700|Total Eastern | | |
| |Hemisphere | | |
-----+---------+------------------+------------+-----------+
World| | | | |
Total|1,456,869| |212,750 |98,000 |
100%| | | 13.3[106] | 6.1[106] |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
-----+---------+------------------+------------+-----------+

-----+---------+------------------+-----------+--------+--------------
Per-| | | | |
cent-| | | | |
age | Average | | | | Owned by
of |1916-1917| | Owned by |Owned by|local capital
World|output of| | French |Japanese|in producing
total| copper |Country of origin | capital | capital| countries
-----+---------+------------------+-----------+--------+--------------
| |_Western | | |
| |Hemisphere_ | | |
59.2| 868,903|United States | | |
3.3| 49,168|Canada | | |
3.4| 49,478|Mexico |13,500 | |
1.0| 14,000|Cuba | ... | ... | 8,000
0.2| 2,000|Venezuela | | |
4.8| 70,000|Chile | 9,500[105]| ... | 7,500
3. | 43,620|Peru | | |
0.4| 6,000|Bolivia | 6,000 | |
-----+---------+------------------+-----------+--------+--------------
75.4|1,103,169|Total Western | | |
| |Hemisphere |29,000 | ... |15,500
| | | | |
| |_Eastern | | |
| |Hemisphere_ | | |
3.2| 47,500|Africa | ... | |
2.5| 36,550|Australia | | |
7.9| 112,900|Japan | ... | 125,000|
2.9| 42,000|Spain and Portugal| ... | ... | 2,000
1.3| 18,500|Russia (estimated)| | |
4.8| 71,000|Central Powers | | |
| |(estimated) | | |
1.4| 19,000|Norway | ... | ... | 9,000
0.1| 1,000|Sweden | ... | ... | 1,000
0.4| 6,250|Other countries | 2,000 | ... |(3,000)(Italy)
| | | | |(1,000)(China)
-----+---------+------------------+-----------+--------+--------------
24.6| 354,700|Total Eastern | | |
| |Hemisphere | | |31,500
-----+---------+------------------+-----------+--------+--------------
World| | | | |
Total|1,456,869| |31,000 | 125,000|
100%| | | 1.9[106] |7.7[106]|2.0%, divided
| | | | |as follows:
| | | | |Cuba, 0.5;
| | | | |Spain, 0.1;
| | | | |Norway, 0.6;
| | | | |Sweden, 0.05;
| | | | |Chile, 0.5;
| | | | |China, 0.05;
| | | | |Italy, 0.2
-----+---------+------------------+-----------+--------+--------------

[105] Includes Belgian capital.

[106] Percentage of ownership.

TABLE 36.--BUSINESS CONTROL OF THE WORLD’S COPPER MINES

All figures metric tons

------------------------+----------+---------+---------+-------+
| Estimated| | | |
| capacity | | Refined | |
| output of| Refined | in |Refined|
| refined | in | British | in |
Country of origin | copper |the U. S.|Dominions|Germany|
------------------------+----------+---------+--------+--------+
_Western Hemisphere_ | | | | |
United States | 928,000 | 928,000| ...| ...|
Canada | 58,000 | 28,000| 30,000| ...|
Mexico | 65,000 | 52,000| ...| ...|
Cuba | 10,000 | 10,000| ...| ...|
Venezuela | 2,000 | 2,000| | |
Chile | 110,000 | 43,000| 2,500| ...|
Peru | 45,000 | 45,000| | |
Bolivia | 12,000 | 6,000| ...| ...|
+----------+---------+---------+-------+
Total Western Hemisphere|1,230,000 |1,114,000| 32,500| 0|
Percent of total |76.2%[107]| 69 | 2 | ...|
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
_Eastern Hemisphere_ | | | | |
| | | (or in| |
| | | Belgium)| |
Africa | 58,000 | 5,000| 53,000| ...|
Australia | 43,000 | ...| 43,000| ...|
Japan | 125,000 | 3,000| ...| ...|
Spain and Portugal | | | | |
(estimated) | 42,000 | 2,000| 35,000| ...|
Russia (estimated) | 18,000 | ...| ...| ...|
Central Powers | 71,000?| ...| ...| 71,000|
Norway | 19,000 | ...| 19,000| ...|
Sweden | 1,000 | ...| 1,000| ...|
Other Countries | 6,250 | ...| 250| ...|
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
+----------+---------+---------+-------+
Total Eastern Hemisphere| 383,250 | 10,000| 151,250| 71,000|
Percentage of total | 23.8 | .7| 9.3| 4.4|
Total percentage | 100% | 69.7| 11.3| 4.4|
------------------------+----------+---------+---------+-------+

------------------------+-------+-------+--------------+---------
| | | |
| | | | Formerly
|Refined|Refined| Refined | sold
| in | in | in other |by German
Country of origin | France| Japan | countries | houses
------------------------+-------+-------+--------------+---------
_Western Hemisphere_ | | | |
United States | ...| ...| ...|( 73,000)
Canada | ...| ...| ...|( 21,000)
Mexico | 13,000| ...| ...|( 2,500)
Cuba | ...| ...| ...|( 10,000)
Venezuela | | | |
Chile | 9,500| ...| 55,000|( 20,000)
Peru | | | |
Bolivia | 6,000| | |
+-------+-------+--------------+---------
Total Western Hemisphere| 28,500| 0| 55,000 |(134,500)
Percent of total | 1.8 | ...| 3.4 | (8¹⁄₄%)
| | |(Chili copper)|
| | |(U. S. owned) |
| | | |
_Eastern Hemisphere_ | | | |
| | | |
| | | |
Africa | ...| ...| ... |( 5,000)
Australia | ...| ...| ... |( 43,000)
Japan | ...|122,000| |
Spain and Portugal | | | |
(estimated) | 5,000| ...| ... |
Russia (estimated) | ...| ...| ... |?
Central Powers | ...| ...| 18,000 |?
Norway | ...| ...| ... |?
Sweden | ...| ...| ... |?
Other Countries | 2,000| ...| 3,000 (Italy)|
| | | 1,000 (China)|
+-------+-------+--------------+---------
Total Eastern Hemisphere| 7,000|122,000| 22,000 |( 48,000)
Percentage of total | .4 | 7.6 | 1.4 | (3%)
Total percentage | 2.2 | 7.6 | 4.8 | (11¹⁄₄%)
------------------------+-------+-------+--------------+---------

[107] The United States controls the sale of substantially all this
copper.

TABLE 37.--FUTURE IMPORTANCE OF PRESENT COPPER-PRODUCING COUNTRIES AS
INDICATED BY KNOWN RESERVES OF COPPER ORE, AND CAPITAL CONTROLLING
THESE RESERVES

-------------------------+---------+-----+---------------------
| | |Developed reserves in
| | |terms of years’ life
| | | at capacity output
-------------------------+---------+-----+-----+-------+------+
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
|Estimated| Per-| | | |
|capacity |cent-|Owned| | Owned|
|output of| age | by | Owned | by |
| copper | of |U. S.| by |German|
| (metric |world|capi-|British| capi-|
Producing country | tons) |total| tal |capital| tal |
-------------------------+---------+-----+-----+-------+------+
W. Hemisphere: | | | | | |
United States | 928,000| 57.5| 12.4| 12.4 | ... |
| | | yrs.| yrs. | |
Canada | 58,000| 3.6| 15 | 20 | ... |
Mexico | 65,000| 4.0| 5 | large | large|
Cuba and Venezuela | 12,000| 0.7| ... | ... |3 yrs.|
Chile | 110,000| 6.8| 150 | 3 | ? |
| | | | | |
Peru | 45,000| 2.8| 4 | ... | ... |
Bolivia | 12,000| 0.8| ...| ... | ... |
-------------------------+---------+-----+-----+-------+------+
Total |1,230,000| 76.2| ...| ... | ... |
Percentage total reserves| ... | 76.8| 73.6| 2.4 | 0.1 |
| | | | | |
Eastern Hemisphere: | | | | | |
Africa | 58,000| 3.6| ...|66[110]| ... |
Australia | 43,000| 2.7| ...| 7.2 | ... |
Japan | 125,000| 7.7| ...| ... | ... |
Spain and Portugal | 42,000| 2.6| ...|50 | ... |
Russia | 18,000| 1.1| ...|18(?) |18(?) |
Central Powers | 71,000| 4.4| ...| ... | ? |
Norway | 19,000| 1.2| ...|10 | ... |
Sweden | 1,000| 0.1| ...| ... | ... |
Other countries | 6,250| 0.4| ...| ... | ... |
-------------------------+---------+-----+-----+-------+------+
Total | 383,250| 23.8| ...| ... | ... |
Percentage total reserves| ... | 23.2| ...|18.4 | 0.95 |
World total |1,613,250|100 | ...| ... | ... |
Percentage of world total| | | | | |
reserves | ... | ... | 73.6| 20.8 | 1.05 |
-------------------------+---------+-----+-----+-------+------+

-------------------------+----------------------+-------+-------
| Developed reserves in| |
| terms of years’ life | |
| at capacity output | |
-------------------------+------+------+--------+-------+-------
| | |Owned by| | Per-
| | | local | |centage
| | Owned| capital| | of
|Owned | by | in | | total
| by |Japan-| produc-| | re-
|French| ese | ing | Exten-| serves
| capi-| capi-| coun- | sion | of
Producing country | tal | tal | tries | [108] | world
-------------------------+------+------+--------+-------+-------
W. Hemisphere: | | | | |
United States | ... | ... | ... | 713 | 34.
| | | | |
Canada | ... | ... | ... | 63.3| 3.
Mexico |6 yrs.| ... | ... | 20.8| 1.15
Cuba and Venezuela | ... | ... | 3 yrs. | 2.1| 0.10
Chile |5 | ... | consid-| 795.8| 37.9
| | | erable | | [109]
Peru | ... | ... | | 11.2| 0.55
Bolivia |4 | ... | ... | 2.8| 0.10
-------------------------+------+------+--------+-------+-------
Total | ... | ... | ... |1,609.0|
Percentage total reserves| 0.4 | ... | 0.3 | ... | 76.8
| | | | |
Eastern Hemisphere: | | | | |
Africa | ... | ... | ... | 237.6| 11.3
Australia | ... | ... | ... | 20 | 0.95
Japan | ... | 6 | ... | 46.2| 2.2
Spain and Portugal | ... | ... | 50 | 130 | 6.2
Russia | ... | ... | 18 | 19.8| 0.95
Central Powers | ... | ... | ? | 20 | 0.95
Norway | ... | ... | 10 | 12 | 0.55
Sweden | ... | ... | 10 | 1 | 0.04
Other countries | ... | ... | ? | 1.4| 0.06
-------------------------+------+------+--------+-------+-------
Total | ... | ... | ... | 488.0|
Percentage total reserves| ... | 2.2 | 1.65| ... | 23.2
World total | ... | ... | ... |2,097.0|
Percentage of world total| | | | |
reserves | 0.4 | 2.2 | 1.95| ... | 100
-------------------------+------+------+--------+-------+-------

[108] Extension is the product of “Percentage of World Total” and
“Developed Reserves in Terms of Years Life,” and gives total ultimate
relative importance of different countries.

[109] In so far as it affects production this high figure must be
discounted because of the large reserves being compact, the distance
from market and the unfavorable mining conditions of a thinly settled
country.

[110] Katanga equals ⁶⁵⁄₆₆ of this.

NOTE.--Not much weight is to be attached to figures showing more than
10 years of life. Total full future value over long number of years
is greatly reduced when expressed in terms of present value on normal
interest discount. All countries with reserves good for ten or more
years may be considered as being on an equal footing so far as copper
resources are concerned. But, large reserves may mean expanding
production (as in Chile and Africa) and be important on that account
and only on that account.

To weigh ore reserves they have been taken in toto, but Spain would
be no worse off as compared to the United States if her reserves
were put at 10 years instead of at 50 (as calculated above). Her
reserves happen to be of a kind easily blocked out, but her output is
stationary.

[Illustration: PLATE VIII.--Geographical distribution of the principal
copper-producing districts of the world. By F. W. Paine.]

Table 35 shows the different copper-producing countries of the world
and the chief features of financial control of the producing mines.
Table 36 shows the chief features of business control (refining and
selling control) as distinct from control by mine ownership. In both
tables a forecast for future conditions is made by using estimates
of 1918 and 1919 production. These figures are followed out to the
different forms of control. The actual outputs of 1916-17 are given
as a reference and check. Table 37 shows reserves, largely those of
producing mines. Plate VIII shows the location of the principal copper
deposits of the world.

NORTH AMERICA

UNITED STATES

=Production.=--The maximum output of copper from mines within the
borders of the United States was in 1916, and amounted to 1,927,850,548
pounds. In 1917 the output was less, because of labor troubles, but
six leading states showed an increase, and if Montana had equaled the
output of 1916, the 1917 output would have been 1,962,034,512 pounds.
Without good markets and favorable labor conditions, the United States
production cannot reach anything like 2,000,000,000 pounds a year.

Commercial Control

_Control Through Ownership of Mines._--All the productive bodies of
copper in the United States are owned by Americans, except a small
number controlled by English capital. Before the war, there was
evidence of German affiliation and potential control in the copper
industry, but this centered in refining and selling the metal.
Accordingly, the German grip on the industry was highly centralized,
and direct and effective measures were used in breaking it.

Five leading groups are in control of copper production in the United
States. Certain of these have additional important ownerships in South
America and Mexico, which will be discussed under those countries.

TABLE 38.--LEADING FINANCIAL GROUPS IN CONTROL OF COPPER PRODUCTION IN
UNITED STATES

Pounds
_Group 1. Hayden-Jackling “porphyries”_ (closely
affiliated with group 2) Utah Copper, Ray Consolidated
(Ariz.), Nevada Consolidated, (Nev.) Chino (N. Mex.) and
Butte & Superior (Mont.); 1917 output (custom ore not
included) 448,887,253

_Group 2. Morgan-Guggenheim_ (American Smelting &
Refining Co). Kennecott (Alaska) and a large number of
smaller mines owned by Americans which have their ore
treated at plants controlled by this group. The 1917
output of Kennecott and eleven of the chief customers of
American Smelting & Refining plants (smaller custom
shipments to smelters must be added) was 156,954,722

_Group 3. Rockefeller-Ryan_: Anaconda, Inspiration,
North Butte, Utah Consolidated, Mountain Copper (Cal.),
Balaklala (Cal.), Walker mine (Cal.), and Arizona Copper
Co., 1917 output (custom ore not included) 357,308,558

_Group 4. Phelps-Dodge and affiliations_: Arizona and
New Mexico only. Copper Queen, Detroit, Burro Mountain,
Commercial Mining Co. (Phelps-Dodge); 1917 output 123,000,000

Calumet & Arizona--New Cornelia (Briggs-Congdon); 1917
output 79,360,000

United Verde Extension (affiliated with each of above);
total 1917 output 63,242,784

To which must be added custom business which is
important, _e.g._, Arizona Commercial mine, etc.; 1917
business (other custom ore not included) about 10,000,000
-------------
Total for group 4 275,603,113

_Group 5. Calumet & Hecla_: 1917 output, Calumet & Hecla
mine and subsidiaries 168,765,033

Total 1917 output of these five leading groups[111] 1,407,518,679

[111] Exclusive of the small mines (shippers of custom ore) partly
controlled through smelting and refining contracts by same interests.

Important smaller groups may be listed as follows:

_Group 6. W. A. Clark_: United Verde, Elm Orlu (Mont.)
and Ophir Hill (Utah); 1917 output 88,390,038

_Group 7. Adolph Lewisohn_: Miami and, by sale of
output, Shattuck-Arizona; 1917 output 57,058,666

_Group 8. U. S. Smelting, Refining & Mining Co._ Custom
ore and Mammoth mine, Cal., Utah Apex, and Tintic (Utah)
mines; 1917 output 22,600,000

_Group 9. Lake mines_ (other than Calumet & Hecla):
Copper Range Co., Mohawk, Quincy, etc.[112]; 1917 output 99,700,000

[112] Ten different interests.

There is also a group, discussed later, of uncertain or unclassifiable
affiliations, owned by Americans, but in many instances worked under
smelting and refining contracts that merit special mention:

1917 output,
pounds
Old Dominion (Ariz.), (perhaps group 4) 25,758,381
East Butte (and custom ore), (perhaps group 9) 18,000,000
Shannon Copper Co., (Ariz.), (independent) 6,138,219
Penn. Mining Co. (Cal.) (independent) 3,400,000
Cons. Arizona Smelting Co. (independent) 5,000,000
Ducktown Sulphur, Copper & Iron Co., Ltd. (Tenn.),
(English) 5,523,573
--------------
Total unclassifiable and uncertain 63,820,173
Total of groups 1 to 5 1,407,518,679
Total of groups 6 to 9 267,748,704
--------------
Total of all interests 1,739,087,556
Total 1917 United States copper production (from
domestic mines only) 1,873,546,171
Balance (custom ore from small shippers)[113] 134,458,614

[113] This balance includes copper produced as by-product in mining
of other metals in Colorado and the East, estimated at 50,000,000
pounds, and custom shipments from 1,000 small operations, chiefly
to smelters controlled by groups 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6, estimated at
84,458,614 pounds.

Certain mines in the above groups are owned in England, but are
classed with that interest which refines and sells the production.
In group 2, for example, is listed the Tennessee Copper Co., whose
copper is refined and sold at the American Smelting & Refining plant
in Baltimore. In ownership, however, this property should be placed in
group 7, (output 10,547,704 pounds).

In group 3 are two English-owned mines: Arizona Copper Co. (Scotch) and
Mountain Copper Co., (English). Ducktown Sulphur, Copper & Iron in the
last group (uncertain and unclassifiable) is also English-owned. The
combined output of these three English-owned properties is 48,000,000
pounds. This comprises all properties not owned by American capital.
Ducktown Sulphur, Copper & Iron Co., Ltd. is English-owned, but all its
production (copper matte) is sold to the American Metal Co. The others
in the group designated above as uncertain, or unclassifiable, are
entirely American owned, although their production has been marketed by
the American Metal Co. or L. Vogelstein, as discussed later.

None of these groups actually own the mines outright, the mines being
owned by hosts of stockholders scattered all over the country. Of many
companies the president and directors own a very small percentage of
the stock. As regards group 6 and to a less extent group 4, however,
the actual ownership is in very few hands; but this is exceptional. The
copper mines of the United States, like the railroads and the largest
industrial enterprises, such as the United States Steel Corporation,
etc., are, in the last analysis, controlled by their stockholders.

Summarized on the basis of the 1917 output, one finds that the
ownership of American copper mines is as follows: American 97¹⁄₂ per
cent., English and Scotch, 2¹⁄₂ per cent.

_Control Through Ownership of Smelters and Refineries._--Ownership
of smelters that treat domestic ore is substantially identical to
the mine ownership given above. Interests owning active smelters are
less numerous than interests owning mines, because efficient smelting
requires large-scale operations.

The electrolytic refineries are all American owned. Large-scale
units, representing heavy capital investments, are essential in
electrolytic refining. A small refinery cannot compete successfully
with large ones. The average important copper mine produces enough ore
to make about 25,000,000 pounds a year, whereas the average smelter
produces three or four times as much blister or casting copper, and
the average electrolytic refinery can produce over 250,000,000 pounds
annually. Consequently, there are only six groups (Hayden-Jackling,
Morgan-Guggenheim, Rockefeller-Ryan, Phelps-Dodge, Calumet & Hecla,
and U. S. Smelting, Refining & Mining Co.) interested in refinery
ownership. No small producer has the capital or the size to be able to
enter this field. Table 39 shows electrolytic copper refineries of the
United States and their ownerships:

TABLE 39.--OWNERSHIP AND CAPACITY OF AMERICAN COPPER REFINERIES

------------------------------------------+----------+---------------
|Ownership,| 1917 capacity
Works | group-- | (pounds)
------------------------------------------+----------+---------------
Baltimore Copper Smelting & Rolling Co. | 1 and 2 | 720,000,000
Nichols Copper Co. Independent and in part| 4 | 500,000,000
Raritan Copper Works | 3 | 460,000,000
American Smelting & Refining Co. | 1 and 2 | 288,000,000
United States Metals Refining Co. | 8 | 250,000,000
Tacoma Smelting Co. | 1 and 2 | 204,000,000
Anaconda Copper Mining Co. (new plant) | 3 | 180,000,000
Calumet & Hecla Mining Co. | 5 | 65,000,000
Anaconda Copper Mining Co. (old plant) | 3 | 65,000,000
Balbach Smelting & Refining Co.[114] | |
(former German affiliations) | ... | 48,000,000
| +---------------
Total capacity | | 2,780,000,000
| |
| |1917 production
| | (pounds)
Electrolytic copper | ... | 1,452,744,593
Secondary electrolytic copper | ... | 66,337,771
Imported copper made into electrolytic | ... | 555,000,000
| +---------------
Total 1917 refinery production | ... | 2,074,082,364
------------------------------------------+----------+---------------

[114] This company treats copper scrap and imported copper ores and
matte.

The refineries control the situation to a very considerable extent. A
copper producer must obtain electrolytic refining in order to market
his product. Lake copper and casting copper do not require electrolytic
refining, although producers of casting are often at a disadvantage
when there is a big premium on electrolytic copper and casting can only
be sold at a large discount.

The smelters do not control the situation in the same way. In the
United States are a large number of custom smelters--32--that actively
compete for ores; some have many branches. Moreover, a mine of any
size will have its own smelter, as the capital investment is far less
than that required for an electrolytic refinery. As the table shows,
there are only seven groups (the six above enumerated and the Balbach
Smelting & Refining Co.) interested in electrolytic refining, and one
of these (the smallest) is to a considerable degree interested in the
treatment of secondary or scrap copper.

The electrolytic refinery control of the copper production of the
United States is shown by the 1917 figures. In that year the production
of electrolytic copper was 1,452,744,593 pounds; of Lake copper, 238,
508,091 pounds; and of casting copper, 152,293,487 pounds. Electrolytic
copper thus constituted 77¹⁄₂ per cent. of the total.

_Control Through Selling and Distribution of Copper in Finished
Form._--Groups owning mines, smelters, and refineries invariably also
control or own the selling agencies that distribute the product to
the consumer. In these cases, control through selling is the same as
control through mine ownership, but is increased by the copper in ores
received at custom smelters.

Control through selling, then, is identical to the control shown in
Table 38, so far as groups 1, 2, 3, 4, and 8 are concerned, if certain
additions at the expense of the other groups are made. But every
producer of Lake copper controls the sale of its product, because Lake
copper needs no electrolytic refining. Hence in groups 5 and 9 mine
ownership and control through selling are identical. This is a fact of
considerable interest and confirms the fact of control through refinery
ownership. Groups 6 and 7 (Table 38) are large producers, and although
they do not own refineries they are able to control the sales of their
product. The refineries are willing to refine their copper on toll and
return the marketable copper to the mine owners, who make sale to the
trade. Groups 2, 3, and 7 now control copper even further, as they own
brass mills, wire and rod mills, etc. They manufacture a part of their
production and sell it as copper wire, finished brass, etc., instead of
making sales to the brass and wire mills of ingots, bars, cakes, etc.,
which is and has been always the general practice.

There remains to consider the control, through selling, of the six
uncertain groups (total production 63,820,173 pounds) and some of the
134,458,614 pounds of copper produced from custom ore. A large part of
this, as noted, is lodged in groups 1, 2, 3, 4 and 8.

For many years three concerns affiliated with the German metal combines
(Merton Co. and Metallgesellschaft, of Frankfort-on-the-Main, and
Aaron Hirsch, of Halberstadt) have been active in the copper business
of the United States. Their activity has been confined to selling
of copper produced in this country, and to ownership and selling of
copper produced in foreign countries but brought to the United States
for smelting and refining. One small refinery is or was owned by this
group in the United States, and two smelters, treating mainly foreign
ores. It also owns smelters in Mexico and South America, and had close
connections with two large refineries in New Jersey, so that it sold
all the electrolytic copper produced by one plant and an important part
of the production of the other plant.

_German Control of American Copper._--The exact German ownership of
these concerns was disclosed during the war by the work of the Alien
Property Custodian, and was as follows: (1) American Metal Co., with an
issued capital of $7,000,000, of which the German holdings amounted to
$3,336,000, or close to 50 per cent.; these holdings were taken over
by the United States authorities; (2) L. Vogelstein & Co., of which 80
per cent. of the stock was held by Germans (A. Hirsch & Sohn) and 15
per cent. by L. Vogelstein, a naturalized American citizen; (3) Beer,
Sondheimer & Co., entirely German owned. The government seized the two
last-named concerns.

The _American Metal Co._ markets the copper of the Old Dominion, East
Butte, Shannon, Penn. Mining Co. and Ducktown Sulphur, Coal & Iron
companies. Blister copper 99 per cent. pure is purchased on contract
from the first-named four companies by the American Metal Co. This
copper is refined for the American Metal Co. by the Nichols Copper Co.,
and the finished product sold to the trade by the American Metal Co.
The Ducktown Sulphur, Copper & Iron Co. sells all of its production,
as copper matte, to the American Metal Co., which has it treated and
sells the finished product. In this manner 58,820,173 pounds was
controlled through sale by the American Metal Co. in 1917. In addition,
considerable domestic custom ore and a large amount of copper imported
from Canada (Granby), South America and Mexico is handled by the
American Metal Co. in the same way. Such imported copper totals up to
three times as much as the domestic copper so controlled.

So far as domestic copper is concerned this situation will be
corrected. The Nichols Copper Co. is free to refine this copper and
sell it or turn it back to the producers for sale; it does this latter
for Phelps-Dodge and Miami. It can be assumed that control through
selling will cease as regards the 58,820,173 pounds cited above and
also as regards Granby’s production--about 50,000,000 pounds.

The American Metal Co. may be sold to American interests,[115] thus
clearing up the situation in imported copper to some extent. Certain
Mexican and Chilean properties owned by the American Metal Co. will
perhaps not be sold, and such properties can be considered as likely
always to be German owned.

[115] The German holdings in the American Metal Co. are reported sold
to an American syndicate in which L. Vogelstein participated.

The American Metal Co. owns the Balbach electrolytic refinery, and from
treatment of scrap and imported copper (Chilean and Japanese blister
and copper) at that plant obtains and sells about 50,000,000 pounds of
refined copper per annum.

The concern of _L. Vogelstein & Co._ lost its chief hold on American
copper production in 1915. Up to that time L. Vogelstein & Co. worked
very closely with group 8 (United States Smelting, Refining & Mining
Co.). The output of the United States Smelting Refining & Mining Co.
mines and smelters was sold by Vogelstein as well as the output of its
electrolytic refinery. But since 1915 this American-owned enterprise
itself sells all the copper produced by its own mines and smelters.

But Vogelstein still controls the sale of the copper treated at the
plant of the United States Metals Refining Co.,[116] over and above
what is produced by the United States Smelting, Refining & Mining Co.
from its own mines and smelters. This remaining copper consists in
part of imported copper, and in part of the output of the Consolidated
Arizona Smelting Co., which is an American-owned enterprise. The output
was large in 1917 (about 20,000,000 pounds) but three-fourths of it was
ore from the United Verde Extension mine. The United Verde Extension
has since completed its own smelter and no longer turns over a part
of its copper output to Vogelstein through the Consolidated Arizona
Smelting Co. The output of United Verde (group 6) also was formerly
sold by Vogelstein, but now is sold by the owner of the mine.

[116] The United States Metals Refining Co. was a subsidiary of the
United States Smelting, Refining & Mining Co., sold, 1920, to the
American Metal Co.

Therefore, the only copper controlled in 1918 by Vogelstein through
selling was about 50,000,000 pounds a year, the output of mines owned
by Consolidated Arizona Smelting Co. (about 5,000,000 pounds) and
the imported copper, of which about 45,000,000 pounds was treated in
1917. The latter is controlled by Vogelstein not only by selling of
the product but in part by smelting contracts and in part probably, as
regards South America, by ownership of mines.[117]

[117] L. Vogelstein is reported to have sold his interests to the
American Metal Co. and subsequently, early in 1920, to have acquired
a fifth interest in that company.

_Beer, Sondheimer & Co._ has never been a large factor in the United
States copper industry, although much interested in zinc. But the firm
does control the sale of some copper and owns a smelter at Norfolk.
This smelter treats imported ores for the most part, but also obtains
some copper from pyrites (sulphur ores) coming from the United States
and Canada. Perhaps as much as 10,000,000 pounds of domestic copper was
sold by Beer, Sondheimer & Co. in 1917. The company owns an important
Cuban mine.

As American capital owns American copper mines, smelters and
refineries, German interests were able to obtain a foothold only
through selling organizations (trading in metals), which later they
extended to close working arrangements with electrolytic refineries,
which were naturally interested in finding a good cash market for their
output. The fact that Germany prior to 1914 was the biggest foreign
buyer of United States copper, made easy the successful development of
the carefully laid German plans.

In the future such plans can be guarded against by encouraging copper
producers to sell their own output. All the large producers already
do this, a change in this respect having developed since 1914. Sales
in foreign markets can now be properly managed under the provisions
of recent legislation permitting copper producers to enter into a
combination in the sale of export copper. This counteracts the old
German system of a buyers’ combine against the sellers of copper,
which was an important factor in forcing American producers to have
German concerns sell their product. But it will be necessary for the
electrolytic refineries to co-operate in this policy of American
selling control of American copper. Producers whose output is only
a few million pounds per annum probably cannot afford to establish
their own selling agencies; such producers will include all who have
no smelter but ship to custom smelting plants. The production can be
sold by the large custom smelting plants, which are American owned,
or these small producers could establish a common sales agency. Other
larger producers, as those whose copper is now sold by the American
Metal Co., should be enabled to do their own selling. In this they have
been blocked by the lack of refining facilities, except on a basis that
took away from them selling control of their product. This situation
can be corrected by regulations that put electrolytic refineries on a
recognized toll basis for all American customers. All refineries have
about the same costs and their combined capacity is ample to treat all
the blister copper that will be produced. They should receive good
profits on the business, but it should be unlawful for refineries to
refuse to treat blister copper on toll and insist that copper must be
sold to them outright. The toll system is already in use at several
refineries and has proved satisfactory.

As shown above, there are in the United States a few very large
refineries whose ownership is in few hands. If these refineries control
the sale of all the production of copper several objectionable features
develop. The few sales agencies handle so much copper that there is a
tendency to co-operate with representatives of foreign consumers who
can buy in large quantities, and it is not difficult to manipulate the
market temporarily, in disregard of actual conditions of demand and
supply. Thus the entire output of copper, one of our great natural
resources, is placed in the hands of groups who, while interested
in mining, are more interested in refining. The best interests of
the industry are more nearly those of the miner than of the refiner.
Therefore, the most positive dislodgment of former German control of
copper through selling will come from the breaking up of the former
system and transferring each unit of that system to other hands; rather
than transferring the old units in block to non-German hands. Sales
of American copper should be handled by a large number of separate
agencies actively competing for the domestic market; this is essential
in the interests of the consumer and of the country. But export
copper business should be handled through one agency or association
representing all the sales agencies, as is now legal, and this should
be done in the interests of the producer and of the country.

=Reserves of United States Copper Mines.=--The developed reserves of
United States copper deposits are fully equal, in proportion to output,
to such reserves in foreign copper deposits. This insures the fact that
for the next ten years, at least, the copper production of the United
States will maintain its present relative dominance over all foreign
countries.

A large proportion of all copper deposits are of such a deep-seated
character that at no time can large reserves be positively developed,
even when they exist. On the other hand, all over the world the mines
with large known reserves are horizontal deposits, lying near the
surface, because only in such occurrences is it possible to block out
easily and cheaply big tonnages of ore. There are in the United States
six very important deposits of this type, the so-called “porphyries.”
These are:

TABLE 40.--“PORPHYRY” COPPER MINES IN THE UNITED STATES

---------------------------+-----------+----------
| | Years of
| | life at
| Reserves| present
Mine | (tons) |production
---------------------------+-----------+----------
Utah Copper Co. |200,000,000| 31
Ray Consolidated Copper Co.| 90,000,000| 30
Chino Copper Co. | 80,000,000| 27
Inspiration Consolidated |120,000,000| 20
Nevada Consolidated | 80,000,000| 20
Miami Copper Co. | 50,000,000| 20
+-----------+----------
Total |620,000,000| 26
---------------------------+-----------+----------

These mines in 1917 produced 31.5 per cent. of the total United States
output.

The New Cornelia mine is of similar type and has already developed
75,000,000 tons, but as it is new its 1917 output was small. The
Arizona Copper Co., Ltd., is also of this type, as are certain new
developments in the Phelps-Dodge properties.

These “porphyry” deposits occur in or near intrusive igneous rocks of
various ages. Fully one-third of the United States production is now
and will continue to be obtained from such deposits. On the average,
about 1 per cent. copper is recovered from the ore.

Distinct from the shallow and horizontal-lying disseminated ores
or “porphyry coppers,” are the deep mines. The two oldest and most
important deep-mine districts in the United States are Butte, Montana,
and the Keweenaw Peninsula, Michigan. The mines of Butte work steeply
dipping veins. It cannot be considered that over five years of ore
reserves are known, and probably not over 2¹⁄₂ years of reserves are
actually blocked out on three sides. However, there are no indications
of early exhaustion, as the veins are profitable at more than 3,000
feet, the greatest depth to which mining has yet progressed. The
deposits of northern Michigan are in pre-Cambrian rocks. They have been
important producers of copper for over 50 years, and several mines
have reached a vertical depth of more than 5,000 feet. Certainly not
over five years of ore reserves are fully developed, but there are no
signs of early exhaustion. These two districts, Butte and Michigan, now
produce about 30 per cent. of the total United States output, a smaller
proportion than before the development of the “porphyries.” The average
copper content of the Michigan deposits ranges from 0.5 per cent. to 2
per cent. and of the Butte deposits 2.5 to 5 per cent.

Certain ore deposits (usually massive but irregular) which are situated
mainly in Arizona constitute the third important general class. These
deposits produce about one-quarter of the total United States output.
Bisbee, Jerome and Globe (Arizona), and Kennecott (Alaska), are the
main localities. Owing to the irregular nature of the deposits and the
distance from the surface at which the ore is found, large developed
reserves cannot be blocked out in advance. Such reserves are assumed to
be five years.

Apart from the three classes of deposits described above are many
smaller deposits, of which the most distinct class are the pyritic
bodies, notably those of Tennessee and California. Such deposits are
often profitable even when of low grade, because the sulphur as well as
the copper is recovered. Reserves in such deposits are large: equal,
say, to ten years’ life. Deposits of this class are important in Spain,
Norway and in part in Japan. Mines producing copper as a by-product
should also be grouped here.

From the above outline the table below has been compiled:

TABLE 41.--DEVELOPED RESERVES OF UNITED STATES COPPER MINES

------------------------------------+----------+--------+-----------
|Percentage| |
| of | |
| total |Years of|Extension
General group | output | life | [118]
------------------------------------+----------+--------+-----------
The “porphyries” | 35 | 26 | 9.10
Deep mines | 30 | 5 | 1.50
Rich ore bodies (Arizona and Alaska)| 25 | 5 | 1.25
Pyritic ore bodies | 5 | 10 | 0.50
Others | 5 | 2 | 0.10
+----------+--------+-----------
Average | 100 | 12.4 | 12.45
------------------------------------+----------+--------+-----------

[118] “Extension” is the Percentage of Total Output multiplied by the
Years of Life, giving the relative importance of each group.

The known ore reserves serve as a basis for the assumption that the
production of copper in the United States will continue at the present
figures for at least ten years.

CANADA

Canadian copper-producing properties are entirely controlled by
American and British capital in about equal proportion, changes
involving construction of new refineries and a shift in selling
control being assumed to be already effective. Up to the present time
the natural development has been for Canada to depend largely on the
United States for refining facilities. It is likely that in the future
local or English control in this field will be closer than heretofore,
although the Canadian copper industry will always be closely identified
with that of the United States.

There are three chief copper properties in Canada which are controlled
by United States capital, all in British Columbia, as well as several
small mines in this province and in others. By far the largest is the
Granby Consolidated Mining, Smelting & Power Co. This company has
mines in two districts. One of these properties is nearly exhausted;
the other is a new and vigorous producer. Smelters are operated at
each place. The Granby company is controlled by the same interests
that own the Nichols Copper Co. (electrolytic refinery). Considerable
custom ore is treated by Granby, a large amount coming from Alaska.
The other two mines are those of the Canada Copper Co. and the Howe
Sound Co. Their production is refined and sold in the United States by
American concerns. The developed reserves at these three mines are all
large, being fully adequate for fifteen years at the present rate of
production.

The only property in Canada which has established facilities for
producing copper ready for the consumer is the Consolidated Mining &
Smelting Co., of Trial, B. C. This Canadian company owns and operates
its own mines, smelter and electrolytic refinery. The capacity of the
refinery is now 14,000,000 pounds refined copper annually. The ores
are massive pyritic bodies without great developed reserves, but the
probable reserves are large.

The English and American properties at Sudbury yield nearly as much
copper as the Granby company, although their main business is nickel
production. A small part of the output is refined in Wales, producing
copper sulphate; but the largest part has been refined in New Jersey.
A refinery is being completed in Canada that will treat these
copper-nickel mattes and produce refined copper. These copper-nickel
deposits occur in pre-Cambrian rocks, and the known or potential
reserves are very large. They are described in more detail in Chapter
VI.

In Ontario and Quebec there are a number of pyrite mines where some of
the pyrite contains considerable copper. Most of the pyrite is shipped
to the United States, where the copper is recovered, refined and sold.

The production of Canada is growing, and the country will become
of increasing importance as a source of copper. Known reserves are
larger in proportion to output than in the United States and there
will probably be important developments of new districts. The northern
British Columbia region is of exceptional promise.

CUBA AND THE CARIBBEAN

The copper output of Cuba has increased in an extraordinary degree
during the past few years, but there are no indications that this
increase will continue. Two mines are responsible for nearly all the
production. One is an old mine near Santiago, the El Cobre, which
yielded about one-quarter of the total output. It is owned by the
German metal combine, which ships the ore and concentrates to Norfolk,
where they are treated by the smelter owned by Beer, Sondheimer &
Co., who have always marketed the production. The Matahambre mine,
in Pinar del Rio Province, yields nearly the entire remaining Cuban
output; it is owned by Cubans. Ore is shipped to the United States
Smelting, Refining & Mining Co., of New York, and is believed to be
sold by L. Vogelstein & Co. The reserves of copper ore in Cuba can
not be considered large. Statistics of Cuban output are conflicting:
producers’ reports, statistical authorities and United States commerce
reports not being in agreement. All production is shipped in crude form
to the United States for refining.

There are copper deposits in Central America,[119] and at one or two
points in the West Indies outside of Cuba. To date production has been
insignificant, although future possibilities are considerable.

[119] The Rosita mine, in Nicaragua, has 1,500,000 tons of ore
blocked out, running over 5 per cent. copper. It has not been
equipped.

MEXICO

The future importance of Mexico as a producer of copper or of other
metals will be determined not only by the character of her natural
deposits but by political conditions. The latter have materially
decreased the output during the past few years, so that in 1917
production was about 100,000,000 pounds, probably not much over half
what it would have been had normal conditions been continuous since
1912.

=Commercial Control.=--Three companies now produce about three-fourths
of the total copper. Two of these are owned by _American capital_
and their product is refined and sold in the United States. Situated
near the Arizona border, they have not suffered from the revolution
as much as the properties farther south. These two companies are the
Greene Cananea Copper Co. (Ryan-Rockefeller, group 3 of Table 38) and
Montezuma Copper Co. (Phelps-Dodge, etc.; group 4 of Table 38). The
developed reserves at the Montezuma Copper Co. are equivalent to five
years at present production and those at Cananea can be considered
about the same. Both districts have important possibilities. Near
Greene Cananea is another American property, Democrata Cananea, which
is a producer of moderate size. The Cananea district is now producing
at the rate of over 50,000,000 pounds per annum. Another American
property of note is the Teziutlan Copper Co., Puebla, now idle due to
revolutions. It has a smelter which normally ships 12,000,000 pounds of
blister copper annually to the Anaconda company’s electrolytic plant.
Considerable copper is produced at the plants of the American Smelting
& Refining Co., which has three copper smelters, one at Matehuala, San
Luis Potosi; one at Asarco and another at Aguascalientes, Durango.

_French capital_ controls the third important property (among the
three most important in Mexico), which is on the peninsula of Lower
California. This is the Boleo, owned by the Rothschilds; as it is far
removed from the heart of Mexico, operations have not been greatly
disturbed. The mine is an old producer with large potential reserves,
and the actual developed reserves will maintain present output for
six years. The Boleo ore deposits, which are of an uncommon type, are
Tertiary sediments that contain 3.5 per cent. copper ore, usually as
oxides. Smelters near the mine produce blister copper and matte, which
normally is shipped to France. During the war a large part of the
blister and matte came to the United States and passed into the hands
of the American Smelting & Refining Co. French interests also own the
Compagnie d’Inguaran, near Ario, Michoacan. There are large developed
reserves, but the property is idle because of political conditions and
absence of equipment or rail connections. French capital also controls
the Magistral Ameca Co., in Jalisco, where large ore reserves have been
developed. This property is also idle due to political conditions.

_English capital_ controls the Mazapil Copper Co., which has large
plants, including smelters, in Zacatecas and Coahuila. This is one of
the largest copper companies in Mexico as well as one of the oldest
important mines. It was idle for some time because of the Mexican
revolutions, but has been reopened recently.

To sum up, the production in Mexico at present is three-quarters
American controlled (of which one-half may be assigned to group 3 and
one-quarter to groups 2 and 4), while the remaining one-quarter is
French controlled. But present output and known reserves give no true
picture of future possibilities. Mexico can become of first importance
as a copper producer, ranking possibly second only to the United States
or equaling Chile and Japan among the world’s producers. The natural
resources are there and in the future will surely be developed much
more extensively than ever before.

_German capital_ must be taken into consideration, and especially the
activities of the American Metal Co. in Mexico, notably more vigorous
since 1914 than before. It is believed that the company has made
substantial profits from Mexican mining investments in this period
and has obtained a very strong foothold. The Compañia Metallurgica de
Torreon is one of the American Metal Co. subsidiaries, owning promising
mines, chiefly in the development state, and smelters already equipped
to produce 20,000,000 pounds of copper yearly. The Mapimi smelter is
also owned by the American Metal Co., as are many other companies. What
is the future Mexican political situation to be and what part will the
American Metal Co. or the German metal combine play in the Mexican
copper industry? There is no more pertinent question in the entire
field of the political and commercial control of the copper resources
of the world, particularly as American capital is largely interested
in Mexican copper mines and has made enormous investments there. Also
the natural tendency is for most of the Mexican copper to be shipped
to the United States for refining and marketing. American refineries,
with cheap fuel and efficient methods, are the natural destination for
Mexican raw copper.

SOUTH AMERICA

South America is the second largest copper-producing continent of
the world, but at present stands far behind North America. The
copper-producing countries of South America, in the order of their
importance, are Chile, Peru, Bolivia, Venezuela and Argentina.

CHILE

Chile is a copper producer of rapidly increasing importance, as
indicated by production records of recent years.[120]

[120] According to Chilean statistics, and estimate for 1917.

1914 1915 1916 1917
Metric tons 44,665 52,341 71,288 95,000

The largest mines of Chile are controlled by _American capital_. Group
2 of Table 38 (the Morgan-Guggenheim interests) controls the Chile
Copper Co., Braden Copper Co. and the Caldera and Carrizal custom
smelters. The developed ore reserves of the Chile Copper Co. are the
largest in any known copper deposits in the world and the reserves
of Braden are among the largest known. Group 3 of Table 38 (Anaconda
Copper Co.) has a property with large developed ore reserves--the Andes
Copper Co. This mine is not yet (1918) producing.

Table 43 (p. 243) gives data concerning these American-owned mines.

These three mines are allied to the “porphyries” of the United States
in character, but they are less profitable because the external
conditions make operation more difficult.

TABLE 42.--CHIEF COPPER PRODUCERS OF CHILE. THEIR OWNERSHIP AND
RELATIVE IMPORTANCE

-------+---------------------------+--------------+------------------
Con- | | |
trolled| | |
by | | |
capital| | Source of |
of | Company | product | Remarks
-------+---------------------------+--------------+------------------
United | Chile Copper Co. |Mines of the |Capacity will be
States | |Company |increased
| | |
Do | Braden Copper Co. | Do | Do
| | |
Do | A. S. & R. Co. |Local owned |Caldera plant
| |mines |
| | |
Do | A. S. & R. Co., custom | |
| smelters | Do |Carrizal plant
| | |
|Total United States | |
| | |
| United States properties’| |
| reserves | |
-------+---------------------------+--------------+------------------
England| Central Chile Co. |Panulcillo |Balance custom ore
| |mine ¹⁄₃ |
Do | Poderosa mine | |Shipped to U. S.
| | |
Do | Lota custom smelter |Largely custom|Treat custom matte
| |ore |
| | |
|Total British | |
| | |
| British properties’ | |
| reserves | |
-------+---------------------------+--------------+------------------
France | Chanaral |Mines of the }|Product treated at
| |company }|Balbach plant
Do | Naltagua |Mines of the }|(U. S.) in 1917
| +company }|
|Total French | |
| | |
| French properties’ | |
| reserves | |
-------+---------------------------+--------------+------------------
Belgium| Catemo |Mines of the |Refined by
| Reserves |company |Balbach, 1917.
| | |
Germany| Gatico smelter |Custom ore |Tributary to rich
| |and mines |mining district.
| |controlled. |
| | |
| Guayacan smelter | |Formerly shipped
| | |matte to England.
| | |
Chile | 6 mines with smelters |Locally owned |Shipped to big
| |mines |smelters or
| | |exported.
| | |
| Great numbers of mines |Locally owned |Shipped to big
| |mines |smelters or
| | |exported.
| | |
|GRAND TOTAL | |
| | |
| Expected output 1918-1919| |
| | |
| | |
-------+---------------------------+--------------+------------------

TABLE 43.--OUTPUT, RESERVES, AND LIFE OF THREE AMERICAN-OWNED COPPER
MINES IN CHILE

The Caldera and Carrizal custom smelters of the American Smelting
& Refining Co. treat ores shipped from various smaller mines. The
Carrizal plant has been closed. Two chief properties are tributary to
this plant,--the Carrizal Alto and the Astilla mines. A large number of
properties are tributary to the Caldera plant, among them: Dulcinea,
Flamenco, Morado, San Juan, El Gallo, etc. Throughout northern Chile
there are a great many small copper mines. From the Braden property
east of Valparaiso to the Chili Copper Co., southeast of Iquique, the
entire country seems to be unusually rich in copper.

There are five important Chilean mines controlled by _French or British
capital_. See Table 42. All are vein mines with no considerable tonnage
of developed ore reserves, and the combined output is nearly 50,000,000
pounds of copper a year (a considerable part being from custom
ore shipped by small mines) in the form of blister or matte. This
production is normally shipped to France or England.

The American Metal Co. and L. Vogelstein, representing _German
capital_, are believed to control, through selling and refining, much
of the output of the French, British and Belgian mines. These concerns
also own custom smelters in Chile and probably have interests in many
mining properties there. The big business in Chilean ores shipped into
the United States is done by these concerns, although the American
Smelting, Refining & Mining Co. is also an important factor. These
ores come from many small mines, although there are a few important
ore shippers, one of which is British owned. Most of the mines are
ostensibly Chilean owned, but much of the financing, marketing of
products, etc., is done by American houses with German affiliations.

It seems that Chile may soon become the second largest copper producer
of the world. American capital has led in the development of the
Chilean deposits, as American interests have discovered and furnished
funds for the equipment of the two leading producers, and the third
most important ore body is American owned. This is the more remarkable
in light of the fact that American capital has so far been conspicuous
by its absence in the development of the other important industries of
Chile. Were it not for the present difficulties of building up plant
facilities, due to shipping shortage, high cost of equipment, etc.,
the American-owned copper mines would today be still larger producers
than they are. However, American capital now completely controls
about seven-eighths of the total output. Substantially all the copper
produced in Chile is shipped to the United States. The Chili Copper Co.
produces in Chile a refined electrolytic copper, and this is the only
finished refined copper produced in South America. Braden can produce a
grade of copper that does not compete with electrolytic but is refined
enough to go directly to the consumer.

PERU

Peru is one of the important copper-producing countries of the world.
The chief mines are at extreme altitudes, however, and their character
and location is such as to indicate that production will probably
remain stationary or at least not show any important increases in the
next few years. There are two important districts: Cerro de Pasco
(elevation, 14,300 feet) and Morococha (elevation 13,700 feet).

The chief mines of these districts are now controlled by American
capital and may be classed with group 2 of Table 38. The Morococha
district was formerly English controlled, but the majority interests
have lately been acquired by the Cerro de Pasco Copper Co. (American).
The ores in both districts are exceedingly rich and the properties
are well fortified with reserves. Developed reserves are adequate
to insure four years’ production, and everything indicates that the
mines are working extensive and persistent ore deposits. Blister
copper is shipped to the American Smelting & Refining Co. in New York
for treatment and marketing. Both mines have fully equipped plants,
including smelters.

At the plant of Backus & Johnson Co., Morococha, some custom ore and
matte from locally owned mines is treated. Among these mines are those
of J. Galliver, producing 600 tons matte a year. Backus & Johnson also
have a smelter and mines in the Casapalca district. The Sayapullo
Syndicate (English) is working the Sayapullo mine under option from
the Peruvian owners. Some of this matte is shipped to the Casapalca
smelter, and the rest is exported to the United States. The output so
far is small; at present 800 tons per year.

Certain small companies ship ores to the United States: from these the
copper content amounted to about 4,000,000 pounds in 1917. This goes
(1919) chiefly to the American Metal Co. and L. Vogelstein for refining
and selling. This ore comes from Salaverry and Trujillo (Casapalca
district), Mollendo (southern district, including Ferrobamba, see
below), and Callao. All the blister copper is shipped from Callao
except small amounts shipped by Backus & Johnson from the Casapalca
district. An American company has developed a large body of low-grade
ore at Ferrobamba (Cotobamba Province), southern Peru. The property is
inaccessible and no work is now being done.

The following résumé gives some of the salient facts concerning the
Peruvian copper producers:

TABLE 44.--PRODUCTION OF COPPER IN PERU IN 1918

----------------+--------------+---------+--------------+-------------
| |Developed| |
| Output | Reserves| Product | Control
----------------+--------------+---------+--------------+-------------
Cerro de Pasco | 72,000,000(-)| 4 years |Blister Copper|United States
Backus & Johnson| 28,000,000(-)| 4 years | Do | Do
Huaron (new) | 5,000,000(?)| 4 years | Do |French
Ore shippers | 5,000,000 | ? |Ore |Local
+--------------+ | |
|110,000,000 | | |
----------------+--------------+---------+--------------+-------------

BOLIVIA

There is one important copper producing locality in Bolivia--Coro Coro,
central Bolivia (elevation 12,000 feet). Beds of sandstone carry native
copper and veins of sulphides. The mines are owned by French capital.
There is no smelter, but concentrates running up to 85 per cent. copper
are exported to France for treatment. Production is about 12,000,000
pounds annually. Reserves are large, but the almost inaccessible
location of the mines has retarded development. Recently, there has
been more activity, a flotation concentrator having been installed.

Some of the Bolivian tin and silver mines produce small amounts
of copper, but outside of Coro Coro total copper production is
insignificant.

VENEZUELA

The Aroa Mines, an English syndicate, owns a copper mine and smelter
producing low-grade matte. The property is located along the railroad
which terminates at the port of Tucacas. In 1917 the output was
3,500,000 pounds. The product was shipped to the United States and
refined and sold there by L. Vogelstein & Co.

ARGENTINA

There are some copper prospects in the extreme western portion of the
country, which are really extensions from the Chilean copper-producing
areas. One company, Famatina, Ltd., is an English concern which has had
an unfortunate career. The company operates the only copper smelter
in Argentina, a small affair that mines irregularly. At last accounts
a few hundred tons of blister copper was the annual output; this has
always been shipped to England, but recently attempts have been made
to ship to New York. This blister is exceedingly rich in silver (6 per
cent. silver).

AFRICA

Africa is a copper producer of growing importance, almost entirely
because of the development of one group of deposits (Katanga), which
overshadows all others to such an extent that the African situation
is almost completely described by a discussion of the properties of
the Tanganyika Concession, Ltd. The mines of this company yield now
three-quarters of the copper production of Africa, and their importance
in the future will be still greater.

The copper production of Africa comes from south of the Equator and
from six general districts, as follows:

TABLE 45.--COPPER PRODUCTION OF AFRICA

(Production, pounds of fine copper)

-----+---------------------+------------+------------+
| | | |
| | | 1918-1919, |
Dis-| Province and chief | | estimated |
trict| mines | 1917 output| output |
-----+---------------------+------------+------------+
1. |_Congo_: Katanga[121]| 60,000,000 | 80,000,000 |
|Bwan M’Kubwa | 4,000,000?| 3,000,000 |
2. |_Transvaal_: Messina | 14,000,000 | 12,000,000 |
3. |_Rhodesia_: Falcon | 7,000,000 | 7,000,000 |
4. |_Cape Colony_: | | |
|Cape Copper-Namaqua | 7,000,000 | 6,000,000 |
5. |Former _German | | |
|Southwest-Africa_: | | |
|Tsumeb (Otavi) | 10,000,000?| 15,000,000?|
| | [122] | |
| | | |
| | | |
|Khan, etc. | 2,000,000 | 4,000,000?|
6. |_Miscellaneous | | |
|northern Africa_ | | |
|not specified | 1,000,000?| 1,000,000?|
| +------------+------------+
|Total |105,000,000 |128,000,000 |
| | | |
-----+---------------------+------------+------------+

[121] Kanshanshi included in Katanga.

[122] Basis 1914. Present political conditions govern extent of work.
Shipped 1,000,000 pounds copper in ore to United States in 1917.

In District 1, the _Katanga_ district, which includes the Belgian Congo
and adjacent territory, the Union Minière du Haut Katanga has acquired
from the Belgian Special Committee the ownership of all of the Katanga
copper belt but not the Kanshanshi deposit in Rhodesia. Equal, but not
the entire, share interests of this company are owned by the Tanganyika
Concessions, Ltd., and the Katanga (Belgian) Special Committee. The
Lubumbashi smelter of U. M. du Haut Katanga, at Elisabethville, close
to the Rhodesian boundary, has seven blast furnaces with a daily
capacity of 2,000 tons. The ore treated runs 15 per cent. copper, and
yields 96 per cent. blister copper. The past production is as follows:
1911, 996 tons blister copper; 1912, 2,492 tons; 1913, 7,407 tons;
1914, 10,722 tons; 1915, 14,190 tons; 1916, 22,165 tons; 1917, 30,000
tons. This copper is shipped to England, and is consumed there and in
France after further refining. There is very little gold and silver in
the copper, so it goes to market largely as refined, best selected and
tough copper.

Tanganyika Concessions, Ltd., owns concessions in northern Rhodesia
containing the Kanshanshi mine (a deposit similar to those in Katanga)
owned by a subsidiary railroad company, 70 per cent. of which is
owned by Tanganyika Concessions, Ltd. A small blast furnace there is
producing. The actual railroad connection with Katanga is north from
Rhodesia and thence to the eastern coast of Africa. An uncompleted line
from the West Coast is planned to connect these mineral deposits with
Lobito Bay (Benguella By. Co.). The Portuguese government has a small
interest in certain railway lines in its territory. It seems that the
English group, (R. Williams, who was an associate of Cecil Rhodes,
T. White and others) with the Belgian Special Committee, control the
entire group; but a considerable interest has been sold to the public,
mainly British and Belgian investors.

The Bwan M’Kubwa mine farther south on the Rhodesia railroad is a
deposit of the same general character. This is owned by British
capital, two of the Rhodesian development companies holding a large
block of the stock.

Ore bodies are found in Katanga over a district extending 250 miles
east-west and 50 miles north-south, and also at scattered localities in
Rhodesia. Malachite chiefly and other oxidized ores impregnate certain
sediments and constitute the ore bodies, which are very rich (10 to
15 per cent. copper). At Luushia sulphides (3 per cent. copper as
chalcopyrite) occur beneath the oxidized ore. Cobalt is common; there
is some nickel but not much gold and silver. The developed reserves
of the mines of Katanga are estimated at 40,000,000 tons of 8 per
cent. copper ore above water level, equal to 100 years’ production at
the present rate of output; of the Bwan M’Kubwa mine in Rhodesia at
3,000,000 tons of 4 per cent. ore, besides ore of lesser grade. The
reserves of the Kanshanshi mine, in Rhodesia, are not included in the
estimates.

In District 2, near the Rhodesian boundary, is the Messina mine, the
only copper producer of the _Transvaal_. Along veins in very old
gneissic rocks occur shoots and lenses of chalcocite and enargite with
some oxide. A little matte is made at the mine but the chief product is
concentrates (45 to 50 per cent. copper), all of which were shipped to
England. Lately they have been in part sent to the United States. The
production was about 14,000,000 pounds in 1915 and the same in 1916.
Reserves of 208,000 tons of 5 per cent. ore are reported developed, or
not much over one year’s supply. The company is strictly English.

In District 3, the Falcon mines in _Central Rhodesia_ belong to an
English company which is treating copper-gold ore occurring in old
schists. The production was about 7,000,000 pounds in 1916. The ore
carries 2 per cent. copper, $5 in gold, and the reserves are stated at
862,000 tons of this grade, or about four years’ supply.

In the _French Congo_, just north of the mouth of Congo River, is a
belt of copper deposits 60 miles long, which have been worked for
centuries by the natives. Diabase rocks occur in this vicinity. The
output is very small.

District 4, _Cape Colony_, is the oldest important copper producer of
modern Africa, but its chief deposits, worked since 1852, are nearly
exhausted. The Cape Copper Co. and Namaqua Copper Co. are south of the
Orange River in a district 90 miles by rail from a port on the West
Coast. The ore is bornite and chalcopyrite, in irregular lenses; the
reserves are equivalent to only two years of production. Each mine
has a mill and smelter. Further refining is done at the Briton Ferry
smelter of the Cape Copper Co. in Wales, which has a capacity of 12,000
tons per year of refined copper and electrolytic copper. All these
companies, including the railroad, are entirely British. Cape Colony
copper production is dependent on this one district, from which the
1917 output was 6,000,000 to 7,000,000 pounds.

In District 5, the former colony of _German Southwest Africa_, copper
deposits are numerous, and next to diamond mining the production
of copper is the most important industry of the province. The main
deposit is the Tsumeb in the northeast part of the country, where solid
sulphides of lead and copper occur in dolomite. Fifty thousand tons
of ore carrying 13 per cent. copper and 40 per cent. lead was shipped
in 1917. There is a smelter here and the mine has rail connection.
The company working these deposits was the Otavi Minen und Eisenbahn,
but through the Southwest Africa Co. the English had an interest in
the property. The English now have control. The Khan mine, second
in importance to Tsumeb, is working a pegmatite vein in schist. In
1914 a mill treating 50 tons a day was shipping 60 to 70 per cent.
concentrates to Europe. The ores are chalcopyrite and chalcocite.

In District 6, _northern Africa_, there are some deposits of copper in
Algeria, Egypt, and Morocco. They are not of importance at present.
De Launay describes them as chiefly veins in rocks of much younger age
than the important deposits of Africa which lie south of the Equator.

Matte and blister produced in Africa are normally treated at small
English plants or at the Briton Ferry smelter, Wales, which is a plant
of some size.

The general economic situation as regards African copper ores in 1917
is shown in the table.

TABLE 46.--PRODUCTION AND SHIPMENTS OF COPPER FROM AFRICA IN 1917

Considerable of this copper goes to the United States. In 1917, as
shown below, the total amount of copper received in this country was
7.5 per cent. of the total African production.

TABLE 47.--SHIPMENTS TO THE UNITED STATES IN 1917

-----------------------+---------------------------+-------+---------
| | Ship- | Copper
| | ments | content
| Grade Shipped | (tons)|(pounds)
-----------------------+---------------------------+-------+---------
Otavi to New York |Ore (12 per cent.) | 3,900 |1,048,000
Messina to New York |Ore (45 per cent.) | 703 | 715,000
Do |Matte (45 per cent.) | 306 | 310,000
Cape Copper to New York|Concentrates (55 per cent.)| 375 | 460,000
| +-------+---------
| | 5,284 |2,533,000
Katanga |Blister | ... |5,437,000
| | +---------
Total | | |8,000,000
-----------------------+---------------------------+-------+---------

AUSTRALASIA

Copper production in Australasia is not now increasing. In recent years
the production (metric tons) has been as follows:

1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917
16,600 22,900 37,592 32,512 35,000 38,100

Formerly German metal buying and refining companies controlled
the Australian copper output (as that of lead and zinc) by virtue
of refining and selling contracts. Hence the year 1914 brought
disorganization to Australian mining. War-profits taxation on
Australian mines has been severe; and government aid, formerly granted,
has been largely withdrawn. Lack of labor, inability of new properties
to obtain railroad connections, and absence of government encouragement
to prospecting, have retarded the copper industry since August,
1914. Aside from former German control based on selling and refining
contracts, all Australian copper mining is and has been under British
control. The properties are owned by British and Australian capital and
present refining and selling arrangements will prevent the German metal
companies from again getting any foothold in the field. All former
contracts with German agencies were abrogated. The government took this
phase of the matter in hand, and one step was to purchase the entire
production of Australia for the first half of 1918 at £106 to £108 per
ton.

The Australian copper situation in 1917 is exhibited in the table
following:

TABLE 48.--PRODUCTION OF COPPER AND REFINING PLANTS IN AUSTRALIA IN 1917

[123] Ores mined are primary, consisting of chalcopyrite and
chalcocite. Secondarily enriched ores near the surface have been
entirely mined out.

As stated, the ownership of these mines is strictly British, and at
present the refining and marketing is now British instead of German.
Two refineries, both recently enlarged and improved, now have a
capacity of over 60,000 tons a year, which is well in excess of the
present output of the country. Towards the end of 1917, the Copper
Producers’ Association Proprietary, Ltd., was formed in Australia for
the purpose of selling and shipping copper on a co-operative basis. All
copper producers were invited to join. Wallaroo & Moonta, Mount Morgan,
Mount Lyell and the Cloncurry mines are members of this association,
as is the Electrolytic Refining & Smelting Co., which treats the
ores of these mines. The company markets its products in England and
Australia. Its chief brands are E. S. A. (electrolytic) and E. S.A.F.R.
(fire refined). These brands are also sold by Elder Smith & Co.,
Ltd., of London and Australia, which has had a financial interest in
the Wallaroo & Moonta Co. since the early days, and has financed and
marketed the copper production of this company since 1915.

Metals Products, Ltd., has recently been formed, with works at Port
Kembla producing copper wire, brass goods, etc. Importation of copper
and brass products into Australia should entirely disappear if the
plans of the Australian government and copper producers do not miscarry.

The oldest mine and one of the two leading mines in Australasia is
the Wallaroo & Moonta, in _South Australia_. This deposit occurs in a
pre-Cambrian complex, intersected by pegmatitic dikes. Ore reserves
are believed to be ample: say five years’ supply of developed ore. In
recent years, production has been very steady at about 7,000 tons per
year of refined copper. This is the only important copper deposit of
pre-Cambrian age in Australia.

The other leading mine in Australia is Mount Morgan, in _Queensland_,
which until 1910 was one of the largest gold mines in the world. The
gold was in the oxidized top of a large low-grade copper deposit, which
is now being mined from open cuts. Primary chalcocite, chalcopyrite and
pyrite with quartz constitutes the ore deposit. The ore runs 2¹⁄₂ per
cent. copper and is concentrated up to 7 per cent. The reserves exceed
4,000,000 tons of 2¹⁄₂ per cent. copper, or 10 years’ supply.

The Cloncurry district is a large area, 200 by 40 miles in extent,
containing several copper deposits, which occur in schist and are
mainly small bonanzas. The future of this district seems very
promising. The chief mines are Hampden Cloncurry, Mount Elliott, Mount
Cuthbert; and the developed ore reserves insure five years’ production.
The Hampden Cloncurry mine has 300,000 tons of 7 per cent. ore in
reserve, a smelter producing blister copper, and railroad connections.
The district is hampered by bad climate, etc., and especially by labor
conditions. Recent government rulings (1918), as to very short hours of
labor and higher wages, are reducing outputs. The Mount Elliott mine,
which has a 300,000-ton deposit of 10 per cent. ore, is now (1919) idle
because of labor conditions. The Mount Cuthbert mine, which completed
a new smelter in 1917, has reserves of 150,000 tons of 6¹⁄₂ per cent.
copper, and railroad connections.

The Mount Lyell mine, in _Tasmania_, is an old and steady producer. One
class of ore runs 0.5 per cent. of copper and 1.25 ounces silver; the
other contains 6 per cent. copper ore, with the same amount of silver.
This is a disseminated deposit in schist, near a conglomerate contact.
No igneous rocks are known in the vicinity. The reserves are 2,000,000
tons of low-grade ore and 1,000,000 tons of high grade; insuring the
present output for 15 years. Considerable of the ore is mined open cut,
and this is one of the lowest grade profitable mines in the world. Ores
are smelted direct after being mixed, so that the product going to the
furnace runs 2¹⁄₂ per cent. copper.

The Great Cobar mine, in _New South Wales_, works cupriferous pyrite
carrying 2 to 2¹⁄₂ per cent. copper. Cobar used to produce 4,000 to
5,000 tons of copper a year. After erecting a 1,200-ton smelter in
1912, the company was placed in the hands of a receiver, April, 1914.
The reserves are believed to be large. The other chief mines in New
South Wales (the C. S. A., Mount Hope, Nymagee, etc.) produce together
about as much as Great Cobar. These mines have smelters, and for the
most part were formerly of much greater importance than they are today.
Several have no railway connections, and this is an important handicap
to New South Wales mines, which once produced twice the present output.

In _West Australia_, there have been developed recently a number of
promising deposits of pyritic copper ores. There are no important
producers, there being no railways.

The present conditions in Australia, in which labor conditions are most
important, and the absence of new railroad construction, have seriously
affected the development of the copper industry, but the future seems
promising. Several important deposits have proved large and the ore
bodies persistent. Much of the country has not been explored and
many good showings could be worked and some probably developed into
profitable mines if conditions were favorable to new ventures. Just
the reverse is the case, however. The Mount Lyell company has been
exploring northern Tasmania, and recently found in the mine of the
Tasmania Copper Co. about 1,000,000 tons of ore carrying copper, zinc,
gold and silver and worth $20 to $30 per ton, gross.

It is believed that Australia will continue to be an important copper
producer; probably its importance will increase. Weighted reserves,
in terms of ore supply to maintain present output, insure copper
production continuing undiminished for 7.2 years. These reserves are
well distributed among the various producers.

ASIA

JAPAN

Copper deposits are found over a large part of central Japan. The ores,
which occur in Tertiary volcanics, consist of chalcopyrite and pyrite
running 2¹⁄₂ to 3¹⁄₂ per cent. copper, and are commonly concentrated
before smelting. The gangue is usually quartzose. Lenticular deposits
of cupriferous pyrite in Paleozoic schists and sediments occur on
the west and the south side of Japan. These mines yield smelting ore
carrying about 3¹⁄₂ to 4 per cent., but contain very little silica.
Pyritic smelting is extensively practiced. Over one-half the copper
production comes from four chief mines: Ashio and Kosaka of the
Tertiary type; and Hitachi and Beshi of the Paleozoic schist type.

The state reserves to itself the right of original ownership in
all ores, including copper. The right to work them is granted to
individuals or companies of Japanese nationality. Copper mining,
smelting and refining companies seem to be entirely Japanese in
ownership and policy. The number of mines is considerable, but their
ownership is concentrated into a few hands and the smelting and
refining industry is still more concentrated. Japanese producers sell
their own copper, all foreign selling agencies being strictly Japanese.
The mines in Japan are not generally worked as joint-stock enterprises,
but are mostly family properties inherited by the present owners. A
table showing the 1917 copper production of Japan indicates these
facts. (See Table 49.)

Because of labor conditions, abundant fuel near the mines and water
transportation, Japanese copper production has increased rapidly in
recent years. High prices and the adoption of modern methods of mining
and smelting have been important contributing factors. There seems no
reason to expect that Japan’s production will decrease, but not enough
is known of geological conditions to enable one to discuss the future
outlook. The only mine whose reserves are known is the Beshi, which
has reserves adequate for 100 years of production at the present rate,
which is 10 per cent. of the Japanese output. The reserves at other
mines are not developed far ahead, but must insure several years of
continued production at the present rate.

The production and exports of Japanese copper in recent years are as
follows (in terms of metric tons):

----------+------+------+------+------+-------+-------
Year | 1912 | 1913 | 1914 | 1915 | 1916 | 1917
----------+------+------+------+------+-------+-------
Production|63,893|67,697|71,046|76,039|101,467|124,306
Exports |30,000|42,000|45,500|59,500| 62,000| 72,000
----------+------+------+------+------+-------+-------

TABLE 49.--JAPANESE COPPER PRODUCTION

Producing companies and brands of copper marketed. The companies named
have selling offices in London and in other foreign consuming centers.

[124] Balance smelted to cathodes and treated electrolytically.

[125] Plant capacity. Evidently not reached in 1917.

Since the high copper prices of 1916 there was a heavy importation
of Chinese copper coins into Japan. In 1917 one concern alone had
contracted for 200,000 tons of such coins, which contain about 85 per
cent. copper, and the rate of importation at that time would mean
60,000 tons refined copper a year from this secondary source. This
development has enabled Japan to make heavy exports of copper.

The collapse of Russia removed one of Japan’s big copper markets. Japan
will probably not be able profitably to produce a large exportable
surplus of copper unless the price obtained is fairly high compared to
quotations ruling in 1912 to 1914. Under normal conditions Japan will
supply her own needs for copper with little or nothing to spare.

KOREA (CHOSEN)

The Seoul Mining Co. (Collbran and Bostwick) is producing from contact
deposits, one 50 miles and the other 100 miles from a harbor. This
American concern is a dominant trading and banking house in Korea and
is working mines formerly operated by Koreans. The copper ores are
sulphides between limestone and granite. Five hundred tons of 60 per
cent. concentrates were shipped from Chosen to the United States in
1917.

CHINA

The present production of China is 2,000 tons a year, and the chief
deposits are in Yunnan Province. A great many localities are reported
to show copper ores, mainly cupriferous pyrite in very old schists,
or in Permian basalt. The latter deposits are too small for modern
methods. In the last hundred years, lack of wood to make charcoal has
restricted output to a nominal amount. Small seams of native copper are
highly esteemed by the natives. The ores are carefully hand-picked, and
the small-scale methods are wasteful.

The Tungschuanfu mine, Yunnan, the chief mine in China, has a yearly
output of about 1,000 tons of copper. The district has been worked
for hundreds of and probably is very rich. The ores, replacements in
limestone and veins in shale, are 8 per cent. copper and the reserves
are large. The Yaoki Kansu government smelter is a modern plant with a
capacity of four tons of copper a day.

There are several other mines, all controlled by the government.
Outside engineers have reported favorably on some of them, but the
government closely regulates copper mining in China because it affects
currency and government profits on coinage of copper. There are also
some copper mines worked with the contact iron deposits of China
(formed by contact action of diorite); and deposits of malachite in
Triassic sandstone are worked at several points.

INDIA

India is not a copper producer. The Rakha Hills mine of the Cape Copper
Co. (see Cape Colony) has 400,000 tons of 4 per cent. copper ore
developed and a smelter is being built. India is an enormous copper
consumer, and it is surprising she has never been a producer.

EUROPE

Political and commercial control of much of the copper production of
Europe is obviously uncertain in the extreme, as are any figures of
production for the Central Powers and Russia. (See Table 49.)

SPAIN, PORTUGAL, NORWAY AND SWEDEN

Spain is the oldest and steadiest producer of copper in the world. The
chief deposits are controlled by English capital and their developed
reserves insure present production for 30 to 60 years. The copper is
largely refined to finished form in England and enters the market there
under various brands. The Rio Tinto is an enormous deposit worked by
open pits.

TABLE 50.--PRODUCTION AND CONTROL OF COPPER IN EUROPE

----------------------------+---------+---------+----------+
| | | |
| |Estimated| +
| Output | output | Estimated|
|1916-1917|1918-1919| output |
Country and chief localities| (metric | (metric | 1918-1919|
in which copper is produced | tons) | tons) | (pounds) |
----------------------------+---------+---------+----------+
Germany | | | |
Mansfeld | 30,000 | 30,000 | ... |
| | | |
Mitterberg, etc. | 10,000 | 10,000 | ... |
Austria-Hungary | 10,000 | 10,000 | ... |
Serbia, Bor, etc. | 10,000 | 10,000 | ... |
Turkey, Aghano, etc. | 10,000 | 10,000 | ... |
Bulgaria and Roumania | 1,000 | 1,000 | ... |
+---------+---------+ |
Total Central Powers | | | |
(est.) | 71,000 | 71,000 | ... |
| | | |
Spain and Portugal[127] | 42,000 | 42,000 | ... |
Mason & Barry | ... | ... | 5,000,000|
Rio Tinto | ... | ... |62,000,000|
Tharsis | ... | ... |12,000,000|
Misc. (United Alkali, | | | |
Huelva, Cordoba, etc.) | ... | ... |11,000,000|
Miscellaneous (Calva, Los | | | |
Guardos, etc.) | ... | ... | 3,000,000|
Russia (See Table 52) | 18,500 | 18,000? | ... |
Norway[128] (Sulitolma 40 | | | |
per cent.) | 19,000 | 19,000 | ... |
Sweden | 1,000 | 1,000 | ... |
Other countries | | | |
Italy | 3,000 | 3,000 | ... |
France | 1,000 | 1,000 | ... |
England | 250 | 250 | ... |
----------------------------+---------+---------+----------+

[126] All companies have foreign stockholders, but dominant
nationality is as indicated.

[127] Export copper to France and England in form of blister, alloys,
cement, pyrite ore and copper ore.

[128] Export copper to England and Sweden chiefly in form of
cupriferous pyrite.

NOTE. Production for 1919 in Germany probably smaller than estimate.

The copper deposits, chiefly massive cupriferous pyrite, in Norway
and Sweden, are similar to those of Spain geologically as well as
economically. Their commercial value depends not only on their copper
content, but on the sulphur and iron recovered. In many cases the
sulphur used in sulphuric acid manufacture is of greater money value
than the recovered copper. Hence the exported copper from Spain,
Portugal and Norway is in several forms: pyrite, matte, ingot copper
from Norway and considerable cement copper or precipitates from Spain
and Portugal. Pyrite is exported to England, the United States, and
perhaps a little to France; the matte, ingot, etc., to various European
countries. Sweden imports as well as produces pyrite. France, Italy and
Russia produce considerable pyrite and before the war France exported
pyrite. Under normal conditions, the copper in all this pyrite is
shipped back and forth over Europe and can hardly be traced. The table
shows the location of raw materials but not the place where marketable
copper is produced. The chief imports and exports of pyrite are
normally as follows:

TABLE 51.--NORMAL EXPORTS AND IMPORTS OF PYRITE FOR CERTAIN EUROPEAN
COUNTRIES

GERMANY

Under existing conditions the present output of Germany can not be
closely estimated. The figures in Table 49 are guesses based on the
information available. The Mansfeld deposits are clearly the most
important, and as they are in shales that extend over a large area, the
reserves must be considered large. The Mitterberg mine, owned by the
Krupps, had a pre-war output of only 1,000 tons yearly. Several copper
deposits in the Austrian Tyrol had a pre-war output of 1,000 tons
annually.

The chief source of copper in Germany during the war, however, must
have been from conversion of articles containing copper which were in
use before the war. It is doubtful if 10 per cent. of the yearly copper
production of peace times was destroyed in use. Consequently, in all
countries there is normally a big store of copper in the form of wire,
brass, machine parts, etc. This is what Germany used during the war,
and its replacement is essential to her industrial success in peace.

RUSSIA

The copper production of Russia was rapidly increasing before the
war and reached a maximum in 1913. The ownership of the mines and
refineries was largely English but in part French. Enough development
had been done to indicate that Russia will probably be a large producer
of copper when consistent industrial progress is possible. In 1918 the
mines had been seized by workmen and operations were nearly or entirely
suspended. The copper districts are all in the Urals, the Caucasus
or Siberia. The Russian copper production (in long tons) has been as
follows:

1905 1910 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917
8,700 22,310 33,794 31,435 25,472 20,557 15,700
(34,911) (27,295)

TABLE 52.--COPPER PRODUCTION AND ORE RESERVES OF RUSSIA

(All figures long tons)

----------------+---------------+-------+------+------+---------+
| | Orig- | | 1915 | |
| | inal | | pro- | |
| |invest-| 1913 | duc- | Ore |
| | ments | pro- |tion, | reserves|
| | made | duc- |(esti-| (devel- |
District | Company | by: | tion |mated)| oped) |
----------------+---------------+-------+------+------+---------+
Urals |Kyshtim |British| 7,000| 7,600|3,150,000|
Do |Bogoslovsk | Do | 4,300| 4,100| ... |
| | | | | |
Do |Sissert | Do | 1,100| 1,500|5,000,000|
Do |Tanalyk | Do | 600| 600| 126,000|
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
Do |Verch-Isselz |Russian| 3,000| 2,500| large |
| | | | |reserves |
Do |Nishni Tagilsh | | | | |
|(Demidov) | Do | 2,000| 1,500| |
| | +------+------+ |
Urals total | | |18,000|17,800| |
----------------+---------------+-------+------+------+---------+
Caucasus |Caucasus Copper| | | | |
|Co. |British| 5,500| 3,000|3,600,000|
Do |Allah Verde |French | 2,000| 700| ... |
| | | | | |
Do |Siemens Co. |Russian| 1,500| 800| ... |
| | | | | |
| | +------+------+ |
Caucasus total| | | 9,000| 4,500| |
----------------+---------------+-------+------+------+---------+
Siberia |Spassky |British| 4,756| 3,450| 543,000|
Do |Miscellaneous | Do | | 734| ... |
| | | | | |
Do |Irkysh (Ridder)| Do | (New)| ... |2,300,000|
| | | | | |
Do |Russian Mining | | | | |
|Co. | Do | 410 | ... | 500,000|
Do |Alexeieff Co. | Do | 377 | ... | |
Do |Russo-Asiatic | | | | |
|Corporation | Do | | | |
| | +------+------+ |
Siberia total | | | 5,553| 4,184| |
----------------+---------------+-------+------+------+---------+
Russian chemical| | | | | |
works | | | 1,358| 811| |
| | +------+------+ |
Grand total | | | | | |
Russia| | | |34,911|27,295| |

Russian reserves insure maintenance of 1913 maximum output
for at least 15 years

Copper refineries Capacity per year.
Electrolytic Kyshtim 10,000
Electrolytic Bogoslov 6,000
Best selected (refined) Caucasus Copper Co. 10,000
------
Total 26,000
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Russia has always been in large part dependent on foreign copper and
there was a tariff premium on domestic production. It is likely that
ultimately Russia may more nearly be self-supporting as regards copper
requirements, even if consumption increases greatly. Table 52 shows the
important developed properties, their production in 1913 (maximum) and
in 1915 (estimated), their developed ore reserves, and the nationality
of original capital that made the developments possible.

SUMMARY

Copper, the red metal, is surpassed only by gold and silver in
malleability and by silver alone in electrical conductivity. Next to
iron it is industrially the most important of all metals, as its value
per pound is much greater than that of lead or zinc, and the world
requires and consumes much greater quantities of copper, lead, and zinc
than of any other non-ferrous metals.

The uses of copper are many, but the electrical industry is the
largest consumer. Brass, bronze, and other copper alloys are second
in importance. A considerable quantity of copper sheets, tubes and
other wares are used outside of the electrical industry. Copper is
used in coinage, and in China it is the money standard of the working
population.

The United States, producing a major part of the world’s copper, has
also been responsible for financing and developing more successful
copper mines abroad than any other country. Success has been
facilitated by the presence in the Western Hemisphere of the world’s
chief copper deposits and also by the advances in mining, milling and
metallurgy that have been in great measure the work of United States
engineers. England and Japan control considerable copper production,
but it is small compared to that controlled by the United States.

In the consumption of copper Germany is a big factor. Because of this
fact, German interests and international metal houses have in the past
secured a considerable control over copper supplies through refining
and selling contracts with mining companies. Such control is based
entirely on refining and selling companies and does not extend to
ownership of producing mines, and only to a small degree to ownership
of smelters.

Chile, Mexico, Canada, and the Belgian Congo should become of
increasing importance as copper producers not only because of known
reserves but, in the case of Canada and Mexico particularly, because of
the likelihood of new and important discoveries. The position of the
United States, including Alaska, should be maintained as at present,
neither gaining nor losing as compared to the rest of the world.

CHAPTER XV

LEAD

BY FREDERICK B. HYDER

USES OF LEAD

Lead is used in the form of the metal, of alloys with other metals, and
of various chemical compounds. As metal its chief uses are as pipe for
water and corrosive solutions; for protective covering of electrical
cables; as sheet lead for lining chambers for the manufacture of
sulphuric acid and vats for chemical manufacturing processes. In
smelting, lead is used as a collector of other metals, particularly of
gold and silver, from which it is later separated, now most generally
by the use of zinc by the Parkes process of desilverization.

Lead alloys readily with nearly all other metals in all proportions.
Its alloys of industrial importance comprise type metal, bearing or
babbitt metals, shot, solders, casting metals, some brasses, and the
fusible alloys used for the protection of electrical apparatus and in
automatic sprinklers for the protection of buildings against fire.
Type metal, originally composed of 83 per cent. lead and 17 per cent.
antimony, now often contains bismuth and sometimes a little copper
and iron. An alloy of 9 parts lead, 2 antimony and 2 bismuth is used
for stereotype plates. Less than 2 per cent. of arsenic is added to
lead used to make shot to increase the hardness and sphericity of the
product. Antimony also imparts the hardness essential to shrapnel,
etc. Bearing metals comprise alloys of lead and antimony or these
with copper, tin, and zinc. Antimony imparts to lead the property
of expansion on solidification, essential to type metal and casting
materials generally. Lead makes a brass that is soft and machines
easily. Solder is commonly an alloy of lead and tin. The melting point
varies with the proportions of these constituents and others, sometimes
added for special purposes. The cheapest solder in general use is
30 per cent. tin and 70 per cent. lead. Solders seldom contain more
than 50 per cent. tin. The addition of bismuth, cadmium, or mercury
lowers the melting below the boiling point of water. Fuses can thus be
obtained which interrupt electric circuits at any desired temperature.

The largest uses of lead compounds are as pigments. White lead or basic
carbonate, 2(PbCO₃)Pb(OH)₂, is the most extensively consumed, being
used alone or mixed with zinc oxide and barytes. Red lead (Pb₃O₄) is
used for painting structural steel, as a pipe-joint cement, and in the
manufacture of glass. Litharge, another oxide, is used in assaying
as a flux, in rubber manufacture, and in making glass. The acetate,
carbonate and other chemical compounds are used in medicine.

The relative amounts of lead consumed in the various uses in 1913 were:
In pigment, comprising white lead, red lead, litharge, and orange
mineral, 38.0 per cent.; in alloys such as type metal, bearing metals,
and solders, 29.7 per cent.; in pipe, 15.2 per cent.; in shot, 10.4 per
cent.; and in sheets, 6.7 per cent.

CHANGES IN PRACTICE

The most revolutionary advance in ore dressing of recent years has been
the development of oil-flotation, electromagnetic, and electrostatic
processes for the concentration of lead-zinc ores. These processes
permit the elimination of the objectionable zinc content of many
ores and render it an additional credit of great importance in the
exploitation of low-grade complex ores.

The Murex process applied to the treatment of complex ores consists
of coating the metallic sulphide minerals with oil and particles of
magnetite and pyrite roasted to magnetic sulphide, then separating them
from the gangue by an electromagnetic machine. The Lyster preferential
flotation of galena depends on the presence of various salts in the
water used. In the Broken Hill mines these salts are present in the
mine waters. After removal of galena the blende may be preferentially
floated by the Bradford copper salt or Bradford hyposulphite or
sulphurous acid processes.

In the reduction of lead ores, there are improvements constantly
being made. These are chiefly in the mechanical appliances, such as
mechanical ore hearths and continuous roasting machinery, such as the
Dwight-Lloyd, and in details of furnace construction and the handling
of materials, rather than in processes or recognized principles.
Various new processes have been proposed, most of which are intended
to make available the ores now of too low grade, or the complex
ores of lead and zinc whose separation is difficult or commercially
impracticable. These processes are now the subject of experiment,
with some indications that successful applications may be found. One
process involves the volatilization by chloridizing roast of sulphide
ores, the precipitation of the lead chloride fume by Cottrell electric
precipitation, and smelting the fume with lime. At least 50 per
cent. of the chlorine is recovered as calcium chloride, which can be
substituted for salt in the further operations. With oxidized ores
it is proposed to dissolve the lead by means of brine acidified with
sulphuric acid and to precipitate metal sponge by electrolysis.

Gillies’s process consists in roasting the complex sulphides to a low
sulphur content, mixing with carbonaceous matter, distilling in excess
of air, and volatilizing the lead, zinc, bismuth, cadmium, arsenic,
etc., as oxides and sulphates, the lead in form of sulphate, the zinc
chiefly as oxide. The fume is caught and digested with a solution of
ZnSO₄ and free H₂SO₄ from the electrolytic vats; PbSO₄ remains, which
can be used as pigment or smelted. The ZnSO₄ solution is electrolyzed,
in the presence of gum arabic in the electrolyte, rendering the zinc
deposit more dense.

The Ganlin process, reported successful on Burma zinc-lead middlings,
consists in feeding the dry pulverized ore into a molten bath of Zn and
NaCl in equal parts. Zinc replaces lead and silver, which are dissolved
as chlorides, ZnS being precipitated. When this reaction is complete
the lead and silver are precipitated as metals by granulated spelter
added to the amount of 35 per cent. of their weight, the dissolved
spelter forming ZnCl₂. The silver-bearing lead is tapped off, the
residue granulated, the salts leached with water, and the zinc-bearing
gangue freed from lead shot by tabling, leaving a zinc ore free from
lead.

Electrolytic refining has been one of the greatest advances in the
industry; it makes possible the preparation of pure lead from any
source and the recovery of numerous by-product metals.

GEOLOGICAL OCCURRENCE

Zinc and lead are commonly associated in mineral deposits, sometimes
intimately mixed, sometimes segregated enough so that one metal
predominates, but seldom free entirely one from the other. The
geological and geographical distribution of the two metals is,
therefore, nearly identical. Galena is the most common and important
of the lead minerals. Cerussite, anglesite and pyromorphite usually
result from the oxidation of galena, the sulphate being usually an
intermediate state in the oxidation to the carbonate. Pyromorphite
and wulfenite are of minor importance. Jamesonite is more an ore of
antimony than of lead. Sphalerite (zinc blende) weathers more readily
than galena, and therefore zinc in many places is carried below water
level more rapidly and completely than lead. For this reason some mines
change from predominantly lead mines to zinc mines with greater depth.
Apart from the effect of such secondary enrichment, this change is
often encountered in primary ores with increase in depth.

Lead ores occur in deposits of several distinct genetic types. Many
deposits lie at shallow depth in sedimentary rocks, without apparent
connection with igneous rocks, occurring as tabular replacements of
receptive beds. In regions of slightly disturbed strata the ore shoots
tend to follow pitching troughs. Ores of this type usually contain
lead (galena), zinc (sphalerite), and iron (pyrite) minerals; many
contain manganese and cadmium; some contain cobalt and nickel; but few
carry gold, silver, copper, or antimony. Deposits of this type are
of world-wide distribution, and many are extensive and commercially
important. The greater purity of the ore and the simplicity of
treatment (particularly for the ores in the oxidized zones), caused
them to be exploited first and most extensively, and to dominate
formerly the world production of lead. To this type belong, with many
others, the deposits of the Mississippi Valley and Silesia, that
together yielded 15 per cent. of the world’s production in 1913.

Other important deposits are closely associated with igneous
rocks, and are characterized by complex ores. They comprise vein
deposits, disseminated replacements of igneous rocks, and silver-lead
replacements in limestone.

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION

The chief lead-ore deposits of the world are situated in the countries
that are listed below in the order of their importance in 1913.

RECOVERABLE LEAD CONTENT OF THE LEAD ORES OF THE WORLD PRODUCED IN
1913[129]

----+-------------------+----------+-----------+-------------
| | | |Percentage of
| | | |world’s total
Rank| Country |Short tons|Metric tons| production
----+-------------------+----------+-----------+-------------
1. |United States | 484,880 | 440,000 | 36.0
2. |Australia | 267,169 | 242,440 | 19.8
3. |Spain | 209,193 | 189,830 | 16.4
4. |Germany | 79,344 | 72,000 | 5.9
5. |Mexico | 68,343 | 62,000 | 5.1
6. |Tunis | 31,076 | 28,200 | 2.3
7. |Italy | 24,905 | 22,600 | 1.8
8. |Canada | 24,244 | 22,000 | 1.8
9. |Austria | 22,591 | 20,500 | 1.7
10. |Great Britain | 20,277 | 18,400 | 1.5
11. |Greece | 19,836 | 18,000 | 1.5
12. |Turkey-in-Asia | 15,428 | 14,000 | 1.1
13. |China | 13,995 | 12,700 | 1.0
14. |German S. W. Africa| 13,224 | 12,000 | 1.0
15. |Algeria | 12,893 | 11,700 | 1.0
16. |France | 9,587 | 8,700 | 0.7
17. |India (Burma) | 6,502 | 5,900 | 0.5
18. |Peru | 4,331 | 3,930 | 0.3
19. |Japan | 4,143 | 3,760 | 0.3
20. |Egypt | 3,196 | 2,900 | 0.2
21. |Russia | 3,083 | 2,800 | 0.2
22. |Bulgaria | 2,204 | 2,000 | 0.2
23. |Sweden | 2,094 | 1,900 | 0.2
24. |Hungary | 1,256 | 1,140 | 0.1
25. |Bolivia | 1,102 | 1,000 | 0.1
26. |Portugal | 661 | 600 |
27. |Rhodesia | 361 | 330 |
| +----------+-----------+-------------
| Total |1,345,918 | 1,221,390 | 100.0
----+-------------------+----------+-----------+-------------

[129] Adapted from compilations by Adolph Knopf, of the U. S.
Geological Survey.

The four districts now of pre-eminent importance are, in order, Broken
Hill in New South Wales, Australia; southeastern Spain; southeastern
Missouri and Coeur d’Alene, in Idaho: which are credited respectively
with about 19, 16, 12 and 10 per cent. of the world’s production in
1913.

=United States.=--The chief producing regions and their percentage of
the domestic lead production in 1915 are as follows:

Percentage of total
Region domestic production
Southeastern Missouri 33
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho 27
Utah 18
Joplin (in Mo., Kans., Ark., and Okla.) 6
Colorado 5

As regards the types of ores and the character of the lead produced,
there are two metallographic provinces: the Mississippi Valley,
including southeastern Missouri and Joplin, and the minor district
of Wisconsin, producing as soft lead 39 to 45 per cent. of the total
domestic production; and the Western province, in which the ores are
complex, carrying precious metals and often antimony and copper. All of
the output from the Western province, but only a part of the soft lead,
is desilverized.

Ninety per cent. of the ore mined in southeastern _Missouri_ comes
from St. Francois and Madison counties. The ore deposits contain
predominantly galena, and are disseminated in Cambrian limestone over
large areas at depths of 100 to 550 feet. Copper, nickel, and cobalt
occur in the Madison County ores, and copper concentrates are separated
and shipped by nearly all the companies in the region. The principal
operating companies, with the names of companies absorbed by them or
now subsidiaries, shown in parenthesis, are: St. Joseph Lead Co. (Doe
Run Lead Co.), Federal Lead Co., National Lead Co. (St. Louis Smelting
& Refining Co.), Desloge Consolidated Lead Co., Baker Lead Co. (St.
Francois Lead Co.), Boston Elvins Lead Co., Missouri Metals Co. (Mine
La Motte Co.), and Missouri Cobalt Co. (North American Lead Co.). The
St. Joseph Lead Co. is normally the second largest lead-producing
company in the United States. Its holdings have a conservatively
estimated life of 20 years, at a rate of production of 2,000,000 tons
of ore, or 80,000 short tons of lead, per annum. In 1917 this company
mined 2,485,431 tons of ore, nearly half the total output of the
region. The Federal Lead Co., a subsidiary of the American Smelting &
Refining Co., is the next largest producing company in the region. In
1915 it mined and milled 1,355,000 tons of ore. The National Lead Co.,
through its subsidiary, the St. Louis Smelting & Refining Co., works
three mines near Flat River and has a concentration plant with a daily
capacity of 2,400 tons. Its smelter at Collinsville treats its own
concentrates, as well as those of the Baker Lead Co. and the Boston
Elvins Lead Co. The Desloge Consolidated Lead Co. operates three mines
and a mill of 1,700 tons’ daily capacity; its ores are smelted by the
Federal Lead Co. The Missouri Metals Co. operates the Mine La Motte and
a mill treating 700,000 tons annually at the 1917 rate. In 1915 it was
estimated that this mine could produce 3,000,000 tons of ore annually
for sixty years.

In the Joplin region, which is chiefly in Missouri but also includes
adjacent areas in Kansas, Arkansas, and Oklahoma, the ores lie at
three horizons in horizontal limestone and chert beds of Lower
Carboniferous age. At the upper horizon, usually 100 to 150 feet below
the surface, the ore occurs in clayey chert breccias. The ore bodies
are characteristically “runs” up to 300 feet wide, and continuous in
one horizon for several hundred feet and, rarely, for more than a mile.
The middle horizon, or “sheet ground,” at a depth of 150 to 300 feet
usually ranges from 6 to 15 feet in thickness. The ore, mixed galena
and blende, cements brecciated chert. The third and lowest horizon,
in sandy limestones, contains disseminated ores mainly, and as yet is
little exploited. In 1915, about 4,000,000 tons of ore was mined from
the upper horizon, and 6,500,000 tons from the middle horizon or “sheet
ground.” The average lead content of the ore as mined was about 0.25
per cent. Most of the lead concentrates are sold in open market. The
Webb City district is the most important in the Joplin region, and the
American Zinc, Lead & Smelting Co. is the largest galena producer. Most
of the output is by lessees and small operators. The Joplin district
ranks second in importance. The A. W. C. Mining Co. is the largest
miner of “sheet ground.” The Ravenswood and Ritz mines of the United
States Smelting, Refining & Mining Co., in Jasper County, produce
218,000 tons of ore annually. The concentrates of this region are
chiefly smelted by the plants of the Eagle-Picher Lead Co. at Galena,
Kansas; Joplin, Missouri; Webb City, Missouri; and by the Granby Mining
& Smelting Co. at Granby, Missouri.

The Coeur d’Alene region is in Shoshone County, _Idaho_. The deposits
are metasomatic veins formed by replacement of siliceous sedimentary
rocks along zones of fissuring, and carry mainly galena and siderite
with some pyrite and sphalerite. In 1915 the crude ore shipments
amounted to 95,169 tons with a lead content of 35,271 short tons.
The remainder of the ore, or nearly 96 per cent. of the total, is
concentrated to carry about 50 per cent. lead. The 1915 yield of
concentrates of all kinds amounted to 329,530 tons, having a lead
content of 128,928 short tons, making the total lead content of crude
and concentrate shipments 164,199 short tons. The mining companies form
three groups, determined chiefly by their relations or affiliations
with the smelters, as follows: The Bunker Hill group, comprising the
Bunker Hill & Sullivan Mining & Concentrating Co., and the Hecla Mining
Co.; the Day group, comprising the Tamarack & Custer Mining Co., the
Amazon-Manhattan mine, and the Hercules Mining Co.; and the American
Smelting & Refining group, comprising the Federal Mining & Smelting Co.
and various small producers.

The mines of the Bunker Hill & Sullivan Mining & Concentrating Co.
had reserves on December 31, 1917, of 3,457,634 tons. The ore bodies
are replacements of quartzite. This company’s production in 1917 was
493,030 tons of ore, the metallic lead recovered by smelting being
46,996 tons. The Bunker Hill & Sullivan Co., while still shipping its
own ores to the Helena plant of the American Smelting & Refining Co.,
built its own smelter at Kellogg, Idaho, where it smelts the Hecla and
other ores. The Day family controls the Hercules, and Tamarack & Custer
companies, the Northport smelter at Northport, Washington (now closed
down), and the Pennsylvania Smelting & Refining Co. at Pittsburgh, Pa.
The 1916 shipments of the Hercules had a lead content of about 22,000
tons. Both companies are close corporations and make public little
information as to their operations. The Tamarack & Custer probably has
large reserves of ore averaging about 9 per cent. lead; it has produced
as much as 3,000 tons of shipping ore and concentrates per month. The
Federal Mining & Smelting Co. operates several mines. One-sixth of
the stock is owned by the American Smelters Securities Co. and all
its silver-lead ores and concentrates are contracted to the American
Smelting & Refining Co. The Success Mining Co., working two mines, has
been an important producer. The Interstate-Callahan has been chiefly a
zinc producer but ships some lead concentrates to the Salida plant of
the Ohio & Colorado Smelting Co.

The lead production of _Utah_ is chiefly from the Park City,
Bingham Canyon, and Tintic districts. The ores, composed of galena,
tetrahedrite and pyrite, and in places sphalerite, with their oxidized
derivatives, occur in lodes cutting limestones, sandstones and shales,
chiefly of Carboniferous age, and also as bedded deposits in limestone.
Both types are frequently associated with porphyry and form irregular
ore bodies in contact-metamorphosed limestone. In many mines copper is
an important constituent of the ores and the silver content is always
important.

The production of _Colorado_ in 1917 comprised 33,995 short tons of
lead, of which 9,293 short tons came from the Leadville district in
Lake County, 10,412 short tons from the San Juan district in San Juan,
San Miguel and Ouray counties, and 6,816 tons from the Aspen district
in Pitkin County. The Leadville deposits are in the Mosquito range.
The chief producing companies are the Iron Silver Mining Co., the
Yak Mining, Milling & Tunnel Co. and its subsidiary, the Leadville
Exploration & Mining Co.; the Western Mining Co.; the Downtown Mines
Co.; the Ibex Mining Co.; and the United States Smelting, Refining
& Mining Co. The Yak Mining, Milling & Tunnel Co., and the Western
Mining Co. are subsidiaries of the American Smelting & Refining Co. In
the San Juan district, the principal producers are the Liberty Bell;
Smuggler-Union; Tomboy; Black Bear; Iowa-Gold Tiger; Dives; Shenandoah;
and Silver Lake mines. The veins penetrate all the clastic and igneous
rocks of this region, and the ores are exceedingly complex. In Pitkin
County, the Smuggler Leasing Co. operates most of the producing mines
at Aspen. The ores are peculiarly free from other metals than lead,
antimony, and silver.

=Australia.=--The lead resources of the Commonwealth of Australia
are chiefly in New South Wales, Western Australia, Tasmania, and
Queensland. New South Wales has been the chief producer in the past,
but the Tasmanian deposits are now being rapidly developed and equipped
for production.

The most important source of ore in _New South Wales_ is the great
Broken Hill lode, situated in the arid Barrier Ranges at an elevation
of about 1,000 feet above sea level. The lode ranges in width from a
few inches to 400 feet and has been worked over a distance of three
miles. Mining began in 1884 and now is conducted by several mining
companies which, in the order of the importance of their production
and ore reserves, are: Broken Hill South Silver Mining Co.; Broken
Hill North Mining Co.; Zinc Corporation; Sulphide Corporation; British
Broken Hill Proprietary Co.; Broken Hill Proprietary Co.; Broken Hill
Proprietary Co., Block 10; and Broken Hill Proprietary Co., Block 14.

Although the deepest workings are 1,815 feet deep, the ore still
continues downward. For many years the estimated ore reserves of
all the mines have approximated 12,000,000 tons. The upper part of
the lode consisted of a gossan 20 to 100 feet wide of siliceous and
manganiferous limonite, hematite, and kaolin. Below the gossan were
great masses of cerussite, anglesite, cuprite, and malachite, with
abundant cerargyrite, embolite, and iodyrite. Between the oxidized
and primary sulphide ores was a thin zone of secondary sulphides. The
early operations in the district were conducted for the purpose of
obtaining lead ores, and immense dumps were accumulated of zinc-bearing
ores sorted out or zinc-bearing tailings left after concentration of
the lead ores. In 1903 these dumps were estimated at 5,687,400 tons,
carrying 18.6 per cent. zinc. With the development of a demand for
zinc sulphide ores and of oil-flotation methods of separation and
concentration, these dumps have been important sources of zinc. There
are two classes of sulphide ores, distinguished as silicate gangue ore,
and calcite gangue ore. The sulphide ores are a close mixture of galena
and zinc blende, carrying silver. The silicate gangue ore bodies carry
rhodonite, garnet, and quartz; and are richer in zinc and silver than
those with calcite gangue.

The Broken Hill South Silver Mining Co. has ore reserves estimated
at 3,350,000 tons and is the largest ore producer in the field.
Broken Hill North, Broken Hill South, Amalgamated Zinc (De Bavay),
Zinc Corporation, and Barrier South, Ltd., are controlled by the
Hoover-Govett-Bailliau group of British and Australian capitalists.

The Amalgamated Zinc Co. in 1913 treated 498,289 tons of tailings
containing 17.1 per cent. zinc, 3.7 per cent. lead, and 4.4 ounces
silver, obtaining 140,098 tons zinc concentrates carrying zinc, 48.9
per cent., lead 5.9 per cent., and silver 8.5 ounces per ton. The
Zinc Corporation, a company formed by Bewick, Moreing & Co., has ore
reserves estimated at 1,504,211 tons, averaging 14.8 per cent. lead,
9.2 per cent. zinc, and 2.5 ounces of silver per ton.

The largest lead-producing district of _Tasmania_ is on the West Coast,
where the largest producers, the Hercules of the Dundas group and the
Primrose and Tasmanian copper mines of the Rosebery company group, are
now controlled by the Mount Read-Rosebery Co., affiliated with the
Mount Lyell Mining & Railway Co., Ltd. The deposits contain complex
sulphide ores, the reserves being estimated by the state geological
staff at 1,272,500 tons, averaging 29.79 per cent. zinc, 8.89 per
cent. lead, 12.16 ounces of silver, and 0.17 ounces gold per ton. This
estimate has since been revised and made more conservative.

In 1913 _Western Australia_ produced 26,589 long tons of lead ore
and 125 tons of silver-lead ore, almost wholly from the Northampton
district on the West Coast. The only company working on a large scale
is the Fremantle Trading & Smelting Co., operating the Baddera and
Narra Tarra mines and, formerly, a smelter at Fremantle. The Chillagoe
district is the largest producer in _Queensland_, its output amounting
to 2,550 long tons of pig lead in 1913, chiefly from the Girofla mine
of the Mungana company, but in part from lead-copper concentrates. The
Chillagoe operated a small smelter. The total pig lead production of
Queensland was 3,603 long tons in 1913.

=Spain.=--Spain yielded in 1913, 314,369 short tons of lead
concentrates, from which were smelted 189,559 tons of pig lead. In 1915
only 1,010 short tons of ore or concentrates was exported, and 161,912
short tons of desilverized lead was exported, mostly to England. Over
90 per cent. of the production of ore came from the provinces of Jaen,
Murcia, Cordoba, and Ciudad Real. In 1913 the Province of Almeria
occupied fourth place, but its mines are now nearly exhausted. These
provinces are in the southeastern part of Spain and cover the Sierra
Morena and Sierra Nevada mountain ranges.

In the Province of Jaen are two principal districts--the
Linares-Santa-Elena and the La Carolina. Many years ago Linares was the
greatest lead-producing district in the world. The veins cut granite
and thin overlying sandstone and are very narrow. The Arrayanes, a
state-owned mine, has been exploited over a length of two and a half
miles and to 1,500 feet in depth. The gangue is granite, quartz and
calcite. Iron and copper pyrites and sphalerite are present, but a 79
per cent. lead concentrate is easily made. The deepest mine is 1,800
ft. deep and is still in rich ore. In the Santa Elena vicinity, the
San Fernando, Ojo Vecino, and Santa Ana mines are owned locally. The
Caridad is owned by French capital and the Santa Susanna by a Belgian
concern, the Compagnie Real Asturienne des Mines. In La Carolina
district the nearly vertical lodes cut Silurian quartzites and Cambrian
and Silurian slates. The ore attains a greater width than in the
veins of the Linares district. The Nuevo Centenillo mine (English
owned) produces 27,000 short tons of concentrates annually. The great
Guindo lode runs through six mines, two of which are owned by Spanish
companies, and three by the Guindo Co., a German-Spanish corporation
having an output of 27,000 short tons of concentrates yearly. The
Castillo La Vieja, owned by a French company, has a yearly output of
20,000 tons of marketable ore.

In the Province of Murcia the Mazarron and Cartagena districts are
important. Most of the veins are nearly vertical but many have spurs or
branches forming lenticular and bedded deposits in the sedimentaries.
This district extends southwestward along the coast from Cabo de Palos
a few miles north of Cartagena. The production of this province has
been steadily decreasing.

In the Province of Cordoba (district of Posadas) many silver-lead-zinc
mines were worked by the Romans and are still profitable. Near
Alcaracejos are the mines of Anglo-Vask and Penarroya, the latter owned
by a French company of the same name.

The development of the lead ores in the Province of Ciudad Real has
been retarded by lack of transportation facilities. The best known
district is that of El Hoyo-San Lorenzo, which in 1915 had risen to
fourth place among the lead-producing districts of Spain.

=Germany.=--In imperial Germany the lead-producing districts in the
order of their importance were as follows: Upper Silesia, Rhenish
Prussia, Westphalia, Saxony, Hanover, and Nassau. Rhenish Prussia and
Westphalia are usually grouped together as one metallographic province.
At Gladbach, east of Cologne in _Rhenish Prussia_, are ore deposits
lying in troughs and basins in limestone. The ore is smithsonite and
galena mixed with shale. The chief deposits of _Westphalia_ are at
Iserlohn and Brilon. At Iserlohn ores containing calamine, galena,
and blende are found in irregular pockets. The deposits of Brilon are
similar, but most of the ore is found in crevices in the limestone.
Rhenish Prussia and Westphalia are the source of about one-third the
German production of lead.

The greater part of _Upper Silesia_ lay within the boundaries of
Germany in 1914, although formerly part of the kingdom of Poland, the
population being still predominantly Polish; but portions were included
in the old empires of Russia and Austria. The pre-war production of
lead ores from Russian Poland was entirely from this metallographic
province. The deposits, which contain lead and zinc together, lie in
Triassic beds that overlie Carboniferous rocks carrying important seams
of coal. This juxtaposition of ore and fuel furnish an ideal basis for
the great smelting industry that developed locally, for the conditions
permit smelting of low-grade ores.

The historic mines at Freiberg, in _Saxony_ (Erzgebirge) yield a small
quantity of blende in connection with the concentration of galena ores
from a remarkable series of intersecting veins, which number more than
900, although few are more than 2 feet thick. They have been worked to
a depth of 2,100 feet. More than 10 per cent. of the lead production of
Germany is derived from Saxony. These mines are owned and operated by
the Saxon government, which also owns the smelting plants.

Lead predominates over zinc in the ores of the Upper Harz, in
_Hanover_. These ores occur in veins and zones in slates of Devonian
and Lower Carboniferous age. These mines are worked by the Prussian
Department of Mines, which also operates two smelting plants, the
output being about 10 per cent. of the total German output. In
_Nassau_, in the valley of the Lahn, lead ores are produced as a
by-product, with zinc blende concentrates.

=Mexico.=--In Mexico lead ores are mined in several states, the more
important being Chihuahua, Durango, Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, Sonora, San
Luis Potosi, and Zacatecas. In many districts during a considerable
part of the past eight years work has been intermittent and
occasionally suspended for long periods.

The Santa Eulalia district in _Chihuahua_ is largely owned by American
companies, including the American Smelting & Refining Co., operating
the Mina Vieja, Sin Nombre, Velardeña, San Antonio and Santo Domingo
mines; and El Potosi Mining Co., operating the mines of the same name.
The San Toy is under lease to the American Metal Co., now purged of
German interests. The Santa Eulalia Mining Co. belongs to the Hearst
estate. The Buena Tierra Mining Co. is a British concern. The mines of
the Santa Barbara and Parral districts are also largely under American
control, among many others being the Montezuma Lead Mining Co. of
the R. S. Towne interests, Granadeña Mining Co., American Smelters
Securities Co. and American Zinc Extraction Co. The American Smelters
Securities Co. operates the Tecolotes, Montezuma, San Diego, Guadalupe
and Alfarena mines. The San Francisco mines are owned by British
capital. In the San Isidro district the Calera, Prieta and Buena Vista
mines are operated by the American Smelting & Refining Co. The Lago
mine is operated by C. M. de Las Plomosas (French). In the Parado
district are mines of the Compañia Minera Aurora y Anexas, controlled
by the Madero family (Mexican). Other Chihuahua mines of the American
Smelting & Refining Co. are Orizaba and La Union at Magistral, the
Jibosa at Dolores, La Luz and Parcionera at Cordera, the Veta Grande
and Veta Colorado.

The largest operators in the state of _Durango_ are the American
Smelters Securities Co. at Velardeña and the Cia. Minera de Peñoles at
Mapimi, both now American since the selling of the German-held stock of
the American Metals Co. by the Alien Property Custodian.

In _Sonora_, the Carnegie Lead & Zinc Co. worked a mine near Cananea,
during the war, but the best part of the deposit is now depleted.

The Tiro General mines, in _San Luis Potosi_, belong to the American
Smelting & Refining Co.

The Cabrilla and Paloma mines, in the Cabrillas district in _Coahuila_,
are owned by the Compañia Minera de Peñoles, controlled by the
American Metal Co. The Sierra Mojada district is dominated by American
companies, the principal mines being owned by the Consolidated Kansas
City Smelting & Refining Co., a subsidiary of the American Smelting
& Refining Co. The Boquillas de Carmen mine has been acquired by an
American company.

In the state of _Nueva Leon_, deposits lying within a radius of 50
miles of Monterrey, at Villadama, Vallecillo, Ladera Occidental
de Minas Viejas, etc., have been exploited by German and American
companies, including the Compañia Metalurgica Mexicana (American),
Joplin-Mexican Mining Co. (American), and the Metallgesellschaft
(German).

=Other Countries.=--The output of lead ore in _Tunis_ in 1913, almost
wholly by French companies, was 56,072 metric tons. It is all exported.

Practically all the output of lead ore in _Italy_ is derived from the
Inglesias district of Sardinia, which in 1915 produced 40,829 metric
tons of ore averaging 55 per cent. lead, out of a total national
production of 41,590 metric tons. The principal operators are the
Monteponi and Pertusola companies, the former Italian, the latter
English. The remainder of the ore comes from the provinces of Bergamo,
Brescia Cuneo, and Grosseto, and the operating companies are the
English Crown Spelter Co. (English), and the Societa Austro-Belga and
Société de la Vieille Montagne (Belgian).

In _Czecho-Slovakia_, the most important district is that of Przibram,
in Bohemia. Rich lead ores were once mined at Mies, but the district
is now exhausted. The district of Joachimsthal was for centuries an
important producer.

In _German-Austria_ are the silver-lead mining districts of Schneeberg,
in Tyrol, and Raibl, in Upper Carinthia. In both districts the mines
were before the war owned and operated by the Austrian state. Miess, in
Carinthia, is one of the chief sources of ore in recent years.

The lead mines of _Great Britain_ in 1916 produced 17,083 tons of
dressed lead ore. The largest operator is the Weardale Lead Co.,
operating the Boltsburn and Stanhopeburn mines and smelting its own
and some custom ores.

In _Greece_ the only important lead deposit is that of Laurium, which
was worked on a large scale in ancient times. It is now controlled and
operated by a French company, the Compagnie Française des Mines de
Laurium.

The lead production of _Canada_ is chiefly from British Columbia, the
most important producers being in the Slocan district. The largest
operator is the Consolidated Mining & Smelting Co. of Canada, Ltd.,
proprietor also of the Trail smelter. This company operates the
Sullivan and other mines and produced during the year ended September
30, 1917, 29,542 tons of lead ore from the Sullivan mine, and 1,100 to
1,500 tons from several others. The Sullivan mine has been reported
to have reserves of 3,500,000 tons of galena-sphalerite ore. Numerous
smaller properties in the same district ship ore to the Trail smelter,
which produced some 22,000 tons of lead during the year ended September
30, 1917.

The most important lead-silver mines of _Asiatic Turkey_ are those
at Hodsha Gernish (Balia), belonging to the Société des Mines de
Balia-Kara-Aidin (French), which yield about 12,000 tons of lead
annually. There is a state-owned mine at Bulgardagh producing lead,
gold, and silver. The English company, Asia Minor Mining Co., produces
about 3,000 tons of ore annually.

In _China_ the ten lead mines in the Province of Hunan are controlled
by Chinese. The Wah Chang Mining & Smelting Co., Ltd., operates the
Tien For Tai mines. The Shui-Ko-Shan mine, controlled by the Hunan
Mining Board, from a deposit in limestone, produced in 1913, 51,561
net tons of ore, which yielded 3,762 tons of lead concentrates and
12,275 tons of zinc concentrates. Since 1913 the production has been
increased, but the possibilities of the deposit are limited. The
Japanese have endeavored to secure control of this mine, but without
success. The pig-lead output of China is chiefly consumed in the
country. The only modern lead smelter is at Changsha and is owned by
Japanese.

The lead production of _Southwest Africa_ (formerly German) has been
derived chiefly from the Tsumeb deposit in the Grootfontein district
in the Otavi Mountains. The ores exported in the fiscal year 1913-14
amounted to 48,000 long tons, averaging 13 per cent. copper, 25 per
cent. lead, and 7.7 ounces silver. The ore is a coarsely crystalline
aggregate of argentiferous galena and chalcocite with minor amounts of
other minerals. The Otavi Mines & Railway Co. owns and operates this
mine, the ore having been exported in 1913-14 to the United States for
smelting.

In 1913 all the lead-ore production of _Algeria_ was from the
Department of Constantine, and amounted to 21,442 tons. Practically the
whole production was by French companies.

Lead ore is produced in several scattered districts in _France_,
chiefly in the south. Among the mines are the Chaliac et Chassezac
(Ardeche) mines of the Société Metallurgique et Minière des Cevennes,
producing 2,200 metric tons in 1913; the mines of the Société Civile
des Mines des Malines; La Londe mine of the Société des Mines des
Bormettes; that of the Société des Mines de Bleymard, producing 2,470
tons of galena ore in 1913; and the Pierrefitte (Haute Pyrenees),
Peybrune, and Bulard de Sentein-Saint Lary (Ariege) mines. All of these
appear to be French companies, except the Pierrefitte, which is English
controlled.

In _Burma_, the chief deposits are those of the Bawdwin mines, in the
Northern Shan States (Burma), now connected with the Burma Railway
from Rangoon. The ore bodies of present interest are nearly vertical
shoots in a feldspathic grit (rhyolitic tuff or silicified rhyolite)
and rhyolite series. The Chinaman and the smaller Shan ore body are
believed to have been one, though now separated by faulting. Estimated
reserves on December 31, 1917, were 4,033,000 tons of lead-zinc ore
assaying 24.7 ounces of silver, 27.4 per cent. lead, 19.1 per cent.
zinc, and 0.4 per cent. copper; and 105,000 tons of copper-silver ore
assaying 21.0 ounces of silver, 19.9 per cent. lead, 8.8 per cent.
zinc, and 8.9 per cent. copper. Since then development has considerably
increased these reserves. In addition there is estimated to be
1,600,000 tons of low-grade ore averaging 5.1 ounces of silver, 7.5 per
cent. lead, 4.8 per cent. zinc, and 0.2 per cent. copper per ton, with
excellent prospects of larger developments. A large tonnage of gossan
outcrop ore containing 4 or 5 ounces silver, 4 to 5 per cent. lead, and
a little zinc is cheaply mined and available as siliceous flux. The
essential constituents of the ores are galena and sphalerite with a
little pyrite and chalcopyrite. All of the ore is argentiferous.

The lead and zinc concentrates are available for the customary methods
of smelting. A zinc-distilling and sulphuric acid plant is being
constructed at Sakchi, with the aid of the Indian government, to treat
the table zinc concentrates. Its initial capacity of 25,000 tons of
concentrates is expected to be increased to 75,000 tons. The company
operates a lead smelter at Nam-Tu, 11 miles from the mines, using a
mixture of ore and ancient slags. Treatment of the middlings by the
Ganlin process is proposed and a 100-ton unit is under construction
at Avonmouth, England. The Bawdwin deposits may be expected to be an
important factor in the world’s production of lead in the immediate
future. They are owned by the Burma Mines, Ltd., an English corporation
representing the R. Tilden Smith-Govett-Hoover interests and some
American capital.

The lead production of _Peru_ is largely in the form of ancient
high-lead slags from the Cerro de Pasco district, Department of Junin,
shipped to plants of the American Smelting & Refining Co. in the
United States. Lead occurs as a minor constituent of copper deposits.

The domestic lead-ore deposits of _Japan_ are all owned and operated
by Japanese. During the war Australian concentrates and Chinese ore
were imported and smelted, 10,666 short tons of the former, carrying
56 per cent. lead, during the fiscal year 1915-16, and 9,829 short
tons of the latter during the year 1916. The Fujita company, mining
in Japan, Korea, and Formosa, produces 382 short tons of lead yearly.
Its principal mine is the Kosaka, at the northern end of Hondo, the
main island of Japan. The ore is a complex sulphide mixture of lead,
zinc, iron, and copper minerals. The annual output of this mine is
about 335 short tons of lead. The Mitsui Mining Co., Ltd., is the
largest producer, its output in 1915 having been 3,561, and in 1916,
8,098 short tons of pig lead. This is derived wholly from the Kamioka
zinc-lead mine, in the Province of Hida, on a contact metamorphic
deposit in limestone lenses enclosed in Archean gneiss near a quartz
porphyry contact.

The only deposit exploited in _Egypt_ is that known to the ancients,
Gebel Rosas, now operated by the French company, Compagnie Française
des Mines de Laurium. As regards the former empire of _Russia_, the
lead production of _Russian Poland_ and the Caucasus Mountains is
small, the output in 1913 coming chiefly from the Caucasus Mountains
and being made by the Elboruss Co., and the Compagnie d’Alagir
(Belgian).

In the Altai Mountains, in _Siberia_, a zinc-lead-silver deposit, the
Zmeinogorsk, formerly belonging to the Russian Mining Corporation
(British), is now owned by a Russian company, Altai Mines, Ltd., though
part of the capital is probably British. The Nerchinski district,
in eastern Siberia, comprises many known deposits. The Akatonevski,
Kadaenski, Algachinski and Klichinski deposits are veins, whereas many
of the Zerentniski, Gasimoura Valley, Koultoumski and Maltzevski are
lenticular masses of disseminated ore. In the Kadaenski deposits two
massive disseminated ore bodies occur in dolomite between two veins.
These deposits were controlled by the Imperial Cabinet, and their
exploitation was being seriously considered by British and American
capital shortly before the revolution. The deposits of largest present
importance in Siberia are those of the Ridder Mining Co., controlled
by the Irtysh Corporation of London, which has developed two mines,
the Ridder and the Sokolni, on the same mineralized zone. The deposits
are replacements by complex sulphide ore of members of a conformable
series of slates, tuffs, and igneous sills. In 1916 the reserves were
estimated at 945,000 tons of a grade of 31.2 per cent. zinc, 18.1 per
cent. lead, 1.5 per cent. copper, 9.7 ounces of silver, and 0.47 ounces
of gold; and also 2,229,000 tons averaging 6.7 per cent. zinc, 3.5 per
cent. lead, 0.5 per cent. copper, 1.7 ounces of silver, and 0.7 ounces
of gold per ton. Other known mineralized zones have not been developed,
but the possibilities of the property are immense, being limited
chiefly by general political and economic conditions.

A small quantity of lead is produced in _Bulgaria_ from a few small
deposits containing intimate mixtures of lead, copper and zinc
minerals; usually either zinc or copper predominate.

The most important lead deposit in _Sweden_ is the Sala, in
Vestmanland, where irregular masses and veins of galena and blende with
minor amounts of pyrite, etc. occur in limestone. Similar deposits
occur at Lofas and Guldmedshyttan.

_Hungary_ has no lead mines of importance, although galena occurs in
some of the veins exploited, notably at Schemnitz, where the larger
mines are the property of the Hungarian state.

Most of the ore from _Bolivia_ exported to the United States comes from
the Majo mine, which produced 884 tons, lead content, in 1912. This
mine is in southern Bolivia in the region of La Quiaca.

The most important lead-producing area in _Portugal_ is Merlota, near
the Guadiana River, where silver-bearing galena and oxidized ores
are found. Other districts are those of Villa Real, Vizen, Aveiro,
Portalagre, and Beja. The deposits are similar to those of Spain.

The only deposit of importance in _Rhodesia_ (South Africa) is the
Rhodesia Broken Hill. The large ore bodies are, so far as developed,
almost wholly oxidized. One ore body is estimated to contain 250,000
long tons of ore averaging 26 per cent. lead and 22.5 per cent. zinc;
another ore body is estimated to contain 300,000 long tons, averaging
32 per cent. zinc, with little lead, but much iron oxide and carbonate.
These ore bodies are controlled by British capital. Considerable
difficulty has been experienced in developing a commercial treatment.
Reports indicate this deposit is of greater magnitude than is generally
recognized.

The most important lead deposit of _Belgium_, or rather of the neutral
district of Moresnet adjoining Belgium, belonged to the Belgian
company, Société de la Vieille Montagne at Moresnet. It was exhausted
in 1882.

=Changes in Geographical Distribution of Production in the Near
Future.=--No marked change in the pre-war rate of production of ores by
the countries of Europe or northern Africa is anticipated when normal
conditions are resumed. Most of the districts in those countries have
been exploited a long time and have passed their zenith of production;
many are approaching exhaustion. A possible exception to this statement
is the Ciudad Real Province of Spain, which is being energetically
developed by the Penarroya company. The division of Austria-Hungary
will not materially affect the control of the lead industry.

The United States will continue to be the largest source of lead in
the world, and the only change anticipated is a slight increase in the
relative importance of the hard-lead output of the Western States.

The chief new factor in production will be the Bawdwin mines of Burma,
which are being developed on a large scale for the production of
300,000 tons of ore annually.

Recent developments in the Altai Mountains of southwestern Siberia
have proved immense bodies of complex zinc-lead ores. Their geographic
isolation will prevent them from becoming an important factor in the
world market for a long period, notwithstanding their large size and
excellent grade. The extent of their exploitation will be determined
largely by how far the Russian market is affected by internal social
and political conditions. The loss of the Polish industrial region,
with its market protected by stringent tariffs, materially restricts
the extent of visible outlets.

In the future, but not soon, it is anticipated that there will be
developments in the Andes region of South America of complex lead-ore
deposits similar to those of the Western United States.

POLITICAL CONTROL

Political control of the lead resources of the world up to the outbreak
of the war in 1914 seems to have been a minor factor in the industry,
and to have made itself felt chiefly through imposition of protective
tariffs or bonuses designed to stimulate domestic production, smelting,
and refining. Such measures resulted in the establishment of lead
smelting in British Columbia and were an inducement to the development
of the Altai district of Siberia. As will be described later in detail,
the growth of international commercial relations had permitted the
establishment by German interests of organizations which, although not
all-inclusive, gave effective control of the industry.

During the World War, however, political jurisdiction was largely
invoked to restore control of national resources to citizens. This
movement was particularly marked in the British Empire, where there
now exists a joint political and commercial control. Alien interests
have been eliminated by governmental action and the government retains
a share in the control through its interest in marketing organizations
or its financial participation in reduction works. In France, the
consortium Société Minerais et Metaux, organized by government action,
is the arbiter of the industry and comprises all the important French
companies both at home and abroad. In the United States the Alien
Property Custodian was active in eliminating all enemy-alien interests.

COMMERCIAL CONTROL

Copper, lead, and zinc form a class by themselves, with respect to
industrial utility and tonnage produced, ranking after iron, which far
outclasses them, as the most important base metals. The total yearly
production of each throughout the world is considerably more than a
million tons.

TABLE 53.--ORE PRODUCTION, SMELTING, AND CONSUMPTION OF LEAD IN 1913

(Tons of 2,000 Pounds)

-------------------+-------------------------------------------+
| Recoverable lead content of ores |
| and concentrates |
+---------------+-------------+-------------+
| | | |
|Mine production| Exports | Imports |
+---------+-----+-------+-----+-------+-----+
| | Per| | Per| | Per|
| Net |cent.| Net |cent.| Net |cent.|
Country | tons |[130]| tons |[130]| tons |[130]|
-------------------+---------+-----+-------+-----+-------+-----+
Algeria | 12,900| 1.0| 12,900| 1.0| ... | ...|
Australia | {244,500| 19.7|132,000| 10.6| ... | ...|
| { [133]| | | | | |
Austria-Hungary | 23,800| 1.9| ... | ...| 2,800| 0.2|
Belgium | ... | ...| ... | ...| 56,000| 4.5|
Bolivia | 1,100| 0.1| 1,100| 0.1| ... | ...|
Bulgaria | 2,200| 0.2| 2,200| 0.2| ... | ...|
Canada | 18,800| 1.5| ... | ...| ... | ...|
China | 14,000| 1.1| 14,000| 1.1| ... | ...|
Egypt | 3,200| 0.3| 3,200| 0.3| ... | ...|
France | 9,600| 0.8| ... | ...| 21,300| 1.7|
German S. W. Africa| 13,200| 1.0| 13,200| 1.0| ... | ...|
Germany | 79,300| 6.4| ... | ...|120,300| 9.7|
Great Britain | 20,300| 1.6| ... | ...| 13,300| 1.1|
Greece | 20,300| 1.6| ... | ...| ... | ...|
Holland | ... | ...| ... | ...| ... | ...|
India | | | {[134]| | | |
(Burma) | 6,500| 0.5| {2,200| 0.2| ... | ...|
| | |{ [134]| | | |
Italy | 24,900| 2.0|{ 1,000| 0.1| ... | ...|
Japan | 4,200| 0.3| ... | ...| ... | ...|
Mexico | 68,300| 5.5| 7,100| 0.6| ... | ...|
Norway | ... | ...| ... | ...| ... | ...|
Peru | 4,300| 0.3| 4,300| 0.3| ... | ...|
Portugal | 600| ...| 600| ...| ... | ...|
Rhodesia | 400| ...| 400| ...| ... | ...|
| | | {[134]| | | |
Russia | 3,100| 0.2| {2,000| 0.2| ... | ...|
Spain | 209,200| 16.8| ... | ...| 9,900| 0.8|
Sweden | 2,100| 0.2| 500| ...| ... | ...|
Switzerland | ... | ... | ... | ...| ... | ...|
Tunis | 31,100| 2.5| 31,000| 2.5| ... | ...|
Turkey-in-Asia | 15,300| 1.2| ... | ...| ... | ...|
United States | 411,900| 33.3| ... | ...| 13,200| 1.0|
Other countries | ... | ...| ... | ...| 2,600| 0.2|
-------------------+---------+-----+-------+-----+-------+-----+
World[135] |1,245,100|100.0|227,800| 18.2|239,400| 19.2|
-------------------+---------+-----+-------+-----+-------+-----+

-------------------+-------------------------------------------+
| |
| Primary pig lead |
+---------------+-------------+-------------+
| Smelter | | |
| production | Imports | Exports |
+---------+-----+-------+-----+-------+-----+
| | Per| | Per| | Per|
| Net |cent.| Net |cent.| Net |cent.|
Country | tons |[130]| tons |[130]| tons |[130]|
-------------------+---------+-----+-------+-----+-------+-----+
Algeria | ... | ...| ... | ...| ... | ...|
Australia | 112,500| 9.0| ... | ...|101,900| 8.1|
| | | | | | |
Austria-Hungary | 26,600| 2.1| 12,500| 1.0| ... | ...|
Belgium | 56,000| 4.5| ... | ...| 8,700| 0.7|
Bolivia | ... | ...| ... | ...| ... | ...|
Bulgaria | ... | ...| ... | ...| ... | ...|
Canada | 18,800| 1.5| 6,400| 0.5| ... | ...|
China | ... | ...| ... | ...| ... | ...|
Egypt | ... | ...| ... | ...| ... | ...|
France | 30,900| 2.5| 87,700| 7.0| ... | ...|
German S. W. Africa| ... | ...| ... | ...| ... | ...|
Germany | 199,600| 15.9| 46,800| 3.7| ... | ...|
Great Britain | 33,600| 2.7|177,400| 14.1| ... | ...|
Greece | 20,300| 1.6| ... | ...| 20,300| 1.6|
Holland | ... | ...| 10,500| 0.8| ... | ...|
India | | | | | | |
(Burma) | 4,300| 0.3| ... | ...| 4,300| 0.3|
| | | | | | |
Italy | 23,900| 1.9| 12,000| 1.0| ... | ...|
Japan | 4,200| 0.3| 17,000| 1.3| ... | ...|
Mexico | 61,200| 4.9| ... | ...| 61,200| 4.9|
Norway | ... | ...| 500| ...| ... | ...|
Peru | ... | ...| ... | ...| ... | ...|
Portugal | ... | ...| ... | ...| ... | ...|
Rhodesia | ... | ...| ... | ...| ... | ...|
| | | | | | |
Russia | 1,000| 0.1| 63,700| 5.1| ... | ...|
Spain | 219,100| 17.4| ... | ...|219,100| 17.5|
Sweden | 1,600| 0.1| 1,200| 0.1| ... | ...|
Switzerland | ... | ...| 6,400| 0.5| ... | ...|
Tunis | ... | ...| ... | ...| ... | ...|
Turkey-in-Asia | 15,300| 1.2| ... | ...| 15,300| 1.2|
United States | 425,100| 33.8| ... | ...| 10,800| 0.9|
Other countries | 2,600| 0.2| 34,100| 2.7| ... | ...|
-------------------+---------+-----+-------+-----+-------+-----+
World[135] |1,256,700|100.0|476,200| 37.8|441,600| 35.2|
-------------------+---------+-----+-------+-----+-------+-----+

-------------------+-------------------------------------------
| Recoverable lead in ores
| and pig lead
+---------------+-------------+-------------
| | |
| Consumption | Net imports | Net exports
+---------+-----+-------+-----+-------+-----
| | Per| | Per| | Per
| Net |cent.| Net |cent.| Net |cent.
Country | tons |[130]| tons |[130]| tons |[130]
-------------------+---------+-----+-------+-----+-------+-----
Algeria | ... | ...| ... | ...| 12,900| 1.3
Australia | 10,600| 0.8| ... | ...|233,900| 18.7
| | | | | |
Austria-Hungary | 39,100| 3.0| 15,300| 1.2| ... | ...
Belgium | 47,300| 3.7| 47,300| 3.8| ... | ...
Bolivia | ... | ...| ... | ...| 1,100| 0.1
Bulgaria | ... | ...| ... | ...| 2,200| 0.2
Canada | 25,200| 2.0| 6,400| 0.5| ... | ...
China | ... | ...| ... | ...| 14,000| 1.1
Egypt | ... | ...| ... | ...| 3,200| 0.2
France | 118,600| 9.1|109,000| 8.7| ... | ...
German S. W. Africa| ... | ...| ... | ...| 13,200| 1.0
Germany | 246,400| 19.1|167,100| 13.4| ... | ...
Great Britain | 211,000| 16.4|190,700| 15.2| ... | ...
Greece | ... | ...| ... | ...| 20,300| 1.6
Holland | 10,500| 0.8| 10,500| 0.1| ... | ...
India | | | | | |
(Burma) | ... | ...| ... | ...| 6,500| 0.5
| | | | | |
Italy | 35,900| 2.8| 11,000| 0.1| ... | ...
Japan | 20,400| 1.6| 17,000| 1.3| ... | ...
Mexico | ... | ...| ... | ...| 68,300| 5.5
Norway | 500| ...| 500| ...| ... | ...
Peru | ... | ...| ... | ...| 4,300| 0.3
Portugal | ... | ...| ... | ...| 600| ...
Rhodesia | ... | ...| ... | ...| 400| ...
| | | | | |
Russia | 64,800| 5.0| 61,700| 5.0| ... | ...
Spain | ... | ...| ... | ...|209,200| 16.7
Sweden | 2,800| 0.2| 700| ...| ... | ...
Switzerland | 6,400| 0.5| 6,400| 0.5| ... | ...
Tunis | ... | ...| ... | ...| 31,100| 2.5
Turkey-in-Asia | ... | ...| ... | ...| 15,300| 1.2
United States | 414,300| 32.1| 2,400| 0.2| ... | ...
Other countries | 36,700| 2.8| 36,700| 2.9| ... | ...
-------------------+---------+-----+-------+-----+-------+-----
World[135] |1,290,500|100.0|682,700| 52.9|636,500| 50.9
-------------------+---------+-----+-------+-----+-------+-----

[130] Percentages of World production of recoverable lead content of
ores.

[131] Percentages of World smelter production of pig lead.

[132] Percentage of mean of totals used in _a_ and _b_.

[133] Total recoverable lead content of ore production reported, less
lead content of Australian production in forms other than pig lead.

[134] Probably represents ore surplus rather than exports.

[135] Lack of proper balance in these totals shows error or
incompleteness, or lack of comparability, due in part to lag in the
statistics, which, however, show correctly the general situation.

The ownership or operative control of mines is a minor factor in the
commercial control of the lead industry and in general is of importance
only as determining the distribution of ore to smelters competing
otherwise on nearly equal terms. Most of the large smelter interests
engage in, or have subsidiaries engaged in, mining or have sufficient
holdings in large mining companies to influence their smelting
contracts. The actual basis of control of the industry is, therefore,
often through combined ownership or control of mines and of reduction
works.

The ownership or control of reduction plants has been the dominating
factor in the commercial control of the industry. The production of
each country in 1913, the principal lead reduction works of the world,
and their affiliations and control are discussed below.

=United States.=--The control of the lead industry of the United States
through ownership or control is vested in ten groups as follows:

1. The Morgan-Guggenheim group, comprising the American Smelting &
Refining Co.; American Smelters Securities Co.; and their subsidiaries:
Selby Smelting & Lead Co.; Tacoma Smelting Co.; Garfield Smelting Co.;
Consolidated Kansas City Smelting & Refining Co.; Federal Lead Co.;
Federal Mining & Smelting Co.; Western Mining Co.; Silver Lake Mining
Co.; and the Yak Mining, Milling & Tunnel Co.

2. The St. Joseph Lead Co.

3. National Lead Co.; St. Louis Smelting & Refining Co.; United Lead Co.

4. The Rockefeller-Ryan group, comprising the International Smelting
Co.--Tooele smelter, Utah; and the International Lead Refining
Co.,--refinery at East Chicago, Ind.

5. The United States Smelting, Refining & Mining Co. group, comprising
the United States Smelting Co.--Mid vale smelter, Utah; U. S. Metals
Refining Co.,--electrolytic lead refinery at Grasselli, Ind.; Needles
Mining & Smelting Co.,--zinc-lead custom concentrator at Needles,
Calif.; Bingham Mines Co. and other mines in Utah (Bullion, Beck,
Champion, Utah-Apex, Centennial-Eureka and Tintic); Sunnyside and Gold
Prince mines at Silverton, Colorado, and formerly a half interest in
International Metals Selling Co.; and the Leadville Unit.

6. The Day group, comprising the Northport Smelting & Refining Co.;
Pennsylvania Smelting & Refining Co.; Hercules Mining Co.; Tamarack &
Custer Mining Co.; and the Amazon-Manhattan mines et al.

7. The American Metal Co. group, controlling the Ohio & Colorado
Smelting Co. (owning 65 per cent. of its stock), and the Balbach
Smelting & Refining Co. (owning one-third of its capital stock and
selling the entire output).

8. Hayden-Stone-Clark-Coolidge group, comprising the American Zinc,
Lead & Smelting Co.; American Zinc Co. of Tennessee; American Zinc. Co
of Wisconsin; American Zinc Co. of Illinois; Granby Mining & Smelting
Co. of Missouri; and the Butte & Superior Mining Co.

9. The Eagle-Picher group, comprising the Eagle-Picher Lead Co.,
Joplin, Mo. with smelter at Joplin, Mo., and controlling the Galena
Smelting & Manufacturing Co., Galena, Kan.; and the Webb City Smelting
& Manufacturing Co., Webb City, Mo.

10. The Bunker Hill & Sullivan Mining & Concentrating Co., controlled
by Bradley-Crocker interests, and probably representing a certain
proportion of English capital.

11. The Desloge Consolidated Lead Co., which formerly operated its own
smelter but now has its ores smelted on toll by the Federal Lead Co.
and markets its own lead.

All of the above companies are owned and controlled by American
citizens so far as known, except certain interests in the American
Metal Co. and perhaps the Bunker Hill & Sullivan Mining & Concentrating
Co.

The American Metal Co. has 70,000 shares of capital stock, of which
34,644 shares were owned by the Metallgesellschaft, one of the German
“Trio,” 18,620 shares belong to Germans who have become naturalized
American citizens and have had the management, and the remaining 16,736
belonged to Henry L. Merton & Co., of London, a firm that is in process
of liquidation. The Alien Property Custodian took over the 34,644
shares referred to above and sold them at public auction. The control
of the company is vested in three voting trustees selected by agreement
between the Alien Property Custodian and the American shareholders.

Vogelstein & Co. at one time linked groups 5, 7, 8, and 10, chiefly
through selling contracts. Vogelstein & Co. owned the International
Metals Selling Co., formerly marketing the production of the United
States Smelting, Mining & Refining Co., but this connection is now
broken. A contract for sale of the entire output of the American Zinc,
Lead & Smelting Co. was held by L. Vogelstein & Co., partly owned by
Aron Hirsch & Sohn, another member of the great German metal combine.
L. Vogelstein & Co. (Inc). was seized by the Alien Property Custodian
and was controlled by five directors, two of whom were appointees of
the Custodian.[136] The operative control of the Bunker Hill & Sullivan
Mining & Concentrating Co. is vested in Americans, but Vogelstein & Co.
sells the output. Groups 5 and 8 are probably linked to some extent by
large stockholders in common, Clark & Coolidge of Boston.

[136] L. Vogelstein is reported to have sold his interests to the
American Metal Co. and subsequently, early in 1920, to have acquired
a fifth interest in that company.

As a result of the activities of the Alien Property Custodian, the
ownership and control of substantially all the mines and reduction
works in the United States are vested in American citizens. Further
information regarding the activities of German interests in the
American metal trade is given in the chapter on copper, pages 232-235.

Table 54 lists the important lead smelting and refining plants of the
United States at the present time.

TABLE 54.--SILVER-LEAD SMELTERS IN THE UNITED STATES

---------+-------------------+---------------------+--------+---------
| | | | Annual
Financial| | | Number |capacity
Group No.| | | of |(tons of
| Operating company | Location |furnaces| charge)
---------+-------------------+---------------------+--------+---------
1 |American Smelters | | |
|Securities Co. |Selby, Calif. | 3 | 210,000
1 |American Smelting | | |
|& Refining Co. |Denver, Colo. | 7 | 510,000
1 |American Smelting | | |
|& Refining Co. |Pueblo, Colo. | 7 | 380,000
1 |American Smelting | | |
|& Refining Co. |Durango, Colo. | 4 | 210,000
1 |American Smelting | | |
|& Refining Co. |Leadville, Colo. | 10 | 510,000
1 |American Smelting | | |
|& Refining Co. |Murray, Idaho | 8 | 657,000
1 |American Smelting | | |
|& Refining Co. |East Helena, Mont. | 4 | 306,000
1 |American Smelting | | |
|& Refining Co. |Omaha, Neb.[137] | 2 | 82,000
1 |American Smelting |Perth Amboy, | |
|& Refining Co. |N. J.[137] | 4 | 170,000
1 |Con. Kansas City | | |
|Smelting & Refining| | |
|Co. |El Paso, Texas | 6 | 380,000
10 |Bunker Hill & | | |
|Sullivan Mining & | | |
|Concentrating Co. |Kellogg, Idaho | 3 | 600,000
7 |Ohio & Colorado | | |
|Smelting Co. |Salida, Colo. | 3 | 200,000
5 |U. S. Smelting, | | |
|Refining & Mining | | |
|Co. |Midvale, Utah | 7 | 530,000
6 |Northport Smelting | | |
|& Refining Co. |Northport, Wash. | 2 | 216,000
6 |Pennsylvania | | |
|Smelting Co |Carnegie, Pa. | 2 | 60,000
4 |International | | |
|Smelting Co. |Tooele, Utah | 5 | 500,000
| | +--------+---------
| Total | | 77 |5,521,000
---------+-------------------+---------------------+--------+---------

[137] Refinery also.

The following Table 55 shows the relative importance of the various
financial groups controlling the production of lead in the United
States.

TABLE 55.--FINANCIAL GROUPS CONTROLLING THE PRODUCTION OF LEAD IN THE
UNITED STATES

---------+---------------------------------------+---------------
| | Percentage
| | of production
Financial| Company +----------+----
group | |Oct.-Nov.,|
No. | | 1918 |1917
---------+---------------------------------------+----------+----
1 |American Smelting & Refining Co | 34.1 |37.7
3 |National Lead Co. (St. Louis Smelting &| |
|Refining Co.) | 5.9 | 9.0
2 |St. Joseph Lead Co. | 20.1 |16.4
4 |International Smelting & Refining Co. | 3.7 | 6.5
5 |U. S. Smelting Refining & Mining Co. | 5.5 | 8.3
6 |Pennsylvania Smelting Co. | 6.2 | 7.2
7 |American Metal Co. | 1.8 | 2.1
8 |American Zinc, Lead & Smelting Co. | 1.7 | 1.3
9 |Eagle-Picher Lead Co. | 9.3 | 6.2
10 |Banker Hill & Sullivan Mining & | |
|Concentrating Co. | 6.3 | 1.7
11 |Desloge Consolidated Lead Co. | 2.6 | 3.3
|Ontario Smelting Co. | 1.9 | 0.0
---------+---------------------------------------+----------+----

The American Smelting & Refining Co., through the preponderance of its
production and the wide distribution of its interests, dominates the
domestic industry, although its proportion of the total output has
decreased greatly during the past few years.

=Spain.=--More than 60 per cent. of the pig lead made in Spain comes
from the smelters of the Penarroya company (French), which within the
past few years has absorbed the Spanish smelters of Escombrera-Bleyberg
at Esconbrera, and the two smelters of Figueroa, at Linares and
Cartagena. This gives the Penarroya company a dominant position in the
Spanish lead industry. English interests, E. J. Enthoven & Co., have
a smelter producing about 25,000 short tons of lead annually. All the
smelting companies have made a combination to stop competition in ore
buying. The Spanish government imposes a duty of about $1.80 per ton on
lead concentrates exported.

=Australia.=--Smelting plants in Australia that produce lead have the
capacities shown below.

The annual capacity of the Port Pirie plant is now 165,000 short tons
of pig lead.

TABLE 56.--SILVER LEAD SMELTERS IN MEXICO

=Mexico.=--Practically all the Mexican smelting works are owned and
operated by American companies. Prior to the war several of these
were controlled by German interests through the American Metal Co.
(incorporated in the United States), but the action of the Alien
Property Custodian eliminated all foreign control in those companies,
which comprise Compañia Minera de Peñoles, Compañia de Minerales y
Metales, and Compañia Metalurgica de Torreon, leaving only the Compañia
Fundadora y Refinadora de Monterrey still under German control. The
American Metal Co. normally controlled 60,000 to 75,000 tons of bonded
Mexican lead and 12,000 to 15,000 tons of lead smelted in Mexico,
together with over a thousand tons of antimonial lead.

The Aguascalientes and Velardeña plants are chiefly copper smelters.
There are small lead smelters at Terrazas and Santa Rosalia, Chihuahua,
but they are probably abandoned.

=British Isles.=--During the war the British lead-smelting capacity
is reported to have been increased. Before the war a large amount of
foreign lead bullion from Spain, Belgium and Germany was desilverized
in the British Isles.

=Other Countries.=--The lead-smelting plants of _France_ escaped
destruction during the war, being outside the war zone. The capacity
of the Pontgibaud plant was greatly increased. They are all French
owned. The most important lead smelting plant in _Italy_ is that of
the Societa di Pertusola (English), with a pig-lead output in 1915 of
16,625 metric tons; the other plant is that of the Societa di Monteponi
(Italian), with an output of 5,187 tons. The only lead smelting of
_Greece_ is that of the Compagnie des Mines de Laurium (French).

The only important lead smelter of _Canada_ is that of Trail, British
Columbia, which is controlled by the Canadian government. This plant
includes a refinery using the Betts electrolytic process.

The only lead smelter in _Turkey_ is one controlled by French
interests, that of the Société des Mines de Balia-Kara-Aidin, at
Kara-Aidin. The lead smelting plant of the Burma Mines Corporation,
Ltd., at Bawdwin, _Burma_, has a capacity of 22,000 short tons lead.

In _Siberia_ the Ridder Mining Co., controlled by the Irtysh
Corporation, of London, has constructed 165 miles of railroad,
which, together with river transport, brings the ore from the Ridder
concession and the coal of the Ekibastus coal fields to the smelting
plant at Ermak, which has a capacity of 15,000 tons of lead annually.

=Trade Combinations.=--National and even international control of the
lead market has at times been attained through marketing organizations
or trade combinations of reduction works, ore-buying and metal-selling
agencies with interlocking directorates, joint ownership, and long-term
contracts for ores, concentrates, and metals.

In 1909 the so-called Lead Convention, or officially the International
Sales Association, was formed in Paris. It was composed of German,
Spanish, and Belgian producers and metal-selling agencies controlling
directly about one-half of the European production. Some companies not
nominally in the association acted in concert with it. This convention
was renewed in 1910 and again in 1913 for three years. The association
was dominated by the same interests as the German Zinc Syndicate,--the
Merton group, comprising the Metallgesellschaft, the Metallbank and
Metallurgische Gesellschaft of Frankfort and the Merton companies
of London; Beer, Sondheimer & Co., controlling a dozen German metal
and chemical concerns, and Aron Hirsch & Sohn at Halberstadt. The
Merton group of London and Frankfort were the selling agents of the
association, and the dominant “Trio,” through the Australian Metal Co.,
controlled the lead exported as metal or concentrates from Australia.

In the United States and Mexico all lead exported was controlled by the
American Metal Co., affiliated with the association, or the American
Smelting & Refining Co., acting in concert with it. The German “Trio”
maintained and was rapidly extending and strengthening its ascendancy
throughout the world through banks, holding companies, affiliations
with syndicates and cartels, interlocking directorates, joint share
holdings and purchase in whole or in part of mines and smelters.
Some of the English lead refineries were closely associated with the
Convention, and all lead exported from the Port Pirie smelter was sold
by Merton & Co. The association was able to fix the price of lead
in Europe and thus affect the output and, it has been claimed, so
manipulated the market that lead outside the Convention was controlled
just as effectively as that inside. The membership was international,
brought together by mercenary motives. That the strongest and most
aggressive interests were German citizens was purely incidental.

As a result of the war, however, the production of Australian lead
concentrates and bullion is permanently diverted from German control.
The activities of the Alien Property Custodian tended to eliminate
all German interests in the United States. Most of the Australian
lead bullion production is now marketed by the Broken Hill Associated
Smelters, Prop., Ltd., of whose capital stock the Broken Hill
Proprietary owns one-third and the Broken Hill South, Broken Hill
North, and Zinc Corporation each own two-ninths. The plant of this
company is now the largest smelter in the world.

The nationalist movement in France resulted in the formation of trade
associations known as “consortiums,” comprising the principal factor in
each industry. These “consortiums,” were recognized by the government,
and each was made virtually arbiter of its particular field. The
consortium of the mineral industry has been perfected into the Société
Minerals et Metaux, 154 Boulevard Hausmann, Paris. The official
announcement states that this society is organized under the auspices
of the French government in order to group the French metal producers
operating both at home and abroad into a co-operative association for
the purchase and sale of metallurgical products.

The participants comprise the principal companies in France producing
or refining metals and also the mining and smelting companies
controlled by French capital in Spain, Algeria, Tunis, and other
foreign countries. A highly centralized organization of that part of
the mineral and metal industry under French control is thus achieved
for mutual protection and advantage in competition with other
nationalities. Members of this organization will produce most of the
ore from Algiers and Tunis and probably 75 per cent. of the Spanish
lead bullion. The present annual output of the participating companies
is about 200,000 metric tons of lead, 50,000 metric tons of zinc, and
40,000 tons of copper, besides iron, antimony, platinum, etc. The
association comprises the following companies: Société Minière et
Metallurgique de Penarroya; Société d’Affinage de Metaux; Compagnie
des Mines d’Ain-Barbar; Association Minière; Société des Mines de Zinc
d’Ain-Arko; Compagnie du Boleo; Compagnie Française des Mines de Bor;
Corocoro United Copper Mines, Ltd.; Société des Mines de Fedj-el-Adoum;
Société des Mines de Zinc de Guergour; Compagnie des Mines de Huaron;
Société Minière du Kanguet; Compagnie des Minerais de Fer Magnetique
de Mokta-et-Hadid; Comptoir Lyon Allemand; Société Anonyme des Mines
de Malfidano; Compagnie des Mines d’Ouasta et de Desloula; Société des
Mines de Parzan; Compagnie Industrielle du Platine; Société Anonyme
des Mines et Fonderies de Pontgibaud; Société des Mines d’Antimoine
de Rochetrejoux; Société des Anciens Etablissements Sopwith;
Société Française d’Etudes et d’Enterprises; Société des Mines du
Djebel-Ressas; Société Anonyme Française du Djebel-Hallouf; Société
Anonyme des Mines et Usines de Peyrebrune; and Compagnie La Cruz.

One of the results of the war was the stimulation of co-operative
enterprises between British companies, the movement being encouraged
by the government, which in some cases participated financially. The
British Australian Lead Manufacturers Proprietary, Ltd., was formed
as a consolidation of the Australian interests of British firms, with
the object of establishing a white-lead industry in that country.
Those participating comprise: Alexander Ferguson & Co.; Cookson & Co.;
Foster, Blockett & Wilson; Locke, Blockett & Co.; Locke-Lancaster; W.
W. & R. Johnson & Sons, Ltd.; Mersey White Lead Co., Ltd.; and Walkers
Parker & Co.

The Chloride Syndicate comprising the Zinc Corporation, Ltd., Burma
Mines Corporation, and the Swansea Vale Smelter, Ltd., is conducting
experimental work on the Ganlin process with the object of perfecting
it.

Richard Tilden Smith, having acquired controlling interests in J. H.
Enthoven & Sons, Locke-Lancaster, Walkers Parker & Co. and a one-third
interest in the Burma Mines Corporation, became a strong link between
these important companies and thus secured an arrangement with the
Imperial Government for financial assistance with the new plant of the
National Smelting Co., Ltd., at Avonmouth to the extent of £500,000
out of the total estimated cost of £750,000, the government being
particularly interested in the production of by-product acid. The
National Smelting Co. agreed to take 25,000 tons yearly of Broken Hill
concentrate and smelt no foreign ore without government permission.
Enthoven & Sons control through ownership the output of one of the
Spanish smelters and through desilverizing and marketing contracts the
output of the French Laurium company of Greece. An attempt to bring
about a closer combination of all the above-mentioned English and
Australian companies failed.

It is reported that in 1917 Vivian, Younger & Bond, and Morgan,
Grenfeld & Co. were instrumental in forming a “Metal Bank” in London.
Broken Hill Associated Smelters Prop. Ltd., and the Penarroya company
were said to have agreed to market their production through this bank,
but it is probable that the arrangement was never made effective. A
Chemical and Metallurgical Bank has been formed in London, among the
shareholders being Richard Tilden Smith. Its proposed field is not
clear, but it will probably endeavor to influence the control of lead
in the United Kingdom.

A British Metals Corporation was formed in 1918 by Vivian, Younger &
Bond, Chas. Tennant Sons & Co., Cookson & Co., the British Aluminum
Co., Morgan, Grenfeld & Co., and large stockholders of the Rio Tinto
Co., with a capital of £5,000,000. The Imperial Treasury will be
represented on the board of directors. The purposes are to finance
British non-ferrous metal companies, bring all the production within
the empire of those metals under one marketing organization and
preserve British control. If plans are successfully carried out, the
smelting both in England and on the Continent of Europe, should any
British concentrates be allotted there, will practically be on toll,
the metal remaining in the control of the Metals Corporation or the
affiliated bank.

POSITION OF THE GREAT NATIONS

The accompanying table presents available statistics of production
since 1913 in order to show the extent to which the industry in each
country is controlled by domestic or foreign capital, and attempts to
show the extent of commercial control by each of the great powers. Such
statistics are at best only approximate; the control varies from year
to year and the data are difficult to obtain and verify.

TABLE 57.--COMMERCIAL CONTROL OF THE WORLD’S OUTPUT OF PIG LEAD

----------+---------+----+-----+--------------------------------------
| Recent | | |
| pig-lead| | | Financial control by
| pro- | | Per +------+-------+-------+-------+-------
| duction| |cent.| Home | | | |
| (short | | of | cap- | United| Great | |
Country | tons) |Year|world| ital | States|Britain| France|Germany
----------+---------+----+-----+------+-------+-------+-------+-------
United | | | | | | | |
States | 612,200|1917| 44.6| ... |612,200| | |
Australia | 127,800|1913| 9.4| ... | ... |127,800| |
British | | | | | | | |
Isles | 12,600|1916| 0.9| ... | ... | 12,600| |
Canada | 20,400|1916| 1.5| ... | ... | 20,400| |
Burma | 20,000|1917| 1.5| ... | ... | 20,000| |
France | 30,800|1913| 2.2| ... | ... | ... | 30,800|
Italy | 24,000| ...| 1.8| 5,700| ... | 18,300| |
Belgium | 39,400|1913| 2.9|15,000| ... | ... | 24,400|
Venezuela | 200|1917| ...| ... | ... | ... | ... | 200
Bolivia | 2,400|1917| 0.2| 400| ... | ... | 2,000|
Greece | 12,800|1916| 0.9| ... | ... | ... | 12,800|
Japan | 12,300|1916| 0.9|12,300| | | |
Peru | 3,000|1917| 0.2| 500| 500| 2,000| |
Russia | 1,100|1913| 0.1| 1,100| | | |
Chile | 6,000|1917| 0.4| 3,000| ... | 1,000| ... | 2,000
Mexico | 61,200|1913| 4.4| ... | 53,200| 8,000| |
Spain | 157,000|1917| 11.4|20,000| ... | 25,000|105,000| 7,000
Sweden | 2,100|1915| 0.1| 1,100| ... | ... | ... | 1,000
Germany | 200,000|1913| 14.5| ... | ... | ... | ... |200,000
Austria- | | | | | | | |
Hungary | 26,600|1913| 1.9|26,600| | | |
+---------+----+-----+------+-------+-------+-------+-------
Total |1,371,900| ...|100.0| |665,900|235,100|175,000|210,200
+---------+----+-----+------+-------+-------+-------+-------
Per cent. | | | | | | | |
of world | | | | | | | |
produc- | | | | | | | |
tion. | | |100.0| | 48.6 | 17.2 | 12.7 | 16.3
----------+---------+----+-----+------+-------+-------+-------+-------

=United States.=--During the war the United States demonstrated
that its lead-ore deposits were capable of a production greatly in
excess of the normal. That the increase was not greater was chiefly
because of insufficient incentive in the market price of lead, which
did not attain the early inflation of many of the other metals; and
later, when the price was right, was restricted by lack of refining
capacity. The existing capacity was at times not fully utilized because
of the congestion of railway traffic. The lead-ore deposits in the
United States have large possibilities, but with the exception of the
disseminated lead deposits of southeastern Missouri the developed ore
reserves will supply production for only a few years. Control of the
mines in the United States is vested almost exclusively in Americans
or American companies, some of the latter, however, having foreign
stockholders, chiefly British or Canadian.

The United States imports lead ores, to a small percentage of its
total production, from Mexico, Canada, South America and Africa. The
Mexican ore is largely imported to meet the especial needs of the El
Paso lead smelter, and not because of lack of smelting capacity in
Mexico. The smelting capacity of the United States has always been
in excess of the actual production of ore and is now very greatly in
excess of the normal production. The ownership of most of the important
smelters has always been vested in American capital, and as a result
of the activity of the Alien Property Custodian all of them are now
owned and controlled by American citizens. A considerable amount of
lead bullion is imported, chiefly from Mexico, for refining. Most
of this is re-exported. United States capital through ownership of
smelters controls the greater part of the pig lead produced in Mexico
and Peru. The importation of ore and bullion for refining from Canada
is restricted by the government bounty on lead smelted and refined in
Canada. United States capital also controls a considerable percentage
of the mines of Mexico and has some interest in the Burma Mines
Corporation, and the Irtysh Corporation.

Notwithstanding the enlarged smelting capacity and the possibilities
of production from American mines, it is not expected that there
will be any considerable export of domestic lead after the period of
readjustment following the World War.

=British Empire.=--The countries of the British Empire in the order
of the importance of their lead output in 1913 are Australia, British
Isles, Canada, Burma, and Egypt.

British capital controls the mines and smelters of the British Isles,
Canada, Australia, Burma, and the Altai Mountains in Siberia, and, by
ownership of mines and smelters, some 25,000 tons of lead annually from
Spain and over 70 per cent. of the production of Italy. By contracts
for desilverization and marketing it has controlled the greater part of
the Spanish output and part of the production of Greece. It is reported
also to control small tonnages of ore from Peru and Chile. In view of
the recent increase of refining capacity in Spain by the Penarroya
company (French), and the organization of all French interests into
the Société Minerais et Metaux, future control by English capital of
Spanish output above the 25,000 tons produced by the English smelter
is doubtful, although it has been reported that the Penarroya company
had agreed to market its lead through the new Metal Bank of London.
Prior to the war much base bullion from Spain, Belgium, and Germany was
imported and desilverized, and in large part re-exported.

The ore production of the British Empire is about 25 per cent. greater
than its consumption, but insufficient smelting capacity has caused
dependence on foreign-smelted lead. The smelting capacity has been
increased, and the additional capacity contemplated will make the total
equal the consumption. The empire can be made independent of the rest
of the world should the policy of “Imperial preference” be adopted.

All the large interests in the lead industry of the British Empire
have shown during the war period a strong tendency to co-operate and
organize for mutual protection and benefit. A culmination of this
movement is apparently the formation of the British Metals Corporation,
intended to vest the marketing control of the production of the whole
British Empire in one organization under governmental auspices.

_Australia._--The Australian production of lead ore and concentrates,
derived chiefly from New South Wales, makes Australia rank second in
world production of lead ores. In 1913 little more than half the output
was exported to Europe for smelting, the remainder being smelted at
Cockle Creek and Port Pirie. The pig lead produced, less a small local
consumption, was also exported.

Australian mines have always been owned by British and Australian
capital. Prior to the war the marketing of concentrates and of all lead
bullion exported was controlled by the Australian Metal Co., affiliated
with the German metal “Trio” headed by the Metallgesellschaft. During
the war, however, the governments of Great Britain and Australia
annulled the long-time ore- and metal-purchasing contracts, and the ore
producers and smelters have organized for mutual protection and to keep
the industry permanently under exclusive British control. The capacity
of the Port Pirie reduction works has been increased by capital
contributed jointly by the principal mining companies, and the plant is
now the largest lead smelter in the world.

_British Isles._--The small output of lead ore in Great Britain is
obtained from a few scattered deposits of little importance. Some ore
is imported and smelted with the domestic production. The consumption
of the British Isles is so large that very large imports of pig lead
are necessary, amounting to 14 per cent. of the world’s production.
All of the mines and smelters of the British Isles are owned and
controlled, so far as known, by British capital.

_Canada._--With the assistance, through bounties, of the Canadian
government, the Trail smelter has become firmly established and is the
only important lead producer of Canada. It handles most of the British
Columbia output of ores, which otherwise would have to go to the United
States for reduction. The Canadian consumption is, however, about
one-third greater than the production.

_Burma._--Although the production of ore and pig lead in the Northern
Shan States by the Burma Mines Corporation was in 1913 an insignificant
part of the world’s output, the company has developed its deposits so
as to be capable of a very much greater yield, which may amount in the
near future to 75,000 tons annually. This company is controlled by
British with probably some American capital.

_Egypt._--The small ore production of Egypt is exported for smelting
and is controlled by French capital.

=Germany.=--Germany, a large producer of lead ores, imported in 1913
for smelting nearly 10 per cent. of the world’s output and in addition
imported a considerable amount of pig lead, being the second largest
consumer of lead in the world. Should Germany lose Upper Silesia, which
produced nearly half the domestic ores, it will be still more dependent
on imports to supply its smelters. Prior to the war the German lead
industry was closely organized, much of the lead mining and smelting
being conducted by departments of the state governments, although some
of the largest concerns were private corporations. The German metal
“Trio” headed by the Metallgesellschaft through the International
Sales Association controlled directly about one-half the European
production, comprising in this so-called Lead Convention, besides the
German concerns, most of the Spanish and Belgian producers, most of the
lead exported from the United States and Mexico, and the pig lead and
concentrates exported from Australia. This system of control outside of
Germany has now been permanently destroyed, and the magnitude and the
organization of the German lead industry in the near future cannot be
anticipated.

=France.=--In France the output of lead ore is small and is controlled,
with probably one exception, by French capital. Some ores are imported
for smelting, Tunis and Algeria being capable of supplying even more.
To provide for the large consumption, France ranking fourth among
lead-consuming countries, there is imported in the form of pig lead
some 7 per cent. of the world’s output. Recently smelting capacity has
been increased. French capital controls more than half the production
of Belgium through ownership of smelters, and through ownership of
mines and smelters controls more than half the production of Spain
and most, if not all, of the output of Greece. It also controls the
ore production of Egypt and most of the ores produced in Algeria and
Tunis. Under government auspices a strong organization of all the
metal-producing companies controlled by French capital in France
and foreign countries has recently been effected under the name of
the Société Minerais et Metaux, which controls the sale of all the
production of its members, as well as acting as a purchasing agent for
them.

=Belgium.=--Belgium produces no ores but smelts about 4¹⁄₂ per cent.
of the world’s output, nearly the whole of which is consumed within
her borders. A little less than half of this production is controlled
by Belgian capital, the remainder by French interests. Belgian capital
is also interested to a minor extent in Spain, Algeria, the Caucasus
Mountains and Tunis. It is believed that a part of the Australian
concentrates may be allotted to Belgium for smelting.

=Italy.=--The Italian ore production, amounting to about 2 per cent. of
the world’s total, is smelted in that country. The product is consumed,
together with about 50 per cent. more, imported as pig lead. More than
three-fourths of the domestic output is controlled by English capital;
nearly all the remainder is controlled by Italian capital, but other
English, French and Belgian companies produce insignificant amounts of
ore.

=Austria-Hungary.=--The Austro-Hungarian Empire produced and smelted
ores to the amount of about 2 per cent. of the world’s output in 1913,
and consumed this with about 50 per cent. more metal imported in the
form of pig lead. The several lead-producing districts and smelters,
some of which belong to the states of Austria and Hungary, with the
partition of the empire fall within three or more distinct political
jurisdictions, the lead production of none of which will be of
importance. One of the important lead smelters is at Fiume.

=Spain.=--Spain ranks third in _content_ of ores produced and second
in smelter production. The domestic consumption being negligible, all
of the lead is exported. Prior to the war most of the production went
to England to be desilverized. During the war, however, the refining
capacity of Spain was greatly increased, and it now seems likely that
any silver lead which the domestic plants can not take care of will
be shipped to France for desilverization. More than half the Spanish
production is controlled by French capital, and to a minor degree by
Belgian and German interests.

=Japan.=--Japanese lead-ore resources are meagre. The output of lead
ore and pig lead in 1913 was about 25 per cent. of the domestic
consumption. Since then ores and concentrates have been imported from
China, Formosa, Korea, Siberia, and Australia, but importation of pig
lead has still been necessary. The Japanese are endeavoring to secure
control of ore deposits in China and Siberia, and supply the raw
material for the increase of their domestic smelting and manufacturing
industries. It is probable, however, that Japan will be dependent for
many years on imports from other sources for most of the lead consumed.

SUMMARY

The chief uses of lead are as metal and in the form of white lead or
basic carbonate, as a pigment. Metallic lead is used for water pipe,
covering for electrical cables, lining acid chambers and vats, and for
shot, bullets and shrapnel. Alloys with various other metals are used
in type, bearings, and fuses. The red and orange oxides are used for
pigments. The largest single form of consumption is white lead.

Lead and zinc ores are commonly associated and are widely distributed
over the world. Galena is the chief lead mineral, the other ore
minerals, cerussite and anglesite, being derived from it by oxidation.
Galena is a persistent mineral, being found in nearly all types of
ore deposits. The countries producing the most ore are, in order of
importance, United States, Australia, Spain, Germany, and Mexico.
Districts of major importance are Broken Hill, New South Wales;
southeastern Spain; southeastern Missouri; and Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.

The developments in selective oil flotation, by which the detrimental
zinc content is eliminated from complex ores and made an asset,
constitute the greatest recent advance in the dressing of lead ores.
Electrolytic refining is the greatest recent advance in the metallurgy
of lead.

The readiness with which lead is reduced from its ores and its utility
as a collector of the precious metals in smelting have resulted in a
wide distribution of reduction plants. Nevertheless a large percentage
of the world’s output of ores is transported from the countries of
origin to others, for reduction near the market and where skilled labor
and fuel are more abundant and cheaper.

The countries of largest smelter production are, in order, United
States, Spain, Germany and Australia; those of much less importance are
Mexico, Belgium, Great Britain, France, Austria-Hungary, Italy, Greece,
Canada and, recently, Burma. Other countries are of little importance.

The countries of major consumption are, in order, United States,
Germany, Great Britain, and France. The United States produces its own
requirements, but the other three countries import ores for smelting
and also pig lead in large quantity. Australia and northern Africa have
supplied the bulk of the ores, and Spain, Australia, and Mexico most of
the pig lead. This is the situation at last analysis, the actual trade
movement being, of course, much more complex.

The political control of the world’s lead production, in terms of the
lead content of ores, in 1913 was as follows: United States, 36.0 per
cent.; British Empire, 23.9 per cent.; Spain, 6.4 per cent.; Germany,
5.9 per cent.; Mexico, 5.1 per cent.; and France, 4.0 per cent. Three
powers thus control 76 per cent. of the production.

The ownership of mines is important chiefly as determining the
distribution of ores to smelters. Ore-purchasing contracts may modify
or annul the effect of political jurisdiction and mine ownership. The
ownership or control of reduction plants has been the most effective
basis for commercial control of the industry. In the United States the
American Smelting & Refining Co. dominates the market, but controls
directly only one-third of the output. In Spain the French company of
Penarroya controls more than half the production. In Germany the “Trio”
headed by the Metallgesellschaft controlled the domestic industry prior
to the war, and through the “Lead Convention” extended its domination
to half the European output and most of the exports of Australia,
Mexico, and the United States. This control was, however, never
absolute. In Australia at present the Broken Hill Associated Smelters
controls the marketing of most of the pig lead exported.

Joint political and commercial control has been established in the
British Empire and France. During the war, political jurisdiction was
quite generally invoked to modify or eliminate commercial control,
particularly with regard to alien-enemy interests.

The various combinations of British companies to insure British control
of the resources of the empire, particularly of Australia and Burma,
culminated in the formation of the British Metals Corporation for the
sale of the output. A representative of the Imperial Treasury will be
on the board of directors and either the Metal Bank of London or the
Chemical & Metallurgical Bank may finance its operation, unless it
absorbs their functions. This organization is doubtless intended to
take the place of the Metallgesellschaft as the dominant factor in the
lead industry of the world. It will have much influence, as British
capital controls all the production of the British Isles, Australia,
Burma, Canada, and normally Siberia, most of that of Italy, part of
that of Spain and Mexico, and perhaps of Greece. Probably the British
Isles will not in the future desilverize as much foreign lead as
formerly, so that the importance of this basis of commercial control
will be greatly decreased.

The Société Minerais et Metaux, comprising all producers controlled by
French capital, under government auspices is selling and purchasing
agent for its members, and controls all the French and most of the
Grecian production, more than half of that of Spain and Belgium,
besides the ores of northern Africa and of Egypt.

Since the elimination of alien-enemy holdings by the Alien Property
Custodian, United States capital controls substantially all the
domestic production and nearly all that of Mexico, besides some ores
imported from Mexico, Canada, and South America. Notwithstanding large
ore reserves and reduction capacity, the United States is expected,
after the period of readjustment, to supply its domestic needs, but to
export little lead, as was the case prior to the war.

The position of Germany will depend largely upon arrangements for
foreign ore supply. Some Mexican ore production may still be under
German control. Belgium is wholly dependent on foreign ore, which
presumably will be obtained largely from Australia; and with more than
half her production controlled by French capital, she will be under
British and French domination; but she consumes most of her smelter
output. Italy consumes 50 per cent. more than the domestic production,
which is chiefly controlled by English capital. None of the states
formed by the disintegration of the Austro-Hungarian Empire will be of
importance in the lead industry.

The commercial control of the smelter production of lead, calculated
from the latest statistics available, is approximately as follows:
United States, 48.6 per cent.; British Empire, 17.2 per cent.; Germany,
15.3 per cent.; and France, 12.7 per cent.; or a total for the four
powers of 93.8 per cent. of the pig-lead output of the world.

CHAPTER XVI

ZINC

BY FREDERICK B. HYDER

USES OF ZINC

Metallic zinc, or spelter, as the commercial metal is often known
in the trade, is chiefly used in the form of rolled sheets; in
galvanizing; in alloys forming brass and bronze; and in the
desilverization of lead bullion. Rolled sheets are used for roofs,
tanks, conduits, and protective linings. Iron and steel objects are
dipped into baths of molten spelter and coated with the metal or
galvanized, being thereby protected from oxidizing agencies. Other
methods of applying this protective coating are also in use.

Zinc and copper unite in all proportions, forming alloys known as brass
which are of widespread industrial application. There is only one
definite alloy; it corresponds approximately to CuZn₂, contains 33 per
cent. copper and 67 per cent. zinc, is hard and brittle and of little
practical value. All other brasses may be considered as solid solutions
of this definite alloy in an excess of one of its constituents. Brasses
in use vary in zinc content from 20 to 85 per cent. and differ greatly
in their properties according to the composition. Alloys of zinc and
aluminum have valuable properties, especially those containing 25 to
35 per cent. zinc. Other alloys used contain, besides copper and zinc,
either lead, tin or nickel.

The Parkes process of desilverizing lead bullion has superseded the
older Pattinson and cupellation process, except where bismuth is
present, owing to the avidity with which zinc robs the bullion of gold,
silver, copper and tellurium. This purification may be made as perfect
as desired or only to a commercially profitable point, generally being
brought down to a content of one-half ounce of silver per ton of lead.

Among the miscellaneous uses of zinc are these: ornamental castings;
in galvanic batteries; in photo-engraving; in plates hung in boilers
to prevent formation of scale; precipitation of gold in the cyanide
process; in the form of powder, as a reducing agent in organic
chemistry, especially in the reduction of indigo-blue and in a paint
for structural steel. Zinc is also used in the form of numerous salts,
such as the chloride as a wood preservative, and the sulphate, employed
in medicine, dyeing and glue manufacture.

Zinc oxide, produced both from the metal and from ores, is used as
a pigment both in combination with white lead and barytes, and as a
competitor of them. Considerable amounts of oxide are also used in the
rubber manufacturing industry. Lithopone (an intimate mixture, obtained
by chemical precipitation of zinc sulphide and barium sulphate) is of
growing importance as a pigment.

All the chief uses of zinc, comprising galvanizing, rolled sheets,
brass-making and the desilverization of lead bullion, may be considered
essential. Brass belongs with steel in the category of indispensable
materials of modern industry. No satisfactory substitute as regards
both physical qualities and cost is available for many important parts
of machinery and for manufacturing purposes. Its wide use depends on
a number of qualities. The excellent sharp castings made from certain
brasses are readily machined or otherwise finished and electro-plated
if desired. The electrical conductivity of brass is good. Certain
brasses are easily rolled into sheets and cut and stamped in desired
shapes. Lubricated surfaces of steel on brass make satisfactory and
durable bearings.

The other large uses of zinc depend on its resistance to oxidation and
on the possibility of rolling it into fairly thin sheets. In both these
qualities, however, it is surpassed by other metals, notably nickel and
tin. Alloyed with lead it may be rolled into a substitute for tin-foil.
It is in some cases a fairly satisfactory, cheap substitute for metals
of higher quality. In times of scarcity or high prices, substitution of
metals of inferior quality is feasible, and in many cases zinc may be
temporarily dispensed with altogether. Its field is therefore largely
fixed by commercial conditions of supply and price, which determine
broadly the total consumption and especially the percentages devoted
to the various uses. It may be assumed, however, that the percentages
for the domestic consumption in the United States in 1910 represent
approximately those of normal peace times. In that year, of the total
consumption, 60 per cent. was used in galvanizing; 20 per cent. in
brass-making; 11 per cent. in rolled sheets; and 1 per cent. in lead
desilverization; leaving 8 per cent. for miscellaneous uses. During the
war the percentage used in galvanizing was greatly reduced and that
used for brass-making much increased. The use of rolled sheets will
increase.

A large part of the European production in normal times is rolled into
sheets used chiefly for roofing.

CHANGES IN PRACTICE

In the extraction of zinc from its ores the most important changes in
practice during recent years have been adaptations of retort smelting
for the purpose of utilizing zinc concentrates from complex ores,
the increased production of zinc oxide and lithopone through the
application of volatilization methods to the re-treatment of retort
residues and base ores, and the electrolytic and electro-thermic
processes of extraction of the metal.

The most revolutionary advance has been the development of the oil
flotation, the electro-magnetic, and electro-static processes for the
concentration of ores. These processes are being widely introduced and
in connection with electrolytic reduction are particularly adapted to
the production of spelter of the highest quality from complex ores. As
the electrolytic and electro-thermic processes find their field only
where power is relatively cheap, the tendency is to put installations
where hydro-electric power is available, effecting a redistribution of
zinc-smelting centers.

GEOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION

Zinc and lead are commonly associated in mineral deposits, sometimes
intimately mixed, sometimes so segregated that one metal predominates,
but ores of one are seldom free entirely from the other. The geological
and geographical distribution of the two metals is therefore nearly
identical.

The sulphide ores, chiefly sphalerite or blende, are the most
important, but in the oxidized zone they are often altered
to carbonates--smithsonite, calamine and hydrozincite. The
oxides--franklinite, willemite and zincite--are important in only one
district in New Jersey. The carbonates, although they carry a low
percentage of zinc, often occur in concentrated ore bodies, and yield
readily to metallurgical treatment. Therefore, calamine-smithsonite
ores form a large proportion of the production of many important
districts, but blende will hereafter be of increasing importance in the
world production.

Zinc ores occur in deposits of several distinct genetic types. In the
order of their importance they are:

(_a_) Deposits formed in sedimentary rocks, without apparent connection
with igneous rocks, as bedded replacements usually of limestones and
dolomites. The ores of this type usually contain lead (galena) and iron
(pyrite or marcasite) minerals, often those of manganese and cadmium,
sometimes those of arsenic, cobalt and nickel, but seldom gold, silver,
copper, or antimony. Barite and fluorite are sometimes present.

The deposits of this type are of world-wide distribution. Their greater
purity and the simplicity of the treatment necessary, particularly of
the ores in their oxidized zones, have caused them to be exploited
first and most extensively and to be until recently the dominant factor
in the world production of zinc. To this type belong the deposits of
the Mississippi Valley and Silesia, which together produced 34 per
cent. of the world’s output in 1913.

(_b_) Veins associated with igneous rocks and disseminated sulphide
replacements of igneous rock. In this group come the deposits of Butte,
Leadville, and the Coeur d’Alene, and the disseminated deposits of the
Bawdwin (Burma Mines Co.), Ridder (Siberia) and Salmon River (B.C.).
These ores are usually complex, comprising minerals of zinc, lead,
copper, iron, gold and silver, and often arsenic, antimony and other
metals. In one group, the silver-lead deposits, zinc seems a minor
factor, but with depth replaces lead as the predominant metal. Deposits
of these complex ores have in recent years become important sources
of zinc through recognition of the zinc ores in their oxidized zones,
through zinc becoming the dominant metal with increasing depth at many
mines, and especially through improvements in methods of concentrating
complex ores and extracting metal from the concentrates. Ores of this
type will be of increasing importance in the future because of their
world-wide distribution.

(_c_) Igneous metamorphic deposits containing franklinite, willemite,
zincite, a little blende, and a gangue of calcite, rhodonite,
garnet, pyroxene, hornblende, magnetite and tremolite. This type
is characteristic of the Franklin and Adirondack deposits of the
northeastern metallographic province of the United States and is also
found at Magdalena and Hanover, New Mexico and the Horn Silver mine, in
Utah.

(_d_) Metamorphosed deposits. Originally these may have been of any of
the preceding types but are now disguised by regional metamorphism.
The best example is the important deposit of Ammeberg, Sweden. Blende
there occurs disseminated in bands in gneissoid granulite, which also
contains bands of disseminated pyrrhotite and arsenopyrite.

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION

The chief zinc ore deposits of the world are in the countries listed in
the table below; the order of the countries is that of their importance
in the industry in 1913, as nearly as can be estimated from incomplete
data.

The three major metallographic provinces of the world as indicated by
present exploitation are those of Broken Hill, N.S.W., Silesia, and the
Mississippi Valley.

The condition of the zinc industry in the principal countries, in 1913,
is shown in Table 59.

=United States.=--The zinc deposits of the United States may be
assigned to three metallographic provinces, which in the order of their
present importance are: the Mississippi Valley province; the Western
province; and the Northeastern province.

Judged by present knowledge, the _Mississippi Valley province_ is
one of the three major zinc-bearing metallographic provinces of the
world. It occupies an area underlain with slightly disturbed Paleozoic
limestone, ranging from Ordovician to Lower Carboniferous in age, that
comprises most of the great mid-continental valley of the Mississippi
in the states of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Illinois,
Kentucky, Wisconsin, Iowa, also Tennessee and the western part of
Virginia. Igneous rocks are generally absent. There are three principal
subprovinces: the Ozark province, comprising Missouri, Oklahoma,
Kansas, Arkansas; the upper Mississippi valley, comprising Wisconsin,
Northern Illinois, and Iowa; and the regions of Tennessee and Virginia.

TABLE 58.--CHIEF ZINC-ORE DEPOSITS OF THE WORLD

-----------+---------------------------------+------------------
Approximate| | Percentage of
order | Country |world’s production
| | in 1913
-----------+---------------------------------+------------------
1 |United States | 35.0
2 |Germany | 25.0
3 |Australia | 15.0
4 |Italy | 5.0
5 |Algeria | 3.0
6 |Japan | 2.0
7 |Spain | 2.0
8 |Russia (including Russian Poland)| 2.0
9 |France | 1.5
10 |Greece | 1.0
11 |Sweden | 1.0
12 |Mexico | 1.0
13 |Austria | 1.0
14 |Tunis | 1.0
15 |Indo-China (Tonkin) |
16 |Great Britain |
17 |China |
18 |Bolivia |
19 |Canada |
20 |India (Burma) |
21 |Egypt |
22 |South Africa |
23 |Peru |
-----------+---------------------------------+------------------

In the Ozark subprovinces the Joplin district is most important.
The ores lie at three horizons in flat-lying lower Carboniferous
limestones. In the upper horizon, below the surface, the ore lies in
clayey chert breccias, and galena predominates. The middle horizon,
or “sheet ground,” carries mixed galena and blende, which cements
brecciated chert. The ore is low grade, the average recovery of zinc
being 1.9 per cent. This horizon has been the most important source of
ore. The third and lowest horizon, as yet little exploited, contains
disseminated ores. Thirty mills were busy in the Joplin district in
1918. The Athletic Mining & Smelting Co. was the largest producer,
operating the Athletic mine, at Duenweg, the Bertha A., at Webb City,
and Mutual mine, at Oronogo. Miami Zinc Syndicate, affiliated with the
Butte & Superior and American Zinc, Lead & Smelting Co.; the Commerce
Mining & Royalty Co.; the Century Zinc Co.; and the Tri-State Mining
Co., are large operators. Much of the production is by lessees and
small operators.

TABLE 59.--ZINC INDUSTRY IN 1913

------------------------+-------------------------------------++
| ||
| Available zinc in ore ++
| (short tons) ||
+---------+---------+--------+--------++
| | | | ||
Country | Produced| Smelted |Exported|Imported||
------------------------+---------+---------+--------+--------++
United States | 305,500| 310,500| 8,500 | 13,500||
| | | | ||
Australasia | 206,000| 4,000| 202,000| ... ||
British Isles | 50,000| 65,000| ... | 15,000||
Canada | 24,000| ... | 24,000| ... ||
Burma, Indo China, etc. | 18,000| ... | 18,000| ... ||
France and French Africa| 69,000| 63,000| 6,000| ... ||
Italy | 40,000| ... | 40,000| ... ||
Belgium | 11,000| 218,000| ... | 207,000||
China | 5,000| 2,500| 2,500| ... ||
Greece | 12,000| ... | 12,000| ||
Japan | 10,000| 8,000| 2,000| ... ||
Russia | 35,000| 13,000| 22,000| ... ||
Holland | ... | 27,000| ... | 27,000||
Mexico | 30,000| ... | 30,000| ||
Norway | 15,000| 10,000| 5,000| ... ||
Spain | 50,000| 15,000| 35,000| ... ||
Sweden | 10,000| 6,000| 4,000| ... ||
Austria-Hungary | 24,000| 24,000| ... | ... ||
Germany | 163,500| 312,000| ... | 148,500||
Other | ... | ... | ... | ... ||
+---------+---------+--------+--------++
Total |1,078,000|1,078,000| 411,000| 411,000||
------------------------+---------+---------+--------+--------++
------------------------++-------------------------------------------
|| Spelter (short tons)
++-----------------+-------+-------+---------
|| Produced | | |
++---------+-------+ | To be | Annual
|| | Sec- | For | im- | con-
Country || Primary | ondary| export| ported| sumption
------------------------++---------+-------+-------+-------+---------
United States || 310,500| 50,000| 21,000| | 339,500
|| | | | |
Australasia || 4,000| ... | ... | ... | 4,000
British Isles || 65,000| 6,000| ... |143,500| 214,500
Canada || ... | ... | ... | 20,000| 20,000
Burma, Indo China, etc. || | | | |
France and French Africa|| 63,000| 20,500| ... | 5,500| 89,000
Italy || ... | ... | ... | 12,000| 12,000
Belgium || 218,000| 3,500| 7,500| ... | 84,000
China || 2,500| ... | ... | 7,500| 10,000
Greece || | | | |
Japan || 8,000| ... | ... | 4,000| 12,000
Russia || 13,000| ... | ... | 23,500| 36,500
Holland || 27,000| 3,000 | 25,500| ... | 4,500
Mexico || | | | |
Norway || 10,000| ... | 10,000| |
Spain || 15,000| ... | 8,500| ... | 6,500
Sweden || 6,000| ... | 6,000| ... |
Austria-Hungary || 24,000| 3,000| ... | 17,500| 44,500
Germany || 312,000| 18,500| 75,000| ... | 255,500
Other || ... | 1,500| ... | 45,000| 46,500
++---------+-------+-------+-------+---------
Total ||1,078,000|106,000|283,500|278,500|1,179,000
------------------------++---------+-------+-------+-------+---------

In Arkansas the ores are of similar character and mode of occurrence
and are found in the same formation and also in the Ordovician
limestone. The Lavender Mining & Milling Co. is the largest operator
and the production has been largely carbonate ores.

The Upper Mississippi region comprises deposits in nearly horizontal
limestones of Ordovician age. Three-fourths of the output of this
district is made by five companies: the Mineral Point Zinc Co., a
subsidiary of the New Jersey Zinc Co., with seven mines; the Vinegar
Hill Zinc Co., with six mines; the Wisconsin Zinc Co., a subsidiary of
the American Zinc, Lead & Smelting Co., with four mines; the Frontier
Mining Co., with five producing mines; and the Cleveland Mining Co.,
with two mines. Other important companies are Burr Mining Co., Block
House Mining Co., M. & A. Mining Co., B. M. & B. Mining Co., and Oliver
Mining Co., a subsidiary of the U. S. Steel Corporation. All of the
mines are equipped with milling plants. The production of the district
shows a steady growth.

The zinc deposits of southwest Virginia and northeastern Tennessee
occur as disseminated replacement breccia along crushed and faulted
zones in folded Cambro-Ordovician limestones, and also as oxidized
ores in clays residual from the weathering of the same limestones. The
gangue is calcite and dolomite. The American Zinc Co. is the largest
operator in Tennessee; it has a milling capacity of 3,000 tons daily
and zinc-blende ore reserves greater than 6,000,000 tons averaging
between 4 and 5 per cent. zinc, from which 60 per cent. zinc-blende
concentrates are made. This company is a subsidiary of the American
Zinc, Lead & Smelting Co.

The _Western province_ comprises most of the western states; it
extends north into British Columbia and south into Mexico. The chief
subprovinces are those of Leadville, Butte, and Coeur d’Alene.

The Leadville deposits are found in strata varying in age from Archean
to Cretaceous, which have been intruded by igneous rocks. The ores
are mainly replacements of limestone and occur in large masses.
This district first became of importance in zinc production upon
the recognition of smithsonite and calamine in the large masses of
oxidized ores. Of recent years sulphides form an increasing part of the
production, now coming largely from deeper levels. The ores carry gold,
silver, manganese, copper and sometimes bismuth. The United States
Smelting Refining & Mining Co., the Empire Zinc Co., a subsidiary of
the New Jersey Zinc Co.; the Western Mining Co., the Downtown Mines
Co., the Wellington Mines Co., at Breckenridge; and the Mary Murphy
mine, at Chalk Creek, are the largest operators in this region.

The Butte ores occur as veins in igneous rocks. The area in which zinc
ores predominate surrounds that of important copper veins on three
sides. On the border of the two areas, zinc-silver ores predominate in
the upper levels and copper in the deeper workings. Many of the present
zinc mines were formerly worked for silver. These complex zinc ores
have been made available by the successful application of oil flotation
and electrolytic deposition. The Black Rock mine of the Butte &
Superior Mining Co., the Elm Orlu of W. A. Clark & Son, the Alice, and
several other mines of the Anaconda Copper Mining Co., and the North
Butte Mining Co. are among the most important producers. The twelve
mines yielding zinc in 1915 together have immense reserves. The ores
all carry lead and silver and some pyrite, and many contain copper and
gold.

The Coeur d’Alene subprovince comprises a number of mining districts in
Idaho, at least five being zinc producers. The Interstate-Callahan, in
the Beaver district, is the largest zinc mine in the state. The ore is
remarkable for the small percentage of minerals other than sphalerite,
averaging 28 per cent. zinc.

The _Northeastern province_ comprises important deposits at Franklin,
New Jersey, and in the Adirondack Mountains in New York, and others
of minor importance in the New England states. It is characterized
by deposits of igneous metamorphic origin in Pre-Cambrian limestone.
The Franklin deposits, in New Jersey, consist chiefly of franklinite,
willemite and zincite in a gangue of calcite, rhodonite, garnet,
pyroxene, magnetite and hornblende. Willemite is separated magnetically
from these ores and used to produce a very high-grade spelter free from
lead and cadmium and therefore in great demand for certain purposes.
The other classes of ore are smelted for the production of zinc white
and spiegeleisen. These mines, owned and operated by the New Jersey
Zinc Co., have produced more than 1,500,000 tons of zinc in the form of
spelter and zinc oxide. The Edwards-Balmat district, in St. Lawrence
County, New York, comprises an area two to three miles wide and fifteen
miles long, of Pre-Cambrian limestone. The ore occurs in lenses and is
a mixture of sphalerite, pyrite and a little galena with a gangue of
dolomite. Separation is effected by magnetic tables. The typical ore
contains: sphalerite, 25.5 per cent.; galena, 1.43 per cent.; pyrite,
12.4 per cent.; barite, 3.9 per cent. The ore reserves of the Northern
Ore Co., the largest operator, are known to exceed one million tons.

=Germany.=--Imperial Germany comprised most of one metallographic
province of major importance, Silesia, and other districts ranking as
follows: Upper Silesia; Rhenish Prussia; Westphalia; Saxony; Hanover;
and Nassau.

The major part of the mineral province of Upper Silesia lay within
the boundaries of Germany in 1914. Once it was part of the Kingdom
of Poland, except for portions included in the old empires of Russia
and Austria. The pre-war production of zinc ores from Russian Poland
was entirely from this metallographic province. The deposits,
which contain lead and zinc together, occur in Triassic formation
overlying Carboniferous rocks that carry important seams of coal. This
juxtaposition of ore and fuel has furnished an ideal basis for the
great smelting industry that has been developed, and facilitates the
smelting of low-grade ores. The ores are said to average 17 per cent.
zinc and 5 per cent. lead. They come from two ore horizons. The lower
is characterized by blende, with a little galena and marcasite; the
upper or lead horizon comprises a very persistent sheet of galena 0.05
to 0.30 meters thick, which generally is underlain by red calamine. The
blende deposits are extensive and will be productive for a long time.

In Rhenish Prussia, zinc ore (smithsonite) deposits are found in strata
of Devonian age. These deposits are approaching exhaustion. The chief
zinc deposits of Westphalia are in Devonian strata. The historic mines
at Freiberg (Erzgebirge), in Saxony, produce a small quantity of blende
from the concentration of galena ores. The blende carries considerable
iron and silver and some of it contains traces of tin. These mines are
controlled by the Saxon government.

A considerable quantity of blende ore is concentrated as a by-product
in the dressing of the lead ore of the Upper Harz, Hanover. The ore of
Rammelsberg, in the Lower Harz, occurs in a bed interstratified with
lower Devonian slates and sandstones; it is an intimate mixture of
blende, galena, pyrite, chalcopyrite, and barite and some calcite and
quartz. Zinc is produced as a by-product of lead ores in the valley
of Lahn (Nassau), where a series of strong veins are found in Lower
Devonian strata.

=Australia.=--The zinc resources of the Commonwealth of Australia are
chiefly in New South Wales and Tasmania. The former has been the chief
source of zinc in the past, but the Tasmania deposits are now being
rapidly developed and equipped for production.

The most important source of zinc ore in _New South Wales_ is the great
Broken Hill lode, where operations began in 1884. The country rock
comprises crystalline schists and gneisses. Between the oxidized and
primary sulphide ores was a thin zone of secondary sulphides. The early
operations in the district were for lead, and immense dumps accumulated
of zinc-bearing ores sorted out or of zinc-bearing tailings from the
concentration of the lead ores. In 1903 these dumps were estimated
at 5,687,400 tons carrying 18.6 per cent. zinc. With the development
of demand for zinc sulphide ores and of oil flotation methods of
separation and concentration these dumps became important sources
of zinc concentrates, but many of them are approaching exhaustion.
The sulphide ores are a close mixture of galena and zinc blende,
carrying silver. There are two classes of these ores, distinguished as
silicate-gangue ore, and calcite-gangue ore. The silicate gangue ore
bodies carry rhodonite, garnet and quartz and are richer in zinc and
silver than those of calcite gangue.

Eight mining companies are now at work. In the order of the importance
of their output and ore reserves, these companies are: Broken
Hill South Silver Mining Co.; Broken Hill North Mining Co.; Zinc
Corporation; Sulphide Corporation; British Broken Hill Proprietary Co.;
Broken Hill Proprietary Co., Block 10; and Broken Hill Proprietary
Co., Block 14. The estimated ore reserves of all the mines approximate
12,000,000 tons.

The Broken Hill South Silver Mining Co. has ore reserves estimated
at 3,350,000 tons, and is the largest producer. Broken Hill North,
Amalgamated Zinc (de Bavay), Zinc Corporation, and Barrier South
Ltd. are controlled by Govett and associates, a group of Australian
capitalists. The Amalgamated Zinc Co. in 1913 treated 498,289 tons of
tailings, obtaining 140,098 tons zinc concentrates, carrying zinc, 48.9
per cent.; also lead concentrates amounting to 1,584 tons, carrying
57.1 per cent. lead. The Zinc Corporation, a company formed by Bewick,
Moreing Co., has ore reserves estimated at 1,504,211 tons, averaging
14.8 per cent. lead, 9.2 per cent. zinc, and 2.5 ounces of silver per
ton. The mine of the Broken Hill Proprietary Co. is, according to last
reports, nearly exhausted.

The principal deposits of Tasmania are those of the Primrose, Hercules,
and Tasmania Copper Mines, all owned by the Mount Reed Rosebery
Co., affiliated with the Mount Lyell Mining & Railway Co. The state
geological staff estimates reserves at 1,272,500 tons averaging 29.79
per cent. zinc, 8.89 per cent. lead, 12.16 ounces of silver and 0.17
ounces of gold per ton.

=Italy.=--The zinc production of Italy is derived from the Iglesias
district of Sardinia, and the Province of Bergamo. The Iglesias
district is in the southeastern part of the island of Sardinia. The
ores are oxidized and mostly worked by open pits. They are mined and
milled by two Italian companies, Societa di Monteponi, and the Societa
di Pertusola. The ores have usually been smelted in Germany, England or
Belgium. The Bergamo mines, in the Province of Lombardy, are worked by
the English Crown Spelter Co., which ships the ore to Swansea, Wales,
for smelting.

=Algeria.=--Algeria produced 82,256 tons of zinc ore in 1913. Of the
78,973 tons whose origin is known, 31 per cent. of the total was
extracted by Belgian companies and the remainder was produced by French
operators.

=Japan.=--The only important zinc-producing district in Japan is the
Province of Hida. The principal companies are the Osaka Zinc Mining
& Smelting Co., Takata & Co., the Rhuara Mining Co., and the Mitsui
Mining Co. The largest producer is the Kamioka Mine of the last named,
which produces annually about 10,000 tons. The Osaka Mining Co. also
produces from Korea (Chosen) about 15,000 tons of ore annually.

The annual smelting capacity in Japan, with all projected construction
completed, is estimated at 300,000 tons of zinc ore, whereas the
domestic output of ore is about 50,000 tons. The difference has been
imported chiefly from Siberia, China, Tonkin and Australia. In the
future it is expected that the foreign ores will come chiefly from
China and Siberia. The domestic spelter production has reached about
60,000 tons annually and the domestic consumption 29,000 tons.

=Spain.=--Zinc ores are produced in the provinces of Santander, Murcia,
Tereul, Biscay and Guipuzcoa. The only district of importance is that
of Santander, where there is a zinc smelter owned by the Compagnie
Royale Asturienne des Mines (French). Some of the ore is smelted in
France. Most of the Spanish ores are calamine and occur almost without
exception in limestone. Eighty per cent. of the Spanish production
comes from Santander and Murcia. In the latter the mines are worked
primarily for lead.

=Russia.=--The zinc output of the Russian Empire was derived from
Russian Poland, eastern Siberia, the Altai Mountains in southwestern
Siberia, and the northern Caucasus Mountains. The Polish deposits
are part of the Silesian field. The ores are largely carbonates and
silicates. Some of the mines and plants were owned by the Russian
government, others apparently by French companies. In eastern
Siberia, the Tyuticha mine has a calamine orebody containing at least
200,000 tons averaging 48 per cent. zinc. Some ore has come from the
Ussurisk district. It is believed that the Mitsui Mining Co. has made
arrangements to ship ores from this district to Japan for treatment.

In the Altai Mountains of southwestern Siberia the Ridder Mining Co.,
controlled by the Irtysh Corporation, Ltd., of London, has developed
two large deposits on the same mineralized zone, with ore reserves
estimated in 1917 at over 3,500,000 tons. The possibilities of this
property are immense. The company has acquired the Ekibastus coal
fields, constructed about 165 miles of railroad and provided river
transport, thus bringing the ore and coal together at a smelting plant
having a capacity of 15,000 tons lead and 5,000 tons spelter annually.

In the northern Caucasus Mountains, the Sadon mine, belonging to the
Société d’Alagir (French), has been worked for a long time. The ores
from this mine are smelted locally.

=Other Countries.=--The zinc-ore production of _France_ comes from
several scattered districts. Of the 45,929 long tons reported in 1912,
nearly all came from six mines which are all controlled by French
capital with perhaps some Belgian participation.

The only important source of zinc in _Greece_ is the famous Laurium
deposit, which was worked in ancient times. The ancients, however,
rejected, as far as possible, the zinc ores. These deposits are now
controlled and operated by a French company, the Compagnie Française
des Mines de Laurium, which also has reopened the ancient workings of
Gebel Rosas, near the Red Sea, in Egypt.

The chief zinc mines of _Sweden_ are the Ammeberg, the Rylls Wytland
and the Sala. At the Sala immense piles of tailings made in centuries
of operation, containing quantities of zinc, can now be treated,
as well as zinciferous areas left in mining silver-lead ores. The
important Ammeberg deposit consists of bands and lenses of disseminated
blende in gneissoid granulite and is exploited by the Société de la
Vieille Montagne (Belgian).

The zinc production of _Mexico_ has come chiefly from the states of
Nuevo Leon, Chihuahua and Sonora. Various zinc deposits have been
worked in Nuevo Leon by German and American capital. Most of them are
within 50 miles of Monterrey. Zinc-producing districts are scattered
over the State of Chihuahua. In the Santa Eulalia district, El Potosi
Mining Co., controlled by Americans, works the mine of the same name,
which has carbonate ores to a depth of 1,700 feet. The Buena Tierra,
in the same district, is controlled by British capital. The principal
mines in the Parral district are owned by Americans and British
companies, including the American Smelters Securities Co., American
Zinc Extraction Co., and San Francisco Mines of Mexico, Ltd. (British).
The Carnegie Lead & Zinc Co. owns the largest zinc mine in Sonora,
located near Cananea. The Calumet & Arizona Co. and the Mexican Metal
Co. own zinc deposits in the Arizpe district. All of these companies
are American.

Zinc ores are produced in Austria in the provinces of Carinthia,
Styria, Carniole, Tyrol and Galicia. The Raibl and Schneeberg
mines of Carinthia are government owned, and the ores are smelted
at the government works at Cilli. Tyrolean ores were shipped to
Frankfort-on-Main and Aix-la-Chapelle. Styrian ores were shipped to
Silesia and Rhenish Prussia for smelting.

The considerable production of calamine with some blende from _Tunis_
is under French political and commercial control. The chief zinc ore
producers appear to be French companies, in general paying a royalty of
5 per cent. of the net proceeds to the government of Tunis. The total
production for 1916 was 12,544 tons.

Four districts of _Indo-China_ produce zinc ores with an aggregate
total annual output of about 46,000 tons.

The largest zinc mine in _Great Britain_ is the Nenthead, in
Cumberland, worked by the Société de la Vieille Montagne (Belgian). The
second largest producer is the Carshield mine, in Northumberland. With
the exception of the Nenthead mine all the important producers are, so
far as known, owned and operated by British capital.

The chief mine in _China_ is the Shui K’ou Shan, under control of the
Hunan Board of Mines. Prior to the war this mine was dominated by
German capital, which had provided machinery and shipped the product
to Europe. Japanese have sought diligently and with partial success to
secure control of this mine.

The chief zinc-mining district in _Bolivia_ is Huanchaca, the
production of which has recently decreased because of great quantities
of water entering the workings. The largest operator is the Compañia
Huanchaca de Bolivia, the capital and control of which is French. Its
zinc production is incidental, the principal metal produced being
silver.

The zinc production of _Canada_ is chiefly from British Columbia, but
a small amount is from Ontario and Quebec. The only production of any
moment is from the southern part of British Columbia, where the Slocan
district is of greatest importance. British, Canadian and American
capital are largely interested. In 1915, the mines of the Slocan
district were estimated by the management of the Trail smelter to be
capable of producing 10,000 to 15,000 tons of ore carrying 40 to 45 per
cent. zinc. Apparently this was in addition to the possible production
from the Sullivan mine, owned by the Consolidated Mining & Smelting
Co., Ltd. (Trail smelter), which had proved reserves of 3,500,000 tons
of galena-sphalerite ore. The principal mines of Ontario and Quebec
produced 580 tons of zinc, or one-thirtieth of the production of
Canada. These are operated at least in part by American capital, and
the ores are smelted by the Zinc Co., Ltd., owned by Americans.

The chief deposits of _India_ are those of the Bawdwin mines, located
in the Northern Shan States (Burma). There was estimated December 31,
1917, 4,033,000 tons lead-zinc ore assaying 24.7 oz. silver, 27.4 per
cent. lead, and 19.1 per cent. zinc. The essential constituents of the
ores are galena and sphalerite with a little pyrite and chalcopyrite.
The lead and zinc concentrates are available for the customary methods
of smelting. A zinc-distilling and sulphuric acid plant is being
constructed at Sakohi, with the aid of the Indian government, to treat
the table zinc concentrate. The company operates a lead smelter at
Nam-Tu, 11 miles from the mines. The Bawdwin deposits may be expected
to be an important factor in the world’s production of zinc in the
immediate future. They are owned by the Burma Mines, Ltd., an English
corporation of the R. Tilden Smith-Govett-Hoover interests, in which
some American capital is interested.

The only zinc deposit of note in _Egypt_ is the Gebel Rosas, operated
by the Compagnie Française de Laurium. This deposit is located near the
Red Sea and was worked in ancient times.

The only deposit of importance in _South Africa_ is the Rhodesia Broken
Hill. The large ore bodies are, so far as developed, almost wholly
oxidized. One ore body is estimated at 250,000 long tons, averaging 26
per cent. lead, 22¹⁄₂ per cent. zinc, and another at 300,000 long tons,
averaging 32 per cent. zinc, with little lead, but much iron oxide
and carbonate. They are controlled by British capital. Considerable
difficulty has been experienced in developing a commercial treatment.

In _Peru_ a French company, the Association Minière, has interests in
the Compagnie des Mines de Huaron.

DEVELOPMENTS AND CHANGES IN KNOWN GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION IN THE NEAR
FUTURE

So far as information is available no marked change in the rate of
production in the countries of _Europe_ and northern _Africa_ seems
probable. Most of the districts in those countries have been exploited
over a long period and have passed their zenith of production; many are
approaching exhaustion. The decrease in most of them will, however,
be gradual. The most important change in Europe probably will be the
transfer to Polish jurisdiction of the whole of the Silesian field,
making the new state of Poland, if established as proposed, the largest
single source of zinc ore in Europe.

In the _United States_, which will continue to be the largest producer
of zinc in the world, the greatest increase in relative importance may
be expected from the western metallographic province, particularly in
the northwest, in the Butte and Coeur d’Alene districts. The Leadville
district has already passed the zenith of production and has dropped to
second place after Butte, which is capable of still further increase.

In _Australia_ the Broken Hill district may be expected to yield about
450,000 tons of concentrates annually for some three years, after
which the output should drop to about 300,000 tons. The increase of
production from Tasmania will largely depend upon the construction of
electrolytic zinc plants, but the island will be a factor in production
in the immediate future.

The greatest new factor in the world’s output of zinc will be the
Bawdwin mines, in _Burma_, which within a short time will be equipped
to produce about 300,000 tons of ore annually or about 75,000 tons of
high-grade zinc concentrates and 100,000 tons of low-grade concentrates
or middlings for treatment by the Ganlin process. The extent to which
the zinc concentrates from this ore will be treated in India will be
determined by the development of the local market for sulphuric acid.
The remainder of the concentrates will be treated in England.

Recent developments in the Altai Mountains of southwestern _Siberia_
have proved immense bodies of complex zinc-lead ores. The extent of
their exploitation will, however, be determined largely by the extent
of the Russian market as affected by social and political conditions.
Removal of the stringent tariff on importations from abroad to the
manufacturing centers of Warsaw, Petrograd and Moscow might greatly
restrict the market for the output of these mines. Their extreme
geographic isolation will prevent the deposits from becoming an
important factor in the world market for a long period, notwithstanding
their large size and excellent grade.

The utilization of the Rhodesia Broken Hill deposit in _South Africa_
will be delayed by the difficulty of separating the oxidized lead
and zinc minerals, the lack of fuel, and geographic and commercial
isolation.

POLITICAL CONTROL

Political control of the zinc resources of the world up to the
outbreak of the war in 1914 seems to have had only a minor effect
upon the industry. Economic factors made ineffective any control not
international in scope. A very large percentage of the zinc ores of
the world were transported from the country of production to another
for treatment, in some cases even being re-exported, sometimes after
calcination, for the purpose of utilizing the sulphur content in the
production of acid. Tariffs were imposed by some countries, as, for
example, by the United States, on certain classes of zinc ores. Such
measures had some effect on production in Mexico and Canada. Russia had
imposed heavy import duties which subsidized domestic production and
stimulated exploration and development. The chief European countries
importing and smelting zinc ores admitted them free of duty.

During the World War, however, political jurisdiction was largely
invoked to restore control of national resources to citizens of the
given country or its allies. This movement was particularly marked in
the British Empire, wherein there now exists a joint political and
commercial control. Alien interests have been eliminated by government
action and the government retains a share in the control through
interests in marketing organizations or through financial participation
in treatment works. Canada has established a small bounty on zinc
produced in Canada from domestic ores and given financial aid to
attempts to establish domestic smelting and refining plants.

In the United States the Alien Property Custodian has been active in
eliminating all alien enemy control. His appointees will control many
important companies for several years. Such action as has been taken
does not appear to have disturbed such centralization of control as had
been effected.[138]

[138] See Chapter on Copper, pages 232-235, for discussion of German
interests in the American metal trade.

COMMERCIAL CONTROL

Copper, lead and zinc form a class by themselves as regards industrial
utility and tonnage produced, ranking after iron, which far outclasses
them, as the most important base metals. The annual production
of each is considerably more than a million tons. In view of the
industrial importance of zinc and the fact that brass, an alloy of
copper and zinc, is an indispensable material in modern industry, it
is not strange that the great industrial nations have contrived many
expedients in the endeavor to control the zinc industry.

The ownership and operative control of the mines has been a minor
factor in the commercial control of this industry. Economic factors
force the location of retort smelting plants in industrial districts
adjacent to coal fields, the most important factors being availability
and cost of fuel and labor, and proximity to a market for spelter. A
lack of fuel and scarcity or high cost of labor has prevented smelting
in some regions producing considerable ore. On the other hand, the
smelting done in some countries has been entirely disproportionate to
their ore output. The revival of nationalist sentiment as a result of
the World War may make ownership and operative control a more important
factor in the future.

Electrolytic and electro-thermic reduction of ores makes possible the
economic production of spelter where previously impossible and may
bring about some decentralization of the industry.

Ownership or control of the reduction plants has been an important
basis for control of the industry. The most effective control has
been exercised through marketing organizations or trade combinations
of reduction works, ore-buying and metal-selling agencies, with
interlocking directorates, joint ownership and long-term contracts for
ores, concentrates and metals. In recent years these became world-wide
in their scope and completely dominated the industry.

=United States.=--Below are listed the most important zinc smelting
companies in the United States, together with the percentage of the
total reduction capacity that each controls:

Percentage of
production controlled
New Jersey Zinc Co. 13.4
American Metal Co. 15.2
Grasselli Chemical Co. 10.1
Anaconda Copper Mining Co. 10.0
United States Steel Corporation 7.7
American Smelting & Refining Co. 7.2
American Zinc, Lead & Smelting Co. 5.7
Beer, Sondheimer & Co. 4.7
L. Vogelstein & Co. 1.7
Various independents or of unknown affiliation 24.3

The close affiliations of L. Vogelstein & Co., Beer, Sondheimer & Co.,
the American Metal Co., and their subsidiary companies, comprising
27.3 per cent. of the smelting capacity, and various ore producers,
with their metal-selling contracts with other smelters, enabled them
to dominate the American metal market in the interest of the German
“Trio.” The Alien Property Custodian took over all three companies
during the war and eliminated all alien-enemy ownership and control by
disposing of German-owned stock at auction.

The American Metal Co. completely owns the American Zinc & Chemical
Co., South American Metal Transport Co., Bartlesville Zinc Co., and
South American Metal Co.; it has large holdings of stock in the Ohio
and Colorado Smelting & Refining Co., Compañia Minera de Peñoles,
Compañia de Minerales y Metales, Compañia Metalurgica de Torreon,
Compañia Minera Palmo y Cabrillos, Fundicion de Guayacan, Balbach
Smelting & Refining Co., and Nichols Copper Co., some of which operate
in Mexico and South America. The capital stock of the American Metal
Co. comprised 70,000 shares, of which 34,644 were owned by aliens
affiliated with the German “Trio”; 18,620 shares belong to American
citizens who have had control of the management, and the remainder
belonged to the Merton interests, of London, which has been reorganized
by the British government, eliminating alien ownership. The alien-owned
shares have been sold by the Alien Property Custodian and the control
of the business for a period of five years was vested in a board of
five trustees named by him.

The National Zinc Co. was owned by Beer, Sondheimer & Co., one of the
German “Trio,” which also owned other metal-producing companies in the
United States and Cuba.

The operative control of the American Zinc, Lead & Smelting Co. has
been acquired by the Butte & Superior Mining Co., dominated by Hayden,
Stone & Co., of New York and Boston. A large interest in the American
Zinc, Lead & Smelting Co. was held by L. Vogelstein & Co., formerly the
representative of the German Metallgesellschaft in the United States.
The American Zinc, Lead & Smelting Co. controls the Wisconsin Zinc
Co.; the American Zinc Co., of Illinois; the American Zinc Co., of
Tennessee; and the American Zinc Ore Separating Co.

The New Jersey Zinc Co., an American concern, controls the New Jersey
field, and, through its subsidiary, the Empire Zinc Co., owns and
operates a number of mines in the western states and Mexico, and
the Mineral Point Zinc Co., of Wisconsin, one of the three largest
producers in that region, and four zinc smelters.

The Anaconda company operates a number of zinc-producing mines in the
Butte district and has erected electrolytic plants for the treatment of
its own concentrates, one of 25-tons’ capacity as an experimental plant
at Anaconda and a plant of 200-tons’ daily capacity at Great Falls,
Montana. It has treated some of the production of other companies,
notably of the Butte & Superior Mining Co. It is an American company
under American control but has many European stockholders.

=Germany.=--The ambition of German commercial interests to control the
metal markets and resources of the world was more nearly realized in
the case of zinc than of any other metal.

The German Zinc Syndicate (Zinkhüttenverband) was organized in 1909,
by three powerful interests: (1) The Merton group, comprising the
Metallgesellschaft, the Metallbank and Metallurgische Gesellschaft,
all of Frankfurt, and the Merton companies of London; (2) Beer,
Sondheimer & Co., which through the Tellus stock company controlled
over a dozen metal and chemical concerns; and (3) Aron Hirsch & Sohn,
at Halberstadt; and was immediately joined by all the important
Silesian and Rhenish-Westphalian zinc concerns. The organizers were
made exclusive selling agencies for the syndicate and purchases from
any foreign sources were made in unison. The syndicate immediately made
agreements with Austrian and Belgian producers including the Vieille
Montagne, which has mines, works and agencies in many parts of the
world. It was also joined by a Dutch concern, Zincs de la Campine.
The syndicate embraced altogether 18 firms and regulated both their
output and prices. By the end of 1912 this German syndicate controlled
directly one-half of the world’s output of zinc and three-fourths of
the European production.

Two Belgian and some French works formed another syndicate. A third
was formed by six English works, and the competition of United States
firms drove all three into the International Zinc Syndicate, which
endured up to April, 1914. The International regulated the output
of its members but did not fix exact prices. Through the American
Metal Co., and affiliated companies, the German syndicate was rapidly
becoming a factor of importance in the control of American, Mexican,
and Australian zinc production at its source. The German syndicate
maintained its dominancy and was rapidly extending and strengthening
it throughout the world through banks, holding companies, affiliations
with syndicates and cartels, interlocking directorates, and joint
shareholdings.

As a result of the war, the Australian zinc concentrates are
permanently diverted from German reduction works, and all German
control is eliminated. The activities of the Alien Property Custodian
have tended to eliminate German interests in the United States. The
re-establishment of the nation of Poland may take from Germany all
the Silesian deposits and reduction plants, leaving only those of the
Rhenish-Westphalian, Harz and Erzgebirge regions, with only one-third
the former domestic production of ore. Poland should be twice as
important as Germany in the zinc industry, unless Germany should be
able to import ores and concentrates on a large scale.

=Australia.=--At the outbreak of the World War the Australian zinc
industry was in the grip of the great German zinc syndicate, described
in more detail above under “Germany.” This controlled the world’s
spelter market, determined output and prices and manipulated the market
in the interests of Germany. This was possible through long-term
contracts for zinc concentrates, in which form nearly the whole zinc
product was exported for reduction in Belgium and Germany. Only 10 per
cent. of the concentrates was smelted at Port Pirie or in England.

During the war these contracts were cancelled by the Australian and
British governments and the work of reconstructing the industry on a
purely Australian and British basis was undertaken, the idea being
to provide for the treatment, so far as possible, of all ores in
Australia, so that they could be marketed in their finished state.
The Australian government first formed a metals exchange, through
which all metals produced in Australia must pass for sale. The Zinc
Producers’ Association Proprietary, Ltd., was registered May 20, 1916,
in Victoria, Australia, to market products of the member companies
producing zinc ores, concentrates, and metals in the Commonwealth of
Australia and Tasmania, all of which have sold their entire output
to the association for fifty years. The shares, 100,000 of £1 each,
are held by the following companies: Amalgamated Zinc (De Bavay’s);
Broken Hill Proprietary, Block 14; Zinc Corporation; Broken Hill
Proprietary; Electrolytic Zinc Smelters; Junction North; North Broken
Hill; Sulphide Corporation; British Broken Hill; Broken Hill Associated
Smelters; Broken Hill Junction; Broken Hill South Silver; Broken Hill
Proprietary, Block 10; Mount Lyell Mining & Railway Co.

The Australian federal government, acting through the Zinc Producers’
Association, contracted to sell to the British government the whole
output of zinc concentrates in Australia for the period of the war and
ten years thereafter. Previously the Prime Minister had contracted
for the sale to the imperial government of 100,000 tons of zinc
concentrates and 45,000 tons of electrolytic zinc and spelter for ten
years. The arrangement provided for the British government taking the
stocks of zinc concentrates on hand December 31, 1917, less a definite
percentage reserve, and thereafter 250,000 tons per annum for the
period of the war, and 300,000 tons annually for the following nine
years. Provision was also made for supplying the requirements of the
Australian zinc-refining works and the fulfilling of Japanese contracts
during the period covered by the British contract. Under normal
conditions the Australian output of zinc concentrates, averaging from
46 to 48 per cent. zinc, is about 450,000 tons per annum, valued at
$25,000,000.

The effect of the above arrangements is to transfer permanently the
control of the Australian zinc industry from German to British citizens
under a system jointly commercial and political. The mines and works
always were owned by British and Australian capital.

The Zinc Producers’ Association is co-operative in character,
guaranteeing to all members equality of treatment irrespective of
tonnage. The commonwealth is represented on the board. The federal
government is also encouraging in every possible way the establishment
of reduction works, particularly electrolytic zinc works. It has been
reported that the Burma Corporation was a stockholder of the Zinc
Producers’ Association, but this report has not been satisfactorily
confirmed. In case it should be true the association may ultimately
control the sale of 85 to 95 per cent. of the zinc ores of the British
Empire. Having smelting capacity for a considerable part of their
production and acting as a unit in selling the surplus, the Australian
zinc producers should hereafter be in a strong position in dealing with
German, Dutch and Belgian smelters. The smelting capacity will not be
largely increased in the near future.

=France.=--The nationalist movement in France during the war resulted
in the formation of trade associations known as “consortiums,”
comprising the principal factor in each industry.[139]

[139] For a description of the consortium covering the mineral
industry, the Société Minerais et Metaux, see the Chapter on Lead,
pages 284 and 285.

POSITION OF THE GREAT NATIONS

Since the elimination of the alien-enemy interests in the American
Metal Co., L. Vogelstein & Co., and Beer, Sondheimer & Co., the
industry in the _United States_ is controlled and the mines and works
are owned by American capital, which also controls some zinc production
in Mexico, Canada and Peru. Future production and consumption will
probably balance as before the war. There is now excess smelting
capacity, but it has been conclusively demonstrated that the country
is capable of supplying the ore for even greater capacity. The United
States will retain first place as a producer. During the period of
readjustment some concentrates may be shipped to Belgium and Holland.

With the permanent diversion of the Australian concentrates, and the
probable loss of the Silesian deposits and reduction works, _Germany_
will lose its second place in the industry. With only the Rhenish,
Westphalian, Harz, and Erzgebirge districts as sources of domestic
ores, the supply will be reduced to one-third of that produced before
1914, which was only two-thirds of all the ore smelted in the country.
Unless ores or concentrates can be imported, Germany will be only a
small factor in zinc production. Whereas in 1912 Germany had 50,000
tons of spelter available for export, importation may now be necessary.
As a result of the treaty of peace the Polish industry may be dominated
by French capital.

Not over 5 per cent. of the ore smelted in _Belgium_ is of domestic
production. The mines are owned by French and German companies.
The works are owned by French, Belgian and Germans in about equal
proportions. Part of the Australian concentrates will be allotted
to Belgium for smelting. The largest single factor in the Belgian
industry, the Société de la Vieille Montagne, owned and worked mines
in Belgium, Moresnet, Germany, Sweden, England, Algiers and Tunis and
reduction works in Belgium, Germany and France. Although formerly
a member of the German zinc convention this company seems to be
controlled by Belgian capital affiliated with the strongest Belgian
financial interests. Several other Belgian companies have important
interests in France, Spain, Algiers, and Tunis. Close affiliation seems
to exist, and may be expected to continue, between French and Belgian
capital in the zinc industry.

Let us now consider the _British Empire_. The domestic production of
zinc ores in the British Isles is insignificant, but the smelting works
have made England an important factor in the industry, although before
1914 they produced only 32 per cent. of the zinc consumption of the
empire. The capacity of these works, which are British owned, has been
largely increased and new plants are being constructed to treat the
concentrates from Australia and Burma, from which sources a supply more
than sufficient is assured by the contracts of the imperial government
with the Zinc Producers’ Association of Australia. The imperial
government is interested in some of the plants. Reduction plants will
also be in operation in Australia, Tasmania, India, and Canada. The
excess Australian concentrates are to be allotted to French and Belgian
works. With the organization now in effect, British domination of the
European zinc industry seems certain.

The mines and works of _Australia_ are entirely controlled by English
and Australian capital. An organization under Australian government
control has been made the sole marketing agency for the producers.
The mines of _India_ and _Burma_ are English controlled and the
smelter being constructed at Sakchi is partly financed by the Indian
government. The mines of _Canada_ are mostly British owned, although
there are some American interests. The potential capacity of the mines
is large. In spite of government subsidies, the capacity and future of
the reduction works is uncertain.

French capital controls all the domestic works and mines of _France_;
also those of Greece, Indo-China, Tunis, most of the mines of Algiers,
where some Belgian capital is also interested, part of the Belgian
and Polish mines and reduction works, some of the Spanish mines and
smelters, and probably the Caucasus mines in Russia. France should be
an important factor in the industry during the near future.

The largest mines of _Italy_ are owned by Italian companies and some
domestic reduction works are under construction by them. The chief
producing company in northern Italy is English.

In _Japan_, Japanese capital owns all the domestic mines and works;
also those of Chosen (Korea), and is rapidly securing control of the
deposits of China and eastern Siberia. The present smelting capacity is
greater than domestic consumption and much larger than the domestic ore
supply. Ore is imported from China, Siberia, Indo-China and Australia.

As to _Russia_, the ownership of deposits in the Polish regions was
divided between Russians and French before 1914, and this condition
presumably will be restored, modified by Polish political control. The
Russian interests were doubtless under German influence. The Altai
Mountains region is controlled by British capital and its development
depends wholly upon how internal social and political conditions affect
the domestic market to which the product of this region is limited by
geographic isolation. Eastern Siberia seems to be rapidly coming under
the commercial control of the Japanese.

_Holland_ has no mines but has considerable smelting capacity. It is
dependent on its neighbors for coal also. Its future is difficult to
forecast. The mines and works of _Spain_ are largely under French
and Belgian control, which may be modified by contracts with English
interests. The control in _Norway_ and _Sweden_ is not definitely
known. It is nominally by local capital but some English and German
interests are probable. The Sulphide and the Zinc corporations, both
British, are reported interested in the Hydraulic Power & Smelting Co.

The mines and works in _Austria_, which were owned by the Austrian
government and Austrian companies, perhaps under German domination,
will now be distributed among two or three political jurisdictions.
Little ore is imported or exported, and the region as a whole is not an
important factor in the industry.

The mines in _Mexico_ are largely owned by Mexicans and Americans.
German control is reported to be strong and growing. The possibilities
of ore production are large.

SUMMARY

The essential uses of zinc are: in brass, the alloy with copper, an
indispensable material in modern industry; in galvanizing as rolled
sheets; and in desilverizing lead bullion. The consumption is greatest
in galvanizing. The amount used in the form of rolled sheets will
increase.

Zinc and lead are commonly associated in their ores and are widely
distributed over the world, but the countries of largest ore production
are, in order, United States, Germany, and Australia. Burma will soon
be of importance. Siberia can produce much ore in the near future, but
exploitation will be retarded by political conditions and geographic
isolation. Canada, Mexico, Chile, Peru and Bolivia may be expected to
increase their output.

The successful commercial application of electro-magnetic,
electro-static, and more especially oil flotation processes to the
separation and concentration of complex ores has made available vast
resources, adding to the list of regions of ore production and
materially affecting their relative importance.

Economic factors, particularly availability and cost of fuel and
skilled labor in retort smelting and market for spelter, determined the
location of reduction works in populous industrial districts adjacent
to coal fields. The mineral resources, however, in many instances occur
in countries either undeveloped industrially or without abundant and
cheap fuel, and a large percentage of the zinc ores are transported
from the producing country to another for treatment. In the order of
their importance the countries making the most spelter are: the United
States, Germany, Belgium, Great Britain and France.

Commercial control of the industry has been based chiefly on the
control of reduction plants and ore-buying and metal-selling
organizations rather than on ownership of deposits, and to be
effective it necessarily became international in scope. Before 1914
an organization, apparently international in character, but really
dominated by Germans, had through control on this basis achieved
a commanding position in the industry, influencing output and
prices quite effectively. During the World War, however, political
jurisdiction was largely invoked to restore control of the resources
of a country and industries to citizens of that country or its allies.
This movement has been particularly marked in the British Empire,
wherein there now exists a joint political and commercial control
through the Zinc Producers’ Association and contracts in which the
governments are participants, and in France, where the Société Minerais
et Metaux, under government auspices, comprises all the principal
mining and metallurgical companies controlled by French capital and is
the arbiter of the metal industry.

A decentralization of the industry and redistribution of reduction
works is to some extent resulting from the successful application of
electrolytic reduction and to the dissemination of knowledge of the
practice of retort smelting.

The _British Empire_ as a unit should be able to dominate the industry
in Europe during the near future. _France_, through political and
commercial control of Algeria and Tunis, and large financial control
in Belgium, Spain and Poland, will be in a strong position. _Belgium_,
with minor but widespread financial interests in mines and works in
France, Germany, England, Sweden, Spain, Algiers and Tunis, is an
important factor in the European situation. Its interests appear
closely affiliated with those of France. The _United States_,
with large reduction capacity and ore reserves, while maintaining
its position as largest producer, is expected to supply domestic
consumption but to export little, as was the case prior to the war. The
position of _Germany_ will depend mainly upon the supply of foreign
ore, which may have to be imported largely from Mexico and the United
States.

CHAPTER XVII

TIN

BY JAMES M. HILL[140]

[140] The writer hereby expresses his thanks to Adolph Knopf, of the
United States Geological Survey, and R. R. Horner, of the United
States Bureau of Mines, for their assistance in the preparation of
this article.

USES OF TIN

Tin, ordinarily considered one of the minor metals, is nevertheless a
metal of prime importance in the world’s present state of development.
In 1913 the value of the world’s output of tin was $131,000,000,
which was greater than the value of the world’s output of either
lead or zinc. Without tin it is very doubtful if the present methods
of food packing and distribution could have been accomplished. The
principal use of tin is in the manufacture of tin plate, from which are
fabricated the so-called “tins” or “tin cans” that everyone knows. The
second largest consumption of tin is for the alloys, solder and babbitt
made with lead, and brass and bronzes made with copper. Minor amounts
of tin are used for making fine metal tubing, tin foil, and collapsible
tubes for packing such materials as dental and toilet creams, artists
colors, etc. Tin is consumed by the makers of silk, principally to give
weight and “rustle” to their product.

In 1917 the consumption of tin in the United States was approximately
93,000 tons,[141] of which 19,000 tons was recovered from scrap
materials. Of the total consumption 31,000 short tons was used for
making tin plate, 20,400 short tons for solder, 13,800 short tons
for bearing metals, (babbitt, bronzes, etc.,), and 27,700 short tons
for the many minor uses, items of which are 1,000 tons for the silk
industry, 5,000 tons for foil, 4,000 tons for collapsible tubes, 3,000
tons for white metal.

[141] In this report the figures for tons refer to metric tons (2,204
pounds avoirdupois) unless otherwise stated, and are given in round
numbers because errors in statistics and in conversion do not warrant
closer figuring.

It is difficult to distinguish between the essential and the
non-essential uses of tin in the industries. Surely tin plate is
essential, yet some saving of tin containers was made during the war
shortage by curtailing the use of tin and substituting paper and other
substances for packages carrying non-perishable products. Solders,
bearing metals, and bronzes are unquestionably essential, but variation
in alloy specifications made possible, during the war period, a
considerable saving of tin without detriment to the results. In fact
some of the standards set under the emergency were superior to those
used before. Aluminum foil is to some extent replacing tin foil, but
no suitable substitutes have been found for tin in the manufacture of
collapsible tubes, which are necessities.

GEOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION

Over 70 per cent. of the tin produced in the world is won from
placer deposits, although in the last few years the exploitation of
tin-bearing lodes has become of considerable importance. Tin ores are
intimately connected with siliceous igneous rocks. Practically all of
the known lode deposits are either in or lie near siliceous igneous
rocks such as granite, granite-porphyry, quartz-porphyry or monzonitic
types. In Mexico and the United States unimportant tin deposits have
been found in rhyolite. In only one or two places in the world are tin
lodes known where siliceous igneous rocks do not show on the surface,
and in these places geologic evidence points to the presence of
granitic rocks at no great depth. In the world’s chief centers of tin
production--the Malay Peninsula, Bolivia, Australia, Nigeria, Cornwall,
and South Africa--the granitic rocks are everywhere in evidence, and
the tin lodes are so closely related to these granites that there is no
question of their origin.

Fluorine-bearing minerals such as fluorite and topaz, tourmaline, and
the tungsten mineral, wolframite, are found in practically all tin
deposits. Molybdenite and bismuth minerals are present in many tin
deposits, though their distribution is not so general as that of the
former minerals. Copper, lead, zinc, and iron sulphides, the latter
often arsenical, are common in tin lodes, and quartz and feldspar are
the chief gangue minerals.

It is generally accepted that the tin lodes were formed near the
close of intrusive activity by the final differentiates of the acid
magmas. These final solutions are notable for their pneumatolitic
action and their ability to cause the profound change of granite to
greisen and the formation of stanniferous pegmatite and quartz veins.
Greisen, an alteration product of granite, consists of quartz, mica
and varying amounts of topaz and tourmaline. It is commonly developed
along fractures, and in favorable places large masses of rock may be
greisenized.

Tin deposits are most often found as lodes, both fissure and
pegmatitic, or stockworks, but some segregations are known. A peculiar
pipe-like form of deposit is found at places in the Transvaal and
Tasmania.

Generally tin deposits he close to the contact of intrusive and
intruded rocks and are mainly found near the top of the intruding mass.
It therefore follows that in deeply eroded granite masses the chance of
finding lode tin deposits is smaller than where search is made in the
tops of granitic intrusions. It has also been noted that deposits in
intruded rocks generally lie where the dip of the intrusive contact is
low and are rarely present along a steeply dipping intrusive contact.

Practically the sole ore mineral of tin is cassiterite (tin oxide),
which carries 78.6 per cent. of the metal. Cassiterite is known
commercially by various names, such as tinstone, black-oxide of
tin, black tin, or, where it occurs in placers, stream tin. The tin
concentrates from placer mining normally carry 60 to 75 per cent.
metallic tin, 70 per cent. being a fair average. The concentrates from
the mills treating Bolivian lode tin make a product called barilla that
averages about 62 per cent. tin; the concentrates produced from lodes
in Cornwall average about 65 per cent.; and from the lodes and placers
of the Malay Peninsula carry about 72 per cent. tin.

In many parts of the world the lodes do not carry sufficient tin to be
worked profitably. In Cornwall and in Tasmania, lodes carrying about 1
per cent. of tin are being mined; but in general a content of 1 to 2
per cent. tin is the lower limit for commercial lode mining. In Bolivia
the tin lodes average 5 to 8 per cent. tin and some bodies of ore
carrying as much as 40 per cent. tin have been opened. In the places
where low-grade tin ores have been mined the by-products, principally
arsenic and wolfram, have helped to pay expenses, and most of these
mines are advantageously situated with respect to transportation and
supplies. In the placers of the Malay Peninsula, including Banca and
Billiton, and those of Australia, which are worked by dredges, the tin
content ranges from one-half pound to as high as 3 pounds, but averages
less than a pound of cassiterite to the cubic yard. Advantageous
location and cheap labor make profitable exploitation possible.

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION

As will be seen from the map, Plate IX, tin deposits are found in every
part of the world, though an inspection of Table 60 and figure 9 will
show that the deposits within the British Empire are the most important
sources of the world supply. Bolivia and the Dutch East Indies have
been the chief producers of tin outside of the British Empire, though
China and Siam are steadily gaining importance as tin producers.

=British Empire.=--The British Empire has tin deposits in England,
Asia, Australia, and Africa. The largest production is from the
deposits in the Malay Peninsula. The African deposits, those in Nigeria
and the South African Union, yield the second largest output of the
empire, the Australian deposits rank third, and the Cornwall deposits,
formerly the largest producer of tin in the world, now rank fourth.

_Malay Peninsula._--The _Federated Malay States_ and the _British
Protected Malay States_ occupy the southern end of the Malay Peninsula.
This region, which is entirely British controlled, produced for many
years one-half of the world’s output of tin, but in the last few years
the output has declined steadily. The decline seems to be due to the
exhaustion of the easily worked placer deposits, though in 1917 and
1918 an additional cause was the scarcity of labor.

[Illustration: PLATE IX.--Tin-producing localities of the world. By
James M. Hill.]

[Illustration: FIG. 9.--World production of tin, 1913-1918, in metric
tons.]

TABLE 60.--WORLD’S OUTPUT OF METALLIC TIN, 1913-1918, IN METRIC
TONS[142]

(Metal obtainable by smelting from concentrates)

----------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------
Country | 1913 | 1914 | 1915 | 1916 | 1917 | 1918
----------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------
Cornwall | 5,370| 5,140| 5,060| 4,770| 4,000| 4,000
Nigeria | 2,950| 4,590| 4,630| 5,150| 7,070| 7,000
Union of South Africa | 2,050| 2,000| 2,050| 1,900| 1,540| 1,500
Federated Malay States| 50,930| 49,820| 47,520| 44,570| 40,470| 37,970
British Protected | | | | | |
Malay States | 1,800| 2,700| 4,170| 4,450| 4,500| 4,500
Australia | 8,160| 5,520| 5,680| 5,550| 4,970| 4,900
+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------
Total British Empire| 71,260| 69,770| 69,110| 66,390| 62,550| 59,870
Percentage world | | | | | |
total | 52.6 | 54.1 | 53.7 | 52. | 47. | 45.8
| | | | | |
Banca | 15,940| 14,630| 13,660| 14,460| 13,540| 11,000
Billiton and Singkep | 5,300| 6,090| 6,760| 6,780| 7,300| 9,200
+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------
Total Dutch | 21,240| 20,720| 20,420| 21,240| 20,840| 20,200
Percentage world | | | | | |
total | 15.4 | 16.1 | 15.4 | 16.7 | 16. | 15.5
| | | | | |
China | 8,390| 7,120| 8,000| 7,630| 11,800| 12,000
Siam | 6,660| 6,740| 8,520| 8,960| 8,600| 8,600
Bolivia | 26,760| 22,360| 21,900| 21,330| 28,320| 28,000
Other countries | 1,400| 1,500| 1,500| 1,700| 1,800| 2,000
+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------
Total other control | 43,210| 37,720| 39,920| 39,620| 50,520| 50,600
Percentage world | | | | | |
total | 32. | 29.8 | 30.9 | 31.3 | 38. | 38.7
+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------
World total |135,710|128,210|129,450|127,250|133,910|130,670
----------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------

[142] KNOPF, A., “Tin in 1918,” U. S. Geological Survey, “Mineral
Resources of the United States in 1918.”

The largest tin-smelting center of the world is Singapore, where the
Straits Trading Co., and the Eastern Smelting Co., both British owned,
and a Chinese-owned smelter, have a combined capacity of 58,000 metric
tons of metal a year.

A large number of the Malaysian mines are worked by Chinese, though
much English and Australian capital is invested in tin mining companies
in the Peninsula, and the financial control of the industry is in
the hands of British subjects. Political control is exercised by a
prohibitive export duty ($285 per ton) on all tin ore exported for
treatment except to the Straits Settlements, United Kingdom, or
Australia.

As will be seen from Table 60 the Federated Malay States produce much
more tin than the Protected States. Practically all of the tin in the
Peninsula is taken from placer deposits, some of which are still worked
by hand methods, though part of the black tin is now being mined by
dredges.

The backbone of the Malay Peninsula is composed of granite which is
intrusive into limestone, shale, and quartzite. Tin has been found
in place in practically all of the rock formations. Owing to the
intense weathering and erosion of the tin-bearing formations great
accumulations of detritus, more or less mixed with clay, all of which
carry cassiterite, are found in almost all parts of the Peninsula. The
original deposits are so softened by weathering that they can be worked
by hydraulic methods.

The provinces of Perak, Selangor, Pahang, and Negri Sembilan, in the
Federated Malay States, produce tin. The following table shows their
relative importance.

TABLE 61.--PRODUCTION OF TIN IN THE FEDERATED MALAY STATES IN 1917

Metric tons
Perak 25,075
Selangor 10,595
Pahang 3,750
Negri Sembilan 1,055

In Negri Sembilan, quartz veins in decomposed pegmatite are worked
by hydraulicking and the mixed tin-tungsten concentrate obtained is
further separated by magnetic machines. The principal mines are near
Titi and Seremban.

Pahang, on the eastern side of the mountains, has many widely scattered
tin deposits, both lodes and placers. The chief workings at present
are in the mountains near the Selangor boundary, at Bentong, Tras, and
Machi. Some mining is also done at various places along the Kuantan
River and its tributaries. Transportation is a serious item in working
tin mines in Pahang.

Kuala Lumpur is the center of the more important tin-mining operations
in Selangor. Both decomposed lode-stuff and gravels are being worked.
Near Serendah soft greisenized granite is worked by monitors. Near
Tanjong, Malim, and on the Kalumpang and Selangor rivers in the
northern part of the state both gravels and decomposed vein materials
are worked.

The Kinta district, in the State of Perak, is the most important
tin-producing area in the Federated States. A structural valley eroded
in soft limestones between granite ridges is the location of most
of the workings. The valley is filled with clays and boulder clays
carrying tin, and the present stream channels are also stanniferous.
Mining is in progress around 15 or more settlements in this district;
much of the mining is by open cuts and dredges, but some lode mining is
done on pipes in limestones. Next in importance to Kinta is the Larut
district, northwest of the former. Placer deposits are the chief source
of tin in the district but lodes are worked at Selama and Blanda Mabok.
In the south of Perak, at Bruseh, stockworks in schist are worked by
hydraulicking, yielding about three-fourths of a pound to the cubic
yard of material worked.

Development of the tin deposits in the _Protected Malay States_ has
been hampered by transportation difficulties. Until recently the
alluvial tin was won by crude native methods. The principal producing
comes from the states of Johore, Kedah, Kelantan, Perlis, and Trengganu.

Near Setul, in the State of Perlis, peculiar gravel-filled caves in
limestone have been mined for tin. Some of these caves have been
followed for four or five miles. In the State of Trengganu, lode mining
under European management is under way. The lodes seem to be decomposed
stockworks in granite.

An insignificant amount of tin is mined from the beach deposits on
the Island of Malacca, Straits Settlements. The tin was derived from
schists intruded by granite in which there are many stanniferous
veinlets.

_Africa._--As will be seen from Table 60, the principal production of
tin in Africa is from _British Nigeria_. The district was worked by
natives in the early days, but no important production was made until
1904, after the subjugation of the Emir of Bauchi. The production of
Nigeria has grown steadily till it reached 8,500 tons of concentrates
in 1917. Seemingly all of the mines are controlled by British capital
and the exports have been largely to the smelters in England.

The alluvial deposits of Nigeria are in the valleys of the Bauchi
Plateau. Soda granite and pegmatites, intrusive into older crystalline
rocks, seem to be the source of the cassiterite that has been
concentrated by the present streams. Sluicing is the principal mining
method, though some deposits are suitable only for dredging. Tin is
also known in northern Nigeria in the Ningi and Burra hills, and other
localities. In southern Nigeria tin has been found near Akwa-Ibami, in
the Uwet district.

The tin output of the _Union of South Africa_ is chiefly from the
Waterberg-Zaaiplaats district, in the western Transvaal, a little tin
being mined in Swaziland and the Cape province. The production has
ranged from 2,950 tons to 3,450 tons of concentrate a year, most of
which before the war went to England for smelting, but since 1915 to
the Straits Settlements. A small smelter, rated at 250 tons a year, was
built at Zaaiplaats in 1917; it is expected to supply the tin needed in
South Africa.

The Waterberg district contains several tin fields. Tin ores are
found in the Red Granite and Waterberg felsites, sandstones, and
conglomerates. In the former the ores occur in pipes, in irregular
bodies of altered granite, disseminated in the granite, in
impregnations along fissures, and in pegmatites and quartz veins. In
the Waterberg series the tin ores are in lodes, and in irregular lenses
and pockets whose position is determined by fissures or bedding planes.

In the Potgietersrust district the principal mines are largely pipe
deposits in the Red Granite. These pipes, which are very erratic in
direction, range from a few inches to 20 feet in diameter; some have
been followed for 3,000 feet. The filling material varies greatly,
ranging from slightly altered granite to a greenish homogeneous rock;
the outer zones are tourmaline-quartz rock. In the smaller pipes the
cassiterite is fairly evenly distributed but in the larger pipes it
occurs near the outer edges.

In the Nylstroom district the principal mines are working ore deposits
in felsites and shales of the Lower Waterberg series. The deposits are
brecciated country rock cemented by quartz, tourmaline, cassiterite,
and fluorite.

The Warmbaths field includes several mines located along the junction
of the Red Granite and the felsites. Tin is found in lodes in both
types of rocks and some alluvial tin has been mined. In the Rooiberg
field, the tin deposits are practically all in fissures in quartzite
intruded by Red Granite. Tin occurs in the Red Granite 40 miles north
of Pretoria.

In the Cape Province, near Kuils River, cassiterite is found
disseminated in granite and in veins at the contact of granite and
slates. Most of the small amount of tin won has been obtained from
gravels derived from these deposits.

In northwestern _Swaziland_ alluvial deposits have been worked for a
number of years, producing around 500 tons of concentrates a year. At
Forbes Reef, schists and slates have been intruded by granite and tin
lodes are found near the contact of the two formations.

Tin has been reported in placer deposits in the Winnebah district and
in pegmatite dikes in the Mankofa and Mount Mankwadi districts of the
_Gold Coast_. Tin has been found in placer concentrates from streams in
_Nyasaland_. Tin deposits seemingly of little value have been found in
the Enterprise district, east of Salisbury, and in the Ndanga district,
east of Victoria, in _Rhodesia_. These deposits are stanniferous
pegmatites which are found in schists near granite.

_Australia._--Tin is produced in the following provinces of Australia:
Tasmania, Queensland, New South Wales, West Australia, Northern
Territory, Victoria, named in the order of their importance. In
1907, the output of Tasmania was about 14,000 tons of concentrates,
but production since then steadily declined until it became nearly
stationary at 3,000 tons annually for the last few years, and it is
believed that this output can be maintained for some time.

There are tin-smelting works at Launceston, in Tasmania; Woolwich, near
Sydney, New South Wales; and Irvinebank, near Herberton, Queensland,
capable of producing over 4,200 tons of metallic tin a year. Of
recent years tin concentrate is being sent to the Straits Settlements
(Singapore) for smelting. The exports of metallic tin from Australian
ports in 1917 came to about 3,100 tons.

Practically all of the mining companies are controlled by Australian
and English capital, and as the tin is smelted either locally or at
Singapore the total Australian output can be considered as under the
direct political and commercial control of England.

The total production of tin ore from _Tasmania_[143] from 1880 to 1918,
inclusive, is stated to be approximately 128,200 tons.

[143] Tasmania, Report Secretary for Mines for the year ending
December 31, 1918, p. 46.

The most important tin mine is Mount Bischoff, 45 miles southwest of
Emu Bay. The deposits, discovered in 1871, are credited with a total
production of about 75,000 tons of tin ore. There are several deposits,
soft altered quartz porphyries intrusive into schists. Topaz and
cassiterite are disseminated in the porphyries, and veins carrying tin
and wolframite, together with pyrite and arsenopyrite, are found both
in the porphyry and schists.

The Shepherd and Murphy mine, near Middlesex, is in a zone of
metamorphism at the contact of granite, intrusive into sandstone and
quartzite. Tin, tungsten, and bismuth are produced from this ore.
Placer tin deposits on the Ringarooma River (Derby district) supply
about 1,000 tons of tin concentrates a year. The principal placer
mines are the Pioneer and Briseis. Near Gladstone, placers and lode
deposits carrying tin and tungsten are worked. At the Anchor mine, in
the Blue Tier district, a tin-bearing granite averaging one-half per
cent. tin is worked, but mining has not been profitable. The Renison
Bell, Dreadnought-Boulder and Montana mines, in the North Dundas
field, are in slates cut by dikes of quartz porphyry. Zinc, lead, and
iron sulphides are important in the lodes. In the Heemskirt district,
southwestern Tasmania, the tin deposits are in granite and in overlying
slate and sandstone. At the Federation mine the ore is in a pipe
measuring 25 by 15 feet at the surface, but contracting to only 1 by 5
feet at 115 feet down.

Tin was first produced in _Queensland_ in 1872, and the total output,
including 1917, is estimated to be about 144,008 tons. The chief
producing districts are Herberton, Cooktown, Chillagoe, near the port
of Cairns; Stannhills, Kangaroo Hills, and Stanthorpe, the latter
being near the New South Wales border. In the Herberton-Cooktown
districts the tin occurs in greisenized granite intruded into slates,
schists, and quartzite; bismuth and tungsten minerals are associated
with it. Placer deposits are worked by hydraulicking, and in places
the tin-bearing greisen is broken down by hydraulic giants. In the
Stannhills field, near Croydon, cassiterite is found in veins in
granite with galena, sphalerite, and chalcopyrite. The Kangaroo Hills,
100 miles south of Herberton, produces both lode and placer tin. In the
Stanthorpe district most of the output is from placer deposits, some of
which are buried under basalts.

Tin was first mined in _New South Wales_ in 1872, and the total
production, including the output of 1917, is estimated at 84,230 tons
of tin and 34,510 tons of tin concentrates.

The chief producing districts are the Vegetable Creek and
Emmaville-Tingha-Inverell region, in the northeast near the Queensland
border, and the Ardlethan district, 40 miles west of Temora, in the
south. In the Emmaville-Inverell region the erosion of stanniferous
greisenized granite, intrusive into slates, has resulted in a
widespread distribution of tin placers, both in the present streams and
in what are believed to be Tertiary stream beds that are now capped
by lavas. The Vegetable Creek mines, near Emmaville, are typical of
the older placer deposits. Since 1900, dredging has become important,
and it is estimated that the dredge production up to 1917 was 18,854
tons of concentrates. Lode mining, although not as important, has been
done in this district in pipes and stock works in granite; the typical
fluorine-bearing gangue minerals are common, and tungsten, bismuth,
copper, and lead minerals are found.

Tin was discovered in the Ardlethan district in 1912 in lodes in
granite and schist. Molybdenum, bismuth, and tungsten are commonly
associated with tin in the greisenized granite lodes. The Barrier
district, in the western part of the province, has not been a large
contributor, because of lack of water. Cassiterite is found in dikes of
coarsely crystalline granite intrusive into greisen and mica schist.

In _West Australia_ the most important tin-producing districts are
Greenbushes, near the southwest, and Pilbara, on the northwest, though
there has been a very small recovery of tin in the Murchison goldfield,
and Coolgardie. In the Greenbushes district cassiterite is found in
pegmatite and quartz-tourmaline veins in granite, but the tin won
is from stream deposits and from laterite. In the Pilbara field the
alluvial tin has been derived from pegmatite dikes that cut granite and
metamorphic rocks.

The production of tin in _Northern Territory_ has amounted to about
200 tons a year, most of it being obtained from pegmatitic deposits in
granite in the vicinity of Burrundie.

A few tons of tin concentrates are saved each year in the operation of
gold placers in the Northeastern and Gippsland divisions of _Victoria_.

_India._--The principal output of tin in India is from the Mergui and
Tavoy districts, southern Lower Burma; Tharton and Amherst districts,
northern Lower Burma; and the Southern Shan States. The production
amounts to about 150 tons of metallic tin a year, and is sent to the
Straits Settlements for smelting.

In the Mergui district cassiterite is found in alluvial deposits near
granite hills, the granite being intrusive into sedimentary rocks of
uncertain age. Tin ore is also found in pegmatite and quartz veins. In
the Tavoy district tin is obtained as a by-product of wolfram mining.
The deposits occur in pegmatite and quartz veins cutting granite and
sedimentary rocks. In the Tharton district the tin-bearing alluvium
is said to be rich and its development is awaited with interest.
Production of tin began in 1912 from the deposits of Bawlake State,
Karenni, Southern Shan States, and in 1917 these deposits were the
chief producers in India.

_Cornwall._--In the extreme southwest of England is the famous Cornwall
tin region, which includes the Camborne, St. Austell, and Liskeard
districts, in Cornwall, and the Tavistock district, in Devon. The mines
have produced about 8,000 tons of concentrates a year, but at present
the output seems to be diminishing; in 1915 the production of metallic
tin was approximately 5,000 tons, but in 1918 was only about 4,000 tons.

Tin mining in Cornwall dates back to prehistoric times. In the
sixteenth century the mines produced about 700 tons of tin a year;
the maximum output was reached in the period 1860 to 1890, when about
10,000 tons was produced annually. It is estimated that the total
output of tin from this district is approximately 1,750,000 tons. The
mining companies are without exception controlled by British capital.

The second largest tin-smelting capacity in the world is in the
Cornwall district. The following companies, Williams Harvey & Co.,
Penpoll, Cornish Tin Smelting Co., Copper Pass, Redruth Tin Smelting
Co., and the London Smelting Co. operate smelters having a combined
output of approximately 31,100 tons of tin a year.

The tin deposits of Cornwall and Devon lie about five masses of
granite, which are intruded into slates (killas) and greenstones.
Quartz porphyry dikes are closely connected with the granite, and the
tin lodes are found in both slates and granite, being particularly
abundant near intrusive contacts with low dips. The principal lodes are
wide zones of fissured rock that are tourmalinized, the less important
fissures containing tin and gangue minerals. Copper and tungsten
minerals are produced from these lodes, and arsenic is an important
by-product of smelting. The lodes in slates are as a rule richer in
copper than in the granite, and in depth the lodes contain a larger
proportion of tin than nearer the surface. The mines about the Camborne
granite mass yield about 85 per cent. of the tin mined, those about the
Lands End granite mass 12 per cent., and the mines about St. Austell,
Bodmin Moor, and Dartmoor about 1 per cent. each.

Practically all of the tin produced in recent years has been from
lodes, but placer tin was mined near St. Austell. The lodes have been
worked to a depth of 3,000 feet, which seems to be about the greatest
depth to which commercially profitable ore extends. As considerable
ground above this level remains to be developed, the district should be
productive for some time.

=Other Nations.=--Outside of the British Empire the principal tin
deposits of the world are in Bolivia, the Dutch East Indies, China,
and Siam, named in the order of their importance as producers in 1918.
There are small outputs of tin from deposits in Japan, Spain, Portugal,
and the United States, and tin deposits are known in Germany, Italy,
Russia, Belgian-Congo, and Southwest Africa.

_Bolivia._--Practically all of the tin ore shipped from Bolivia is
mined from lodes. Mining began late in the last century. Exports are
in the form of barilla, a tin concentrate carrying 60 to 65 per cent.
and averaging about 62 per cent. tin. The output has been steadily
increasing, and since 1913 Bolivia has been the second largest producer
of tin in the world. (See Table 60, and Figure 9). The majority of
the companies working in Bolivia are controlled by Chilean or local
capital, though a little English, French, Swiss, and German capital was
invested in Bolivian tin mines before the war. Recently English and
American capital has become interested in the deposits.

Prior to the war practically all of the barilla was sent to Germany
and England to be smelted, but lately exports have been to the United
States and England. A small Chilean-owned smelter, estimated capacity
900 tons a year, has recently been built at Arica to handle the
concentrates from one of the larger mines.

There are four important tin-producing districts in east central
Bolivia, in the provinces of Potosi, Oruro, and La Paz. The region lies
on the high plateau (elevation, 12,000 feet) and the principal mines
are near or in the mountains on the east of the pampa rather than in
the western range of the Cordillera. Schists, slates, and quartzites
have been intruded by acid igneous rocks, and the tin deposits are
found in the granites, the quartz porphyries, and the sedimentary rocks
near the contacts. The quartz veins are strong and carry between 3 and
8 per cent. tin in most of the productive mines, though some bodies
of ore have carried as much as 40 per cent. tin. Some of the mines
were worked for silver by the Spanish, but the silver ores seem to be
limited to the upper zones, the lodes becoming relatively richer in
tin at depth. Wolframite and bismuth are won as by-products at some of
the mines. Pyrite, sphalerite, chalcopyrite, and galena are usually
abundant in the tin ores, and tourmaline and fluorite are not uncommon.

The Bolivian deposits are of considerable future importance. Many
mines and prospects, either through lack of knowledge or finances,
have not been developed; the local management of most of the mines has
been notoriously poor; and it is thought that with proper technical
direction the output of tin can be greatly increased.

_Dutch East Indies._--On the islands of Banca, Billiton, and Singkep,
south of the Malay Peninsula, are important tin mines. As will be
seen from Table 60 the output of tin from these islands has been
approximately 21,000 tons a year. Mining began on Banka about 1718,
but the Billiton deposits were not worked until about 1860. The mines
of Banka are worked by the government, but on Billiton and Singkep the
deposits are leased by private concerns, mostly Dutch. At Banka the
Dutch government operates smelters having a yearly capacity of 16,000
tons. The concentrates produced on Billiton and Singkep are in part
sent to the Straits Settlements for treatment, but some are smelted
locally.

Practically all of the tin mined in the Dutch East Indies is from
placer deposits, some of which are alluvial. There is, however,
a little lode mining on Billiton. The cassiterite was formed in
greisenized granite and sediments, and the original deposits are
similar to those of the Malay Peninsula. A little tungsten and gold are
obtained as by-products of the tin mining.

_China._--Tin deposits in the Mengtze district, near Kochiu, Province
of Yunnan, southeastern China, have been worked for many years. During
recent years about 8,000 tons of tin have been exported, and it is
known that considerable tin ore produced from these deposits is smelted
locally, the metal being consumed in China. The exports go out through
the French port of Haifong. The mining industry is entirely under
Chinese control. Most of the tin ore is obtained by placer and open-cut
methods from decomposed granitic and pegmatitic lodes which are found
near the contact of granite that is intrusive into limestone. There are
less important tin deposits in the Fuchuan and Tungchwan districts, the
former producing a very pure metal.

The tin concentrates exported go mostly to Hong Kong and the Straits
Settlements for treatment, so the Chinese tin output is more or less at
the disposal of England.

_Siam._--In that part of Siam lying in the Malay Peninsula, tin
deposits, similar in origin and occurrence to those in the British
provinces, are being worked, and as shown by Table 60 are yearly
becoming larger factors in the world’s output. The largest operations
are near Renong and Tongkah, where dredging by British companies is
active. The chief producing companies are Tongkah Harbor Tin Dredging
Co., Tin Benbong, Bangnon Valley, Ronpibon Extended, Beebook Dredging
Co., and Katoo Syndicate.

_Japan._--The tin-producing localities in Japan are near Kagoshima,
Satsuma, on Kyushu Island; about 50 miles north of Kobe in Tajima
province; and near Nayegi, Mino Province, near the center of the main
island. Placer deposits near Nayegi have yielded some tin, seemingly
derived from pegmatite dikes in granite. The Akinobe mine, in Tajima
Province, was developed as a copper mine, but about 1912 tin and
tungsten minerals were found in the ore. The veins are in slates and
quartzites intruded by diorites. It is said that in 1917 about 40 tons
of mixed tin-tungsten ores was produced daily. A small smelter at Ikuno
handles the tin concentrates and produces about 250 tons of tin a year.
The Susuijama mine, in Satsuma, produces tin from veins, in shales and
sandstones, that also carry lead and zinc. Apparently the output is
smelted and used locally.

_Spain._--In the provinces of Salamanca, Zamora, Orense, Pontevedra,
and Coruña, northwest Spain, there are tin deposits. Lode deposits are
found near the contact of granite intrusive into schists and gneisses,
and placer deposits have been worked since ancient times. In 1913 about
6,700 tons of ore is said to have been produced, but since then the
output has been around 100 tons a year.

_Portugal._--In Portugal, just south of the Spanish border, tin lodes
in granite and slates have been found and placer deposits worked in the
gravels adjacent to the lodes. The yearly output of these deposits is
around 300 tons. It is reported that American capital is interested in
some of the Portuguese tin and tungsten deposits.

_United States._--In the United States the domestic output is only
nominal, being equivalent to 60 to 100 tons of tin a year. The
productive deposits, placers worked by dredges, are in the York
district of Seward Peninsula, _Alaska_. They occur near the contact
of granite intrusive into limestones, in peculiar rocks of contact
metamorphic origin.

Cassiterite has been mined from gravels derived from pegmatite dikes
intrusive in pre-Cambrian rocks of the Black Hills near Tinton and
Hill City, _South Dakota_, and various attempts have been made to mine
the lode deposits. These deposits are of more scientific interest
than commercial importance. A little stream tin has also been mined
on the _North Carolina-South Carolina_ boundary near King’s Mountain,
the cassiterite being an original constituent of pegmatite dikes
intrusive into pre-Cambrian schists. At Irish Creek, Rockbridge County,
_Virginia_, there are known stanniferous veins in coarse granites. In
the Franklin Mountains 14 miles north of El Paso, _Texas_, quartz veins
in granite carrying cassiterite were worked at one time but have not
been productive of late. In the Temescal Mountains, Riverside County,
_California_, small quartz veins carrying cassiterite are found in
acid granitic rocks that are intrusive into metamorphosed sediments.
Considerable work was done in this locality in the years 1880 to 1890,
but the irregularity of the deposits and their low tin content do not
hold much promise for future production.

Prior to the war the United States, although the largest consumer of
tin in the world, produced practically no tin ore, and imported only
metallic tin, having no smelters for treating tin ore. Since 1916
smelters have been erected by the American Smelting & Refining Co., and
the Williams Harvey Corporation, their estimated capacity being 18,000
tons of tin a year. Presumably these smelters must rely largely on
Bolivian concentrates.

_Germany-Austria._--Germany has produced practically no tin ores in
recent years, though the country had a smelting industry, estimated at
about 16,000 tons of tin a year, dependent on foreign ores. The normal
imports of tin ore before the war were 17,000 to 18,000 metric tons a
year, most of which came from Bolivia.

In the Erzgebirge, on the German-Austrian frontier, in the
Altenberg-Zinnwald district, there was formerly some tin mining. The
deposits, which are typical greisen lying near the tops and sides of
bodies of granite intrusive into schists and gneisses, have made almost
no production for several years and they are considered to be exhausted.

_Italy._--At Campiglia Marittima, Tuscany, iron and tin have been
produced from veins in limestone and shale. The output is variable and
cannot be relied upon.

_Russia._--In the former Empire of Russia tin has been found in the
Trans-Baikal Province, Siberia, and in the Urals and Finland in
European Russia. The Siberian deposits are placers in the basin of the
Onon River. A German company was formed before the war to work lode
tin deposits near Olovianoy, southwest of Nerchinsk, in the Urals. The
Finnish deposits are at Pitkaranta, north of Lake Ladoga. The ores are
a mixture of magnetite, cassiterite, and chalcopyrite, occurring in
altered limestone and schist.

_Belgian Congo (Katanga)._--Alluvial tin derived from veins in granite
and intruded sedimentary rocks has been found along Lualaba River and
on Busanga Ridge. There are no records of production, but the field
holds considerable promise.

_Southwest Africa._--Cassiterite occurs in pegmatite, intrusive into
granite, in the Erongo Mountains east of Brandberg, and some placer tin
deposits have been worked. On the whole the region does not seem to be
particularly promising.

PROBABLE CHANGES IN KNOWN GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION

It seems reasonably certain that _England_ is in a position to keep
producing a large part of the world’s tin for some time, the lessening
output from the Malaysian provinces being offset by the increased
production of the African colonies. Both Cornwall and Australia, it
is believed, will be able to maintain for a number of years a rather
steady output of about the present size.

_Bolivia_ will doubtless be able to increase her output of tin, and
probably both _Siam_ and _China_ can be expected to produce larger
quantities in the future. Production of the _Dutch East Indies_ can
probably be maintained at about its present rate for a number of years.

POLITICAL CONTROL

As will be seen from Table 62 and Figure 10, _Great Britain_ controls
politically over 50 per cent. of the tin output of the world, in that
her political influence is absolute in England, Africa, Australia, and
all of her colonial possessions on the east side of the Indian Ocean;
and there can be little doubt that the strong British policy with
regard to the eastern colonies is also potent with respect to Siam and
China.

[Illustration: FIG. 10.--Political control of tin deposits and tin
smelters, based on estimates for 1918.]

_Holland_ controls the tin output of the East Indian island colonies,
in which there are smelting works that seem capable of taking care of
most of the ore mined. Holland consumes little tin herself and has
approximately 16 per cent. of the world’s supply at her disposal. Prior
to the war Holland was a large distributor of tin, but during the war
tin from her colonies was sent direct to America and England, the
largest consuming countries.

_China_ has a rather feeble political control of the output of the
Yunnan tin mines, but as that part of her production which reaches the
rest of the world is exported through French territory, largely through
English middlemen, her actual control is not particularly great.

_Siam_ controls some important tin fields. The very strong British
influence on the Malay Peninsula, coupled with the fact that the
Siamese ore is smelted in the Straits Settlements, seems to indicate
that British policy will largely dominate the tin-mining industry of
Siam.

_Bolivia_, using little tin and producing nearly a quarter of the
world’s output, is really the only considerable producer that can
act more or less independently. Her mines are mostly controlled by
Chilian-Bolivian capital and she has the world for a market. It would
seem that Bolivian barilla might be smelted locally, but as Bolivia
has no fuel, the tin smelting capacity of Bolivia amounts thus far to
almost nothing. Her nearest market at present is the United States, but
the future will show whether Bolivian ore will continue to be smelted
in the United States, as during the past few years, or will be sent to
England and Germany, as before the war.

The relation of political control of tin deposits and tin smelting is
shown in the following table, and diagrammatically in Figure 10.

TABLE 62.--POLITICAL CONTROL OF TIN DEPOSITS AND SMELTERS BASED ON
ESTIMATES FOR 1918

-------------+-------------+-------------+---------------+----------
| Control of | | Control of |
|tin deposits,| | tin smelters, |Percentage
|annual output|Percentage of|annual capacity| of world
Country |(metric tons)| world output| (metric tons) | capacity
-------------+-------------+-------------+---------------+----------
Great Britain| 59,900 | 45.5 | 88,300 | 57.3
Holland | 20,200 | 15.2 | 16,000 | 10.2
China | 12,000 | 9.3 | 12,000 | 7.4
Siam | 8,600 | 7.0 | |
Bolivia | 28,000 | 21.3 | 2,700 | 1.6
Germany | ... | ... | 16,000 | 10.2
France | ... | ... | 1,500 | 0.7
America | ... | ... | 18,000 | 12.4
All others | 2,000 | 1.7 | 500 | 0.2
+-------------+-------------+---------------+----------
Total | 130,700 | | 154,000 |
-------------+-------------+-------------+---------------+----------

COMMERCIAL CONTROL OF TIN MINES

British capital is the dominant controlling factor of approximately
57 per cent. of the world’s tin output, and through affiliations
with capital of other countries it has a partial control of about 15
per cent. more. British capital is dominant in all of the British
possessions and Siam, and through buying agencies practically controls
the export tin from China. Bolivian tin mines are the only ones in
the world in which British control is not strongly felt. The largest
part of the Bolivian output is under the financial control of Chilean
financiers, with local capital the next strongest factor. French and
German money has been invested to a limited extent in Bolivian mines.

Recently the firm of Guggenheim Brothers, of New York, connected with
the American tin-smelting industry, has acquired certain tin mines in
Bolivia.

COMMERCIAL CONTROL OF TIN SMELTING

_British_ capital controls tin smelters with a yearly capacity of
approximately 88,300 tons of tin a year. These are situated in England,
Straits Settlements, and Australia. The tin deposits of undoubted
British control can produce ore to furnish only 62,550 tons, so that
England has a smelting capacity of 15,750 tons a year in excess of her
supply.

The _Dutch_ control the smelters, having a capacity of 16,000 tons, of
their East Indian colonies, but the annual output of ore from these
colonies is equivalent to 20,200 tons of tin, so that an excess of
4,200 tons must be smelted elsewhere, and most of this goes to the
smelters in the Straits Settlements, which are English owned.

_Chinese_ capital controls smelters that are seemingly capable of
handling the entire output of China, about 12,000 tons of tin a year.

_American_ capital, since the war, has developed tin smelters in the
United States and Bolivia, which have an annual capacity of 18,000
metric tons. This capacity is being enlarged and should be able shortly
to take care of the entire Bolivian tin output, provided it receives
the ore. But Chilean capital has built a smelter at Arica which could
handle about 10 per cent. of the Bolivian output, and if this smelter
is favored by Chilean mine owners the American smelters may find
themselves short of ore.

_German_ capital is interested in tin smelters in Germany that have a
producing capacity of 15,000 tons a year. All of the ore treated must
be imported, but it hardly seems possible that much ore from outside
sources can be expected for some time, as the smelting capacity of the
world exceeds the output of the mines.

The tin-smelting capacity of the world is approximately 154,000
tons, whereas the world’s production of tin ore is equivalent to
approximately 130,700 tons. It is evident that, unless greater
production is forthcoming, some smelters will be idle, and it is a
reasonable surmise that neither the British nor Dutch smelters will
lack ore. The United States, owing to its favorable situation with
respect to Bolivian supply, may hope to have a large part of its
smelter capacity at work, though there is some question whether enough
ore will be available to assure the maximum operation of the tin
smelters in the United States.

POSITION OF THE TIN-CONSUMING COUNTRIES

_Great Britain_ produces more tin than she consumes and is therefore
in a position to dispose of tin to the rest of the world. From a study
of import and export tables it seems that England consumes about
20,000 tons of tin a year and that she imports about 55,000 tons and
therefore has 35,000 tons for export. She is in position through her
large political and commercial control of tin deposits and smelters to
practically dictate the world’s tin policy.

The Dutch colonies produce about 16 per cent. of the world’s tin, and
as _Holland_ is normally a very small consumer of tin, she has supplied
a considerable part of the tin used in Germany and the United States.

Prior to the war a considerable tin-plate industry, dependent on
foreign tin, was built up in southern Russia. The consumption was about
8,000 tons of tin a year, which was largely supplied by Great Britain,
Holland, and Germany. If this industry is maintained Russia will still
be under the necessity of importing considerable tin.

Tin users in _Germany_, who, before the war, apparently consumed about
22,000 tons of tin, must purchase all supplies from others. Before
the war the principal supply of tin ore was Bolivia, and of metallic
tin the Dutch East Indies. It seems reasonable that Germany’s supply
of Bolivian ore may be curtailed in the future, as the United States
is now in position to treat the ore, and freight rates should favor
shipments of Bolivian barilla to the United States rather than to
Germany. Whether the German tin-smelting industry will survive or not
remains to be seen.

_France_ has a small tin-smelting industry, treating about 1,500 tons a
year. The apparent consumption is about 7,000 tons of tin a year, most
of which was formerly imported from British India, England, and the
Dutch East Indies.

The _United States_ annually consumes over 80,000 tons of tin,
including secondary metal, and produces from domestic ores about 100
tons. Prior to the war, metallic tin was obtained through England and
Holland, as there were no tin smelters in this country. During the
war there was established a tin-smelting industry, which is dependent
entirely on foreign ore, most of which so far has come from Bolivia.
The estimated capacity of tin smelters in America is about 18,000 tons
a year or about 20 per cent. of the estimated yearly requirement. A
combination of English, Bolivian and American capital is interested in
one of these smelters, and also in Bolivian tin mines, and probably
this smelter can be supplied. There is, however, considerable question
whether the other smelters can obtain supplies of Bolivian ore.
Certainly they will have competition from both English and German
smelting concerns, which will be somewhat offset by cheaper freight to
the United States than across the Atlantic. This difference is probably
not large, and it would seem that if American smelters are to get
Bolivian tin ore their charges must be low. A surer method of meeting
their ore requirements would be to obtain financial control of enough
ore deposits in Bolivia to supply the demand.

Evidently the United States must in the future, as in the past, import
considerable quantities of tin from both Great Britain and Holland. It
is to be hoped that the tin trade routes established during the war
may be maintained and that American consumers will not have to pay the
additional charges necessitated by Eastern tin going to Europe and back
to the United States.

CHAPTER XVIII

MERCURY

BY F. L. RANSOME

USES OF MERCURY

Under normal conditions the chief uses of quicksilver (mercury) or its
salts, stated in order of decreasing importance, are as follows: In the
manufacture of drugs and chemicals, including calomel and corrosive
sublimate; in the manufacture of certain chemicals, such as glacial
acetic acid, phthalic acid and phthalic anhydride, into which mercury
itself does not enter; as mercury fulminate ((C:N.O₂)Hg, ¹⁄₂H₂O), made
by treating mercury with alcohol and nitric acid, which is used as
a detonator for high explosives, and, though less than formerly, in
small-arms ammunition.

The discovery of mercury fulminate by Howard in 1799 led to the
invention of the percussion cap in place of the old flint-lock,
and fulminate still remains the best-known and most-used detonator
for gunpowder and high explosives. It is often combined with other
substances, particularly an abrasive such as powdered glass, to
increase its sensitiveness, and with compounds or mixtures that
themselves have the property of detonating, such as sulphide of
antimony and chlorate of potassium. Recently a large part of the
mercury fulminate in detonators for modern high explosives has been
replaced by picric acid, trinitrotoluene, or tetranitromethylamine,
whereby a much stronger initial effect is obtained, and one part of
mercury fulminate is made to detonate a charge that would have required
six times as much fulminate used alone. Other substances have been
found, which seem likely to replace mercury fulminate entirely for
certain uses. One of these is lead azide, a salt of hydronitric acid.
Large dry crystals of this salt are so sensitive as to explode when
brushed with a feather, but smaller crystals are less sensitive.

As mercuric sulphide, mercury forms the brilliant red pigment
_vermilion_. The metal is employed extensively in electrical apparatus,
including rectifiers for changing alternating into direct current,
mercury vapor lamps, and storage batteries. In the manufacture of
felt hats from rabbits’ fur, mercuric nitrate is used to roughen the
hairs so that they will adhere together, a process technically known
as “carroting.” Metallic quicksilver is employed in the amalgamation
of gold and silver ores, although of late years the wide application
of the cyanide process has decreased this use. The metal is also
utilized in the manufacture of instruments, thermostats, gas governors,
and other appliances. Mercury enters into the composition of some
anti-fouling marine paints for ship bottoms, a modern and at present
rapidly increasing use. The mercury for this purpose is generally
employed as red mercuric oxide, its efficiency depending upon the
gradual conversion of the oxide to the poisonous bichloride by the
sodium chloride of salt water. Mercury is also used in certain
compounds for preventing boiler scale, in cosmetics, and in dental
amalgam. Silver nitrate has to a large extent replaced mercury in
silvering mirrors. A small quantity of quicksilver, not more than
two or three flasks annually, is used in floating certain types of
revolving lights in lighthouses. Quicksilver is also used as the
cathode in certain electrolytic processes for manufacturing chlorine
and caustic soda from common salt. Mercuric oxide parts with oxygen
readily and is a useful oxidizing agent in certain chemical processes.
An important modern utilization of this property is in the manufacture
of glacial acetic acid by the oxidation of acetylene.

Experiments to determine the possible advantages of using mercury
vapor with steam in turbine power generators are reported to have been
encouraging and a 4,000-kilowatt unit has been built by the General
Electric Co. to test further this application. Except for incidental
losses, the mercury so used is recoverable, but if in practice the
increase of power is as much as the experimental work has indicated a
large consumption of the metal is likely to result.

The production of quicksilver in this country in 1917 was 35,954 flasks
(of 75 pounds) and in 1918 it was 32,883 flasks.

GEOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION

The ores of quicksilver, like those of most metals, show on the whole
a close association with igneous rocks and with zones of fissuring.
More commonly than with other metals, with the possible exception of
antimony, they are associated with volcanism as opposed to plutonic
igneous activity and were deposited comparatively near the surface.
It follows that quicksilver deposits as a rule are found in regions
of Tertiary and Quaternary volcanic activity which have not been
subjected to long and deep erosion, that they are more likely to be in
the younger geologic formations than in the older rocks, and that as a
class, compared for example with the hypogene ores of gold or copper,
do not extend to great depth. It must be noted, however, that there
are some conspicuous exceptions to these generalizations. Although
the California deposits are in a region of late volcanic activity and
many of them are closely associated with active hot springs, the ore
bodies that are now most productive, those at New Idria (Idria post
office) and the great deposits, at New Almaden, that formerly yielded
so richly, have no obvious connection with volcanism. The greatest
quicksilver mine in the world, that at Almaden, Spain, has no known
connection with volcanism or massive igneous rocks, has been worked
to a depth of 1,150 feet, and the ore bodies have been found to grow
larger and richer downward. The deepest quicksilver mine in the world
is the New Almaden in California, worked to a depth of 2,200 feet. The
part of the mine below the 600-foot level was abandoned at a time when
the price of quicksilver was low, but it is doubtful whether, under any
conditions that can now be foreseen, it will be profitable to reopen
and work the deep levels of this mine.

Although most of the known quicksilver deposits are in regions of
geologically late volcanic eruptions it is probable that ores of
quicksilver were deposited during or closely following epochs of
similar igneous activity in the older geologic periods, but that many
of them have been removed by erosion. Some of the deposits in the older
rocks, which do not appear to be related to Tertiary or later volcanic
eruptions, may have had such earlier origin.

The quicksilver deposits of the Adriatic region in Europe, including
those at Idria, in Austria; Avala, in Serbia; and Monte Amiata,
in Italy, have been shown by De Launay to belong to a single
metallogenetic province characterized by Tertiary eruptions. Similarly,
the somewhat scattered occurrences of quicksilver in Alaska,
Washington, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Nevada, Utah, California, Arizona,
Mexico, Peru, and Chile coincide in part with the belt of Tertiary
and Quaternary volcanic activity along the western sides of the
continents of North and South America. The deposits at Almaden, Spain,
in the Donetz basin, Russia, in Asiatic Turkey, and in China appear
to be isolated occurrences that can not at present be assigned to
recognizable provinces of eruptive activity and metallization.

Quicksilver deposits are not confined to rocks of any particular kind
or of any particular geologic age.

At Oviedo the ore averages 0.33 per cent. and yields arsenic compounds
as by-products. At Idria the ore yields 0.65 per cent. The ore of the
Abbadia-San Salvatore, the principal mine in the Monte Amiata district,
in Italy, yielded about 0.9 per cent. in 1915. In California few mines
have over 2 per cent. ore, and the average yield of the ore worked
is about 0.5 per cent. The lowest yield that was profitably obtained
in that state in 1917 was 0.185 per cent. The ores worked in Texas
are generally of higher grade than those mined in California. In the
principal mine of the Terlingua district, Texas, the won tenor of the
ore in 1916 was 2.5 per cent. and in 1917, 3.9 per cent.

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION

=Europe.=--The largest and richest deposit of quicksilver ore known
is at Almaden, in central Spain. There are three nearly parallel ore
bodies standing vertically side by side, each consisting of a portion
of a bed of quartzite of Silurian age, impregnated with cinnabar. The
ore bodies have been mined to a depth of 350 meters. The production in
1917 was probably about 25,000 flasks. The mine is said to have ore
opened up that insures a future production of at least 40,000 metric
tons of quicksilver. Other productive deposits in Spain are those near
Oviedo, where the ore, which contains cinnabar, pyrite, orpiment,
and realgar, is said to average about one-third of 1 per cent. of
quicksilver, with arsenic compounds as by-products. According to a
report from Vice Consul General H. A. McBride, written in Barcelona in
1911, the principal companies operating in the Oviedo districts were
the Oviedo Mercury Mines Co., Ltd., of London, the Sociedad Fabrica de
Mieres, of Oviedo, and the Sociedad Union Asturiana, of Mieres. The
production from the district in 1915 was 608 flasks (20.7 metric tons).
A third group of deposits lies on the south slope of the Sierra Nevada
in the provinces of Granada and Almeria, southern Spain. The production
from Granada in 1915 was 41 flasks (1.4 metric tons).

A small quantity of quicksilver was produced in _Portugal_ in the
nineteenth century from a mine not far from Lisbon. Cinnabar occurs
at a number of localities in _France_ and also in Corsica, but the
deposits are not of economic character.

In South _Germany_, north of Zweibrucken, are quicksilver deposits that
had considerable importance near the end of the thirteenth century,
but at the beginning of the World War the mines had been closed for
many years. Zinc ores mined near Bensberg, east of Cologne, yield
annually about 90 flasks of quicksilver, won as a by-product in zinc
smelting. In the former _Austrian Empire_ the principal deposit is at
Idria, about 28 miles from Trieste. The ore body occurs chiefly as an
impregnation of Triassic dolomite and shale. The output in Austria in
1916, probably all from Idria, is believed to have been about 25,000
flasks. Reserves capable of yielding 20,000 metric tons, or 587,733
flasks, are known. At latest reports these mines were in the possession
of Italy. At Zips, in northern _Hungary_, quicksilver is obtained as a
by-product from iron ore (siderite) that carries mercurial tetrahedrite
and some cinnabar. The production in 1913 was 2,615 flasks.

To the west of Idria, quicksilver deposits belonging to the same
general belt of metallization extend into northern _Italy_. The
principal deposit of this belt in Venetia is the Vallalta. The mine
produced 9,550 flasks (325 metric tons) between 1856 and 1870, but has
long been idle. The most productive deposits of quicksilver in Italy
are those of the Monte Amiata district, in Tuscany, about half way
between Rome and Florence. Monte Amiata is apparently a post-Pliocene
volcano, and traces of recent volcanic activity survive. The most
productive mine is the Abbadia-San Salvatore, which yields about 65 per
cent. of the output from the district, which in 1917 amounted to about
29,300 flasks.

At Mount Avala, near Belgrade in _Serbia_, deposits of quicksilver ore
have been known since 1883, which resemble many of those in California.
The Avala deposits were worked between 1889 and 1895, but seemingly
have not been productive in late years.

The only quicksilver deposits of note in European _Russia_ are those
in the Donetz coal basin, southern Russia. The essential mineral
is cinnabar, accompanied by stibnite and pyrite. The deposits were
discovered in 1879, the maximum output, 18,102 flasks (616 metric
tons), was reached in 1897, and work was abandoned in 1911, but has
been resumed since in a small way.

=Asia.=--The Konia mine, in south-central _Asia Minor_, is in
silicified limestone. The quicksilver occurs as cinnabar and most
of the ore carries from 1 to 2.5 per cent. of the metal. The known
reserves were estimated in 1908 at 13,000 metric tons of 1 per cent.
ore. The production in 1911 was only 90 flasks of 75 pounds. The
Kara-Burnu mine, said to be the only important quicksilver mine in
Turkey, is situated southeast of Smyrna. In 1906 and 1907 the mine was
producing about 3,000 flasks annually, but of late years the output has
declined and in 1912 amounted to only 811 flasks (31 metric tons).

The Ildekansk quicksilver mine, in southeastern _Siberia_, east of Lake
Baikal, has gained notoriety from the fact that political exiles were
condemned to mine the ore. The deposit appears to be of slight economic
importance.

That quicksilver deposits occur in the Province of Kweichow,
south-central _China_, has long been known, but the locality is remote
from ordinary routes of travel and comparatively little is on record
concerning their character. The ore bodies of the Wan San Chang mines
are the most extensively worked. For several years prior to 1905 the
output averaged about 4,000 pounds of quicksilver a month. This would
be equivalent to about 640 flasks annually. More recent figures of
production are not available.

=North America.=--The quicksilver deposits of North America are
confined to the Cordilleran region from Alaska to Central America.
The most productive deposits are in California and western Texas. In
_Alaska_ minerals containing quicksilver have been found in a number
of the placer-mining districts, but deposits in place have been
discovered in the central Kuskokwim region only. The ore occurs as
cinnabar accompanied by stibnite, quartz, and a ferruginous dolomite.
Development has been hindered by transportation difficulties, and
only a few hundred pounds of quicksilver have been produced for local
consumption. In _Washington_ quicksilver ores have been prospected
in various places, but the production is as yet inconsiderable. In
_Oregon_ cinnabar is widely distributed, but only one deposit (at
Blackbutte, in Lane County) is at present productive. In the Black
Butte mine the ore averages about 0.25 per cent. of quicksilver, and
the quantity available above the 500-foot level is estimated by the
company at about 150,000 tons. The production of Oregon in 1917 was 388
flasks, all but 3 flasks being from the Black Butte mine.

In _California_ the principal deposits occur in the Coast Ranges within
a belt that is about 400 miles long and has a maximum width of about
75 miles. The known deposits within this area are numerous. About
twenty-five of these are at present productive, while probably three
times that number which were once productive are now idle. With a few
exceptions, the deposits of this main quicksilver belt are in rocks of
probable Jurassic age, or in serpentine which is the alteration product
of peridotites. The most notable exceptions are the deposits of the
Oceanic mine, San Luis Obispo County, and of the Sulphur Bank mine, in
Lake County. Many of the most productive mines of the past have yielded
no quicksilver from underground work for years.

The most productive mine in California at present is the New Idria,
in San Benito County, which in 1917 yielded 11,000 flasks out of a
total for the state of 23,733 flasks and for the United States of
35,954 flasks. The New Idria ore comes from two mines, the New Idria
proper and the San Carlos. The New Idria has been extensively opened
to a depth of about 1,000 feet. In the San Carlos practically all
of the known ore lies within 200 feet of the surface. The two mines
contributed nearly equally to the total production in 1917, and the
average winnable tenor of the ore in that year was 0.32 per cent. It
has been estimated that in the two mines there is available 2,400,000
tons of ore averaging 0.253 per cent. of quicksilver.

The New Almaden mine is in Santa Clara County. At present, all the
levels below the 800-foot are under water and of late years very little
ore has been taken from the old mine. Most of the recent production of
the New Almaden Co., Inc., which for 1917 amounted to 2,683 flasks,
has come from the El Senador mine, northeast of the old mine, and from
quicksilver recovered from ground under old furnaces and condensers. In
the New Almaden, the El Senador, and in the neighboring New Guadalupe,
which produced 3,100 flasks in 1917, the ore occurs as irregular bodies
in serpentine. Close to the mine now being worked by the New Guadalupe
Mining Co., and owned by the same company, is the original Guadalupe
mine, once highly productive but now long idle.

The Oceanic mine, in San Luis Obispo County, ranked fourth in
productiveness in California in 1917, with an output of 1,246 flasks.
The ore occurs as an impregnation of sandstone. The average winnable
tenor of the ore in 1917 was 0.185 per cent. Other mines in California
which yielded from 500 to 1,000 flasks in 1917 are the Great Eastern,
the Cloverdale, and the Culver-Baer, all in Sonoma County. Those whose
output was between 400 and 500 flasks are the St. Johns, and the Helen,
in Lake County.

_Nevada_ contains many widely scattered deposits of quicksilver ore,
no one of which has yet been worked on an extensive scale, although a
few have been fairly productive for short periods. The ores occur in
rhyolite of Tertiary age and in limestone or associated sedimentary
beds of various ages from Paleozoic to Mesozoic. The total yield from
Nevada in 1917 was 997 flasks, nearly half of which came from the
Farnham and Drew mine, east of Mina, which closed for lack of ore near
the end of the year. The next mine in point of yield, the Goldbanks, in
Humboldt county, is also at present non-productive.

In _Texas_ the principal quicksilver deposits are in the Terlingua
district, in Brewster County. The ore occurs along fissure zones in
Cretaceous limestones and shales, generally in proximity to intrusive
rock. The principal mines are the Chisos, Mariposa, Big Bend, and
Dallas.

In _Mexico_ quicksilver deposits in the states of San Luis Potosi,
Guerrero, and Durango are said to be yielding considerable quicksilver,
even in the present disturbed condition of the country. A quicksilver
dealer, testifying at the Tariff Commission hearing in San Francisco,
on June 26, 1918, said that 400 flasks a month was being exported
into the United States, but a considerable part of this was probably
reclaimed quicksilver that has been used in the amalgamation of silver
ores.

=South America.=--Quicksilver deposits are known in Colombia, Ecuador,
Bolivia, Chile, Brazil, Argentina, and Peru, but only those in Peru
seem to be of present economic importance, and the production of that
country in 1916 was only 62 flasks (2.1 metric tons). The most famous
deposits in Peru are those at Huancavelica, particularly those of the
Santa Barbara mine, on the east flank of the western chain of the
Andes. These have been worked since 1566 and are said to have yielded
46,500 metric tons (1,366,480 flasks of 75 pounds) before 1790. The
production in the 19th century has been estimated at 3,500 metric tons
(102,865 flasks). The ore bodies are numerous, irregular, and occur in
stratified rocks that are cut by igneous rocks. In 1916 the greater
part of the quicksilver-bearing ground in the Huancavelica district was
purchased by E. E. Fernandini, of Lima, and there appears to be some
prospect of a resumption of active mining.

CHANGES IN KNOWN GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION IN THE FUTURE

As with most metalliferous ores that have been formed later than the
deposition or solidification of their inclosing rocks, the ores of
quicksilver are most likely to be found in regions of eruptive activity
and complex geologic structure, especially in regions of comparatively
late volcanic disturbance. It follows that new deposits are most
likely to be discovered within the areas of Tertiary or post-Tertiary
volcanic activity, as in the Cordilleran belts of North and South
America, the eastern coast of Asia, certain parts of Oceania, and the
shores of the Mediterranean. Alaska, Mexico, and the western part
of South America seem to offer the greatest possibilities of future
productivity, but there is little probability of any important changes
in the sources of quicksilver taking place in the near future. The
value of a quicksilver deposit can be ascertained as a rule only by
mining exploration, and in very few quicksilver mines can any safe
estimate be made of “undeveloped” ore. The known facts afford no secure
basis for predicting that in the near future some now unimportant
district will, within the next ten years, wrest the supremacy in
production from Spain, or compete with Austria, Italy, California, or
Texas. As regards the principal known sources, it appears that the
high-water mark of productivity in California has long been passed,
although the mines are still capable of increasing their present
production under sufficient stimulus. The Italian output has been
increasing of late years, but whether this represents the discovery of
new ore bodies or indicates a longer life for the Monte Amiata district
is uncertain. A permanent improvement in the political conditions in
Mexico, with a continuance of the present, or higher, prices, would
probably lead to a notable increase in yield from that country. There
is some probability also that Peru may again become an important source
of quicksilver.

CHANGES IN PRACTICE

The quicksilver industry is less likely to be modified by changes
in mining methods than by improvements in metallurgy. Although very
simple in principle, the treatment of quicksilver ores, owing to the
mobility and elusiveness of the metal both in the liquid and vaporized
condition, is beset with many practical difficulties.

Coarsely broken ore is generally treated in various types of simple
shaft furnaces, the fuel being either mixed with the charge or burned
in a firebox. Finely broken or pulverulent ore, however, such as forms
the larger part of the material from most quicksilver mines, requires
different treatment. In Europe the common type of furnace for fine
ore is the Spirek and in the United States the Scott-Hütner, or, as
more commonly called, the Scott furnace. In both, the ore descends
by gravity over tiles of fire-clay so shaped and placed as to permit
the flame to pass back and forth through passages under tiles, the
passageways or flues being formed partly by the tiles and partly by the
ore itself. From the furnace the mercury-laden vapors are conducted
through a series of condensing chambers of brick, iron, wood, or other
material, in which the metal collects.

When intelligently operated, the Scott furnace is remarkably economical
and efficient; but its construction is expensive and requires specially
skilled masons. Moreover the furnace is difficult to repair, and once
erected can not be moved. These are serious disadvantages to the man of
small capital who is developing a new mine, and he usually has to fall
back on retorts which are expensive to operate and are unsatisfactory
except for relatively small quantities of rich ore.

Of late years attempts have been made in California and Texas to use
slightly modified rotary cement-kilns for treating quicksilver ores.
This innovation is promising and seems likely to prove successful.
Such a furnace, although it may not displace the Scott under some
conditions, does not require elaborate masonry structure, and its use
may lead to a considerably increased production from the smaller mines.

The condensing systems used with quicksilver furnaces differ greatly
and at no two mines in the United States are they identical. The brick
condensing chambers formerly so extensively used with the Scott furnace
are expensive to build; also the bricks are poor conductors of heat
and absorb large quantities of quicksilver. The recent tendency in
California has been to replace the brick chambers with large boxes or
cylindrical tanks of wood. European practice, followed by one mine in
Oregon and one in Texas, favors condensers constructed of vitrified
earthenware pipe. The whole question of quicksilver condensation calls
for study and skillful experiment. The establishment of a standard
of practice would increase production by elimination of much of the
loss and discouragement that come from inefficient individual efforts
to collect the mercury from the furnace vapors and gases in the most
complete and economical way.

POLITICAL CONTROL

The quicksilver industry offers two conspicuous examples of the direct
political control of mineral resources. The Almaden mine, whose output
is such as in normal times to determine the market for quicksilver,
has been owned and worked by the Spanish government since 1645,
and the Idria mine up until the close of the war was owned by the
Austro-Hungarian government.

The Spanish government, on the basis of competitive proposals,
contracts with the successful bidder for the sale of the quicksilver
for periods of ten years. For a number of successive periods the
contract has been awarded to the Rothschilds of London, the present
one dating from June 1, 1912. The contractors bind themselves to sell,
in London, the greatest possible quantity of quicksilver, which they
take f.o.b. at the reduction plant at Almaden, at prices above 7 pounds
per flask, They receive a commission of 1¹⁄₄ per cent. of the amount
of the sale; 6 shillings for each flask shipped from Spain to London;
and 10 per cent. of the amount by which the sales price exceeds 8
pounds 2 shillings per flask. The Spanish government reserves from the
operation of this contract 500 flasks[144] annually for the national
requirements of Spain. By this arrangement, although the mine is owned
by Spain, the market has been controlled in London. During the war the
sale of Almaden mercury was taken over by the Admiralty through Messrs.
Rothschild. The quantity received in London from Almaden in 1917 was
about 25,000 flasks.

[144] Increased to 10,000 flasks in 1919.

The Konia mine, in Asia Minor, reverted to the Turkish government in
1912, but its output, as previously noted, is inconsiderable.

The quicksilver mines of the Monte Amiata district, Italy, although
less obviously illustrative of political control than those just
mentioned, should perhaps be referred to in the present connection.
German capital has been dominant in their development in the late years
before the war, and the most productive mines are credibly reported to
have been owned wholly or in part by the German Emperor. With the entry
of Italy into the war they were seized by the Italian government. The
Italian mines produced about 28,000 flasks, of which from 12,000 to
15,000 flasks were purchased by the British Admiralty.

COMMERCIAL CONTROL

Under present practice the reduction of quicksilver ores is almost
invariably at the mine, both mine and reduction works being under the
same ownership. They must therefore be considered together for the
purpose of the present inquiry.

The most conspicuous example of commercial control is that exercised by
the Rothschilds of London, who do not own the resources that give them
this pre-eminence. The yield of the remarkably rich Almaden mine, whose
annual output surpasses that of any other mine and in 1916 exceeded
that of any country except Spain (whose ore, even when carelessly
worked, yields quicksilver at low cost, and whose known reserves are
large), enables the Rothschilds, in time of peace and subject to the
minimum fixed price in their contract, to determine the price at which
quicksilver shall be sold in the world’s markets. Another but much
smaller factor in making London the leading quicksilver mart of the
world is the control by British capital of the principal mines in the
Oviedo district, in northern Spain.

In the United States, the country which ranks next to Spain as a
producer of quicksilver, the mines are all owned by corporations
or individuals, and so far as known, there is at present no formal
combination or understanding between these owners to control output
or sales. Some years ago most of the leading producers in California
formed the Eureka company, which acted as selling agent and to some
extent was able to control prices. Often referred to by those outside
of it as the “quicksilver trust,” this organization was abandoned
after a brief existence. The firm of Haas Brothers, of San Francisco
(distinct from Haas Brothers, of New York), took a leading part in the
Eureka company, and since its dissolution has fulfilled many of the
functions that the company was to perform. The firm owns stock in the
leading mine on the Pacific Coast and acts as selling agents for the
New Idria Quicksilver Mining Co., whom it charges 1 per cent.[145],
whereas it charges others 2¹⁄₂ per cent. It also buys the metal for
itself, usually from the smaller producers, at prices generally much
below the current market quotation, and is to supply operators with
empty flasks, but only on condition that Haas Brothers shall buy the
product or sell it on commission. Other brokers who handle important
quantities of quicksilver on the Pacific Coast are Atkins, Kroll & Co.,
and the Braun-Knecht-Hiemann Co., both of San Francisco. So far as
known these two firms have no ownership in quicksilver mines and sell
only on commission.

[145] This connection is reported to have been broken in 1919.

The quicksilver mines in Texas are owned by American citizens or
American corporations. The ore from each is independently worked and
the quicksilver is sold by the individual producers.

The mercury deposits of Mexico are owned, as far as is known, by native
Mexicans. British capital is probably interested in some of the larger
mines. The formerly productive quicksilver mines at Huancavelica,
Peru, have been purchased by E. E. Fernandini, of Lima, and may again
contribute to the world’s supply.

So far as known to the writer of this article, patents, secret
processes or trade agreements play no part in the control of
quicksilver resources.

During the war Germany and her allies controlled the quicksilver
deposits of Australia, Serbia, Turkey and probably European Russia.
Only the Idria deposit, and perhaps the Zips deposit, in Austria, are
important, and the available annual supply for the Teutonic allies was
probably 25,000 to 30,000 flasks. The Entente allies controlled the
deposits of the United States, yielding about 36,000 flasks annually;
of Italy, yielding about 28,000 flasks; and controlled, although they
did not own, the deposits of neutral Spain, yielding from 30,000 to
41,000 flasks annually. The Chinese mercury deposits were possibly
drawn upon to some extent by Japan, who, like Britain and France, has
no deposits of her own that are worth mentioning.

SUMMARY

The chief uses of mercury and mercury compounds, in general order of
decreasing importance, are as follows: In the manufacture of drugs and
chemicals, including calomel, corrosive sublimate, and glacial acetic
acid; as a detonator for high explosives; as vermilion pigment; in
electrical apparatus, thermostats, gas governors, and other appliances;
in the amalgamation of gold and silver ores; in anti-fouling marine
paint; in compounds to prevent boiler scale; in cosmetics; and in
dental amalgam. There are comparatively few applications of mercury
where a substitute could not be employed, although the substitute might
not be as economical or as satisfactory.

In general the ores of quicksilver do not extend to great depths and
show on the whole a close association with Tertiary and Quaternary
igneous rocks that have not been subjected to long and deep erosion.
There are some notable exceptions, however, to these generalizations.
New deposits of mercury are most likely to be discovered on the eastern
coast of Asia, in certain parts of Oceania, on the shores of the
Mediterranean, or in the Cordilleran belts of North and South America.
The known facts afford no secure basis for predicting that there will
be within the next ten years any marked shift from the present main
sources of supply to some newly discovered deposit.

The richest mercury deposits are at Almaden, central Spain; at Idria,
Austria-Hungary; and in the Monte Amiata district of Italy. Other
productive deposits are situated near Oviedo and Granada, Spain; in
the Donetz coal basin, Russia; near Aidin, Turkey; in the province of
Kweichow, China; in Oregon, California, Nevada, and Texas; in San Luis
Potosi, Guerrero, and Durango, Mexico; and in Peru. Many deposits at
present unproductive are known in other parts of the world.

The political control of the quicksilver deposits corresponds for the
most part with geographic location. The rich deposits of Almaden, in
Spain, and Idria, in old Austria-Hungary, are government-owned. The
Spanish government, on the basis of competitive proposals, contracts
with the successful bidder for the sale of the quicksilver for a period
of ten years. The contract has been awarded to the Rothschilds of
London for a number of successive periods. This control of the output
of the Spanish mines gives the Rothschilds a control of the world’s
quicksilver market. The Spanish government reserves a sufficient number
of flasks annually for the national requirements of Spain. The Konia
mine, in Asia Minor, has been the property of the Turkish government
since 1912. It is believed that the most productive mines of the Monte
Amiata district, Italy, were owned wholly or in part by the German
Emperor; with the entry of Italy into the war they were seized by the
Italian government. The mines of the United States are all controlled
by corporations or individuals. It is believed that the mines of Mexico
are owned by Mexican citizens, although British capital may be invested
in some of them. The mines at Huancavelica, Peru, have been purchased
by Señor E. E. Fernandini, of Lima.

CHAPTER XIX

BAUXITE AND ALUMINUM

BY J. M. HILL

USES OF BAUXITE AND ALUMINUM

Bauxite, aluminum oxide, besides being the chief ore of aluminum,
has an important use in the manufacture of artificial abrasives
which are of wide application in all metal-fabricating industries.
Bauxite is also the basis of an extensive chemical industry, being the
crude material from which alum, aluminum sulphate, and several other
chemicals used for water purification, dyeing, and tanning are made. A
rapidly growing use for bauxite is in the manufacture of bauxite brick
for furnace linings. The more essential uses of bauxite are for the
manufacture of aluminum and abrasives, though it seems doubtful whether
the utilization of bauxite for chemicals could be much restricted. The
use of bauxite for refractories is relatively small. In 1917 nearly 65
per cent. of the domestic output of bauxite went into aluminum, nearly
13 per cent. was taken by manufactures of aluminum salts, 19 per cent.
was consumed in the manufacture of bauxite abrasives, and 3 per cent.
was used by makers of bauxite refractories.

The uses of aluminum are myriad, chief among them are in the
manufacture of parts of internal-combustion engines, and the
fabrication of industrial and household utensils.

CHANGES IN PRACTICE OF ALUMINUM MANUFACTURE

Heretofore bauxites low in silica (2 to 5 per cent. SiO₂) have been
used for the preparation of alumina for the manufacture of aluminum.
Many experimenters have endeavored to utilize low-grade (high-silica)
bauxites, or aluminum silicates for the recovery of alumina. These
experiments show that it is chemically possible to produce low-silica
alumina from many aluminous materials, but not on a commercially
profitable basis. It seems reasonably certain that one or more of the
methods of handling low-grade bauxite or even aluminous silicates will
be developed to the commercial stage, even under ordinary conditions,
in the near future. That event should tend to revolutionize the
aluminum industry, as clays and shales carrying from 25 to 35 per cent.
Al₂O₃ are of widespread occurrence. Whether it would materially lower
the price of aluminum is more doubtful, for the costs of manufacture
would be raised by the increased cost of treating the low-grade crude
material.

GEOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION

The European bauxite deposits are in folded sedimentary rocks, mainly
of Cretaceous age. In the United States bauxite deposits are surficial
and have resulted from the alteration of either sedimentary kaolin
(aluminum silicate) or kaolin derived from the weathering of syenite or
of dolomitic limestones. In the tropical fields, which have as yet been
little exploited and are in fact little known, the bauxites seemingly
are surficial deposits derived from the alteration of feldspathic rocks.

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION

The chief bauxite deposits of _Europe_ are in the provinces of Var
and Herault, in southern France, though other deposits are known in
Bouches du Rhone and several other southern provinces. In central Italy
bauxite has been mined for some years. In Germany low-grade bauxite
has been mined in the Vogelsberg Mountains, Hesse, near Königswinter,
in the lower Rhine country, and is known in Hanover. In the former
Empire of Austria-Hungary there are extensive bauxite deposits in the
Bihar Mountains and in the provinces of Istria, Croatia, and Dalmatia.
Bauxite is also known in northwestern Russia, about 200 miles southeast
of Petrograd. Bauxite has been mined for a number of years from beds in
northwestern Ireland.

In the _United States_, bauxite has been mined for years in central
Arkansas, northwestern Georgia, northeastern Alabama, and southeastern
Tennessee, and more recently from the central Georgia field, which is
being extended into west-central Georgia.

In _South America_, extensive deposits of good bauxite have been
found in British and Dutch Guiana, and it is reported that there are
evidences of bauxite in eastern Venezuela, western French Guiana, and
northeastern Brazil.

In _Africa_, bauxite of good quality is reported to have been developed
near the coast of French Guinea and to have been found in a number of
inland localities in that colony. Vague rumors are current of large
areas of bauxitic laterite[146] at many places in equatorial Africa.

[146] Laterite is the general name for rock of any kind that is in
a thoroughly softened and decomposed state, due to alteration or
weathering at the surface.

In the literature of the geology of _India_ there are many references
to bauxitic laterites, and it is reported that recently some of the
Deccan bauxite deposits are being exploited.

In southwestern and eastern _Australia_ some of the laterites are
reported to be bauxitic, though so far as known no bauxite has been
developed.

There is a persistent rumor, without confirmation, that bauxite has
been discovered recently in _China_. As to this deposit no information
is available.

The table below shows the world’s production of bauxite for a number
of years. Although the figures give an idea of the relative importance
of the deposits with respect to consuming centers, it is not believed
that they represent relative importance with regard to the future. It
seems unavoidable to conclude that the tropical countries hold immense
reserves of bauxite and that some day the aluminum industry will be
nearer the tropics than it is at present.

TABLE 63.--WORLD’S OUTPUT OF BAUXITE, 1910-1916

(Output in tons)

------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
Country | 1910 | 1911 | 1912 | 1913 |
------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
United States |148,932|155,618|159,865|210,241|
France |192,913|250,818|254,851|304,407|
United Kingdom (Ireland)| 3,792| 6,007| 5,790| 6,055|
Italy | 4,524| 5,600| 6,596| 6,843|
India | 66| 12| 950 | 1,184|
+-------+-------+-------+-------+
Total |350,277|418,055|428,052|528,730|
------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+

------------------------+-------+-------+-------
Country | 1914 | 1915 | 1916
------------------------+-------+-------+-------
United States |219,318|297,041|425,100
France |([147])|([147])|([147])
United Kingdom (Ireland)| 8,286| 11,723| 10,329
Italy | 3,844| 6,504| 8,746
India | 514| 400| 750
+-------+-------+-------
Total | | |
------------------------+-------+-------+-------

[147] No statistics available.

The production of bauxite in the United States in 1917 was 568,690 long
tons.

POLITICAL CONTROL

France and the United States hold within their boundaries the largest
deposits of bauxite that have been worked in the past. England
controls, through her colonial possessions, a large share of the
equatorial areas that probably contain much of the undeveloped bauxite.
France and Holland each have possessions in the tropics in which
bauxite is known, and it seems probable that bauxite may be found
in the colonies of Portugal and of Belgium and in those formerly
controlled by Germany.

It is reported that England has placed certain restrictions on the
acquisition of bauxite deposits in India and Guiana by foreign
individuals or corporations. It is known that she has restricted
the destination of bauxite exported from British Guiana. The Dutch
government is understood to have examined recently the bauxite deposits
of Dutch Guiana, probably with a view to restricting acquisition of
property not already acquired. Evidently there is some understanding
between the British, French, and Italian governments which permits
the sending of French bauxite to the aluminum works of both Italy and
England.

The aluminum works of the world are largely under the political
domination of the United States, England, France, Germany,
Switzerland, Italy and Norway. The producing capacity of the various
countries has been estimated as follows:[148]

PRODUCING CAPACITY OF ALUMINUM WORKS

Short tons
United States and Canada 87,500
France 20,000
Switzerland, Germany and Austria 20,000
Norway 16,000
England 12,000
Italy 7,000
Japan 250
-------
Total 162,750

[148] HILL, J. M., “Bauxite and Aluminum in 1916;” United States
Geological Survey; “Mineral Resources of the United States,” Part I,
1917, p. 167.

The actual output of the plants included in the above table does not
represent full capacity, and it seems more reasonable to assume that
the production at present is probably nearer 150,000 tons a year than
the total given. There is little question that the United States and
Canadian plants are producing over half of the world’s supply of
aluminum. It is reported that during 1917 and 1918 extensions of the
British and Italian works brought their output nearly to the rated
plant capacity.

COMMERCIAL CONTROL

It is safe to say that the aluminum industries of the various
countries control to a large extent the bauxite deposits of the world.
The principal aluminum companies are as follows: Aluminum Company
of America, British Aluminum Co., L’Aluminium Française, Aluminum
Industries A. G.

It is commonly known that before the war agreements between these four
companies stabilized the prices of aluminum throughout the world. At
present (1919) the outlook is that the Aluminum Company of America
should be in position to dominate the aluminum industry of the world
for some years through the expansion of its electrical plants and its
initiative in acquiring newly discovered deposits of exceptionally pure
bauxite in South America. It seems quite conceivable that the British
and French and possibly the German interests may seek to adjust their
relations so that they can offset the American dominance.

_United States and Canada._--The great bulk of the bauxite deposits of
the United States seems controlled by the Aluminum Company of America,
through its subsidiaries, the American Bauxite Co. and the Republic
Mining & Manufacturing Co. There are small holdings of bauxite lands
controlled by the National Bauxite Co., a subsidiary of the E. I. du
Pont de Nemours Co., and by the Norton Co., of Worcester, Mass.,
makers of artificial abrasives. Aside from these more important
holders, there are a few independent operators of bauxite mines, but
their combined output is so small that it can be disregarded.

All of the aluminum works of the United States and Canada are
controlled by the Aluminum Company of America, which is dominated by
the Mellen banking interests, of Pittsburgh, Pa.

_The Guianas._--It is reported that the Aluminum Company of America
controls about 2,030,000 acres of bauxite land in the British and Dutch
colonies. In British Guiana the ownership is seemingly in the Canadian
Bauxite Co. Associated with the Aluminum Company of America in the
British Guiana holdings is the Merrimac Chemical Co., of Boston. It is
also reported that the Norton Co., of Worcester, Mass., has acquired
in Dutch Guiana small holdings of bauxite lands. There are no works
utilizing bauxite in Dutch Guiana.

_France._--Prior to the war, some of the large deposits of high-grade
bauxite in the Province of Var were controlled by the “Bauxites de
France,” a German enterprise, but this control was naturally suspended
at the beginning of hostilities, and it will probably not be resumed.
The French bauxite industry is largely in the hands of the French
producers of aluminum mentioned below, though some deposits are said to
be controlled by the British Aluminum Co. through its control of the
Union des Bauxites company.

The French aluminum industry is centralized under one selling
agency, L’Aluminium Française, in which the following five companies
participate:

Compagnie des Produits Chemiques d’Alais et de la Camargue, Société
Electro-Metallurgique Française, Société d’Electro-Chemie, Société des
Forces Motrices de l’Arve, Société Electro-Metallurgique de Pyrenees.

It is said that the stock of the selling company is owned by
participating companies in proportion to their output of aluminum,
which would indicate that the control of l’Aluminium Française rests
with the first two companies above.

_Great Britain._--The bauxite deposits in County Antrim, Ireland, are
seemingly controlled exclusively by the British Aluminium Co. The
British Aluminium Co. is the sole producer of the metal in England,
operating plants at Foyers and Loch Leven, in the British Isles, and
plants in Norway.

_Norway._--All the bauxite used by the aluminum works in Norway is
of French or British origin. There are no deposits of bauxite in the
country. The British Aluminium Co. controls the aluminum plants at
Higeland and Strangfiord through the Anglo-Norwegian Co. The Compagnie
des Produits Chemiques d’Alais et de la Camargue (French) largely
controls the Société Norvegienne des Nitrures, which operates aluminum
works at Arendal and Tyssedal. A Norwegian company, the Norske Aluminum
Co., has been recently organized to make aluminum.

_Italy._--There is little information concerning the ownership of the
Italian bauxite deposits, but presumably they are controlled by the
producers of aluminum. The principal aluminum manufacturer is the
Societa Italiana per la Fabricazione dell’Alluminio, which is under
Italian-French control.

The new aluminum company, L’Allumino Italiano, recently organized in
Italy, if reports are true, may be in part controlled by German and
Swiss interests. As the company was organized during the war, it does
not seem reasonable to suppose that German participation would be
permitted.

_Central Powers._--Apparently most of the aluminum industry of these
countries is controlled by a German-Swiss company, Société Swisse
pour l’Industrie de l’Aluminium, or Aluminum Industrie, A. G., which
operates plants at Neuhausen, Chippes, Navisance, and Borgne, in
Switzerland; at Rheinfelden, Germany, and at Lend and Rauris, in
Austria. A small quantity of aluminum is also made by the German firm,
Gebrüder Guilini, at its plant at Martigny. It is reported that the
Aluminum Fabrik-Martigny, A. G., has recently been formed with G.
Guilini at its head, which is possibly a reorganization of the former
concern.

SUMMARY

By far the largest and most important use of bauxite is for the
extraction of aluminum, a metal used mainly in the manufacture of
parts for internal-combustion engines and of industrial and household
utensils. Bauxite is also used in the manufacture of artificial
abrasives, as a source of certain aluminum salts, and in the
manufacture of refractory bricks. The first two uses, the manufacture
of aluminum and abrasives, are the most essential, though it would
be difficult to restrict to any great extent the use in the chemical
industry.

The principal bauxite deposits of the world are in the provinces of Var
and Herault, southern France; in the former empire of Austria-Hungary;
in Arkansas, Georgia, and Alabama; in British and Dutch Guiana; and in
northwestern Ireland. Minor deposits are located in Germany, Russia,
Venezuela, French Guiana, Brazil, Africa, Australia, and probably
China. It is believed that the tropical countries hold immense reserves
of bauxite.

Experiments have shown that it is chemically possible to manufacture
aluminum from the low-grade (high-silicate) bauxite ores. No commercial
process has been perfected, but it seems certain that one or more
methods will be developed to the commercial stage in the near future.
A reduction in the price of aluminum is not to be expected as a
result of this change in practice, however, for the use of low-grade
materials will undoubtedly increase the manufacturing costs.

The largest producing bauxite deposits are controlled politically by
the United States and France. Great Britain controls a large share of
the equatorial regions that probably contain most of the undeveloped
deposits. Bauxite may also be found in the colonial possessions of
Portugal and Belgium, and in those formerly owned by Germany. The
aluminum works of the world are controlled by the United States, Great
Britain, France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy and Norway.

Most of the bauxite deposits of the United States are owned by the
Aluminum Company of America, which is dominated by the Mellen banking
interests, of Pittsburgh, and controls all of the aluminum works of
the United States and Canada. Small holdings in the United States are
controlled by a subsidiary of the E. I. du Pont de Nemours Co., and by
the Norton Co., of Worcester, Mass. The Aluminum Company of America
also controls, through subsidiaries, large areas of bauxite land in
British and Dutch Guiana. Before the war some of the large French
deposits were controlled by German interests. The French industry is
largely in the hands of French producers of aluminum, although some
of the deposits are said to be controlled by British capital. The
main French companies have organized a selling company, L’Aluminium
Française.

The British Aluminium Co., controls the deposits in Ireland and is the
sole producer of aluminum in England. British capital also controls
aluminum works in Norway. The principal bauxite deposits of Italy are
probably controlled by the Societa Italiana per la Fabricazione dell’
Alluminio, an Italian-French company. Apparently most of the aluminum
industry of the Central Powers is controlled by a German-Swiss company.
American interests are reported to have explored bauxite deposits in
French Guinea, Africa, but so far as known have produced no bauxite.

CHAPTER XX

EMERY AND CORUNDUM

BY FRANK J. KATZ

USES OF EMERY AND CORUNDUM

Corundum is the natural (mineral) crystalline oxide of aluminum. Emery
is a very fine-grained and intimate intergrowth of corundum and other
minerals, chiefly magnetite, some varieties containing also important
amounts of hematite, spinel, and chlorite. Both emery and corundum are
very hard, and break into rough, sharp grains; hence they are used as
abrasives for grinding, dressing, and polishing metals--chiefly iron
and steel--and glass, and, to a less extent, stone, wood, and other
materials. Emery and corundum are used loose in the form of grains,
powders, and flours, and also as grains made up into solid wheels,
cylinders, blocks, and files of many shapes by means of a great variety
of binders. The essential uses are in work on iron and steel and glass.
The softer metals and other materials can be worked in many cases to
better advantage with other abrasives, such as quartz, tripoli, garnet
and pumice.

The essential operations for which emery and corundum are used can be
performed with the artificial carbide and alumina abrasives. For some
work, however, such substitutions appear not to be advisable, as the
abrasive quality and efficiency of both the natural and artificial
abrasives depend not only on the hardness of these materials, but also
on a number of other factors: among these being the physical qualities
of the materials worked; the sharpness of edges and angles of broken
particles of the abrasive; the manner in which the abrasive breaks down
under use; the manner of, and materials used in, binding the abrasive
particles; and the speed and pressure with which they are applied to
the work.

Of the various kinds of material abraded, each calls for different
grades and kinds of abrasives, and for variation in the above factors
in the use of these abrasives in order to insure most efficient use.
Consequently, it is almost impossible to determine arbitrarily the uses
for which each of the various abrasive materials is essential. This
much, at least, seems certain--that for finishing and polishing glass,
particularly optical glass and plate glass, there is as yet no general
agreement that satisfactory substitutes are available for the better
grades of Turkish and Greek emery, although experiments in manufacture
and use of suitable artificial abrasives have been successful.

GEOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION

The known emery deposits are products of magmatic differentiation or of
regional metamorphism, or of combined contact and regional metamorphism
of limestone, presumably argillaceous, and of argillaceous sediments.
A study of certain individual deposits, therefore, makes possible some
forecast as to future supplies in some regions, particularly those
in which the emery deposits are intimately related to certain beds
in metamorphic sedimentary formations in close proximity to igneous
rocks. The emery bodies are, however, as a rule, spotted or irregularly
distributed, and reliable estimates of reserves are difficult.

Corundum, in a number of associations, is an original constituent of
a great variety of igneous rocks, such as peridotites, anorthosites,
syenites, nepheline syenites, and syenite pegmatites. It is also
abundantly found in regionally metamorphosed rocks and in contact
metamorphic zones, occurring in serpentines, mica schists, quartz
schists, and crystalline limestones. A third important source of
corundum is alluvial deposits. Corundum is not a characteristic or
essential constituent in any of these types of rocks and is present
in alluvial deposits in restricted localities only. Furthermore, its
distribution and its concentration, when present, are irregular and
unsystematic, and there are, therefore, no geologic guides by which
future supplies can be forecast without intensive study of each
individual occurrence.

GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION

The chief deposits of emery and corundum in the _United States_ are in
the eastern seaboard or Appalachian states.

The emery deposits of Chester, Massachusetts, are in a narrow band less
than 500 feet wide that has been traced for nearly five miles. The
Chester deposits have been worked at various times since the eighties
and up to 1913.

Emery deposits near Peekskill, New York, are associated with igneous
rocks in an area of 20 to 25 square miles. These deposits have been
worked since 1889. Some of the material mined is a true emery, that
is, an intimate mixture of corundum and magnetite, but most of it is
largely a mixture of spinel and magnetite, which, while not a true
emery, makes an excellent abrasive. In 1916 and 1917, the annual output
of ore was approximately 15,000 tons.

In the vicinity of Whittle, Pittsylvania County, Virginia, spinel
emery, somewhat like the New York emery, but containing more corundum,
is abundant. The deposits in this region have already produced
considerable emery and may be counted on for a large supply.

Corundum is associated with a serpentine belt extending through
Lancaster, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Bucks counties,
Pennsylvania, and through adjoining counties in Delaware and Maryland.
The deposits in this region do not seem to be of commercial importance.

Corundum is found in a large number of localities in North Carolina.
The most important occurrences of corundum are in or near peridotite
masses, also in schists, and in alluvial deposits. Active mining work
was first begun in 1871 and continued until about 1906, when North
Carolina corundum was driven from the market by the competition of
Canadian corundum and artificial abrasives. Corundum mining was revived
in 1915, and the three properties worked in 1917 made an output of 820
tons. There is unquestionably a very large reserve of corundum in this
region, but transportation is difficult and efficient labor is scarce;
so that there is little immediate prospect of a large development.

The only commercially important deposits of abrasive corundum west of
the Appalachian Mountains are in the central part of Gallatin County
near Salesville, Montana, where corundum occurs in syenite and syenite
pegmatite. The deposits have been worked by three companies, and up
to 1903, when operations ceased, had produced several hundred tons of
corundum.

The sources in _Canada_ of abrasive corundum of commercial importance
are limited to the corundum syenites and anorthosites in central
Ontario. These deposits have been developed and mined only at the
Burgess mines and at Craigmont. Corundum mining as an industry in
Canada began in 1900. The production reached a maximum in 1906 and was
smaller and fairly uniform from 1907 to 1913, in which year operations
were practically suspended.

The reported occurrences of corundum in _Mexico_ and _Central and South
America_ are chiefly of the gem variety. Emery is reported from Musco,
Colombia, and common corundum is reported as especially abundant at
localities in the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil.

The only occurrence of emery and corundum of commercial importance in
_Europe_ is in the islands of the Grecian Archipelago, particularly
the Island of Naxos. The deposits occur there as lenses and masses in
limestones and in the vicinity of granites. Exploration and development
work has been superficial, but reserves or future supplies there
are probably enormous. Annual exports during the years 1897 to 1914
averaged 6,800 metric tons.

In _Asia_ there are commercial corundum deposits in Asiatic Turkey and
in India.

The emery deposits of Asiatic Turkey are near Smyrna. The Turkish
emery is similar in origin and general character to the Greek emery,
except that none is found in Asia Minor of quite the superior quality
of that of Naxos. The main source of supply seems so far to have been
from the detrital deposits. It seems almost certain that supplies are
large. The emery mines of Asia Minor are very old and have annually
contributed large quantities to the world’s supply, their output having
been larger than from any other region in the world. Statistics for
recent years are lacking. The recorded output in official reports of
the Turkish government was about 62,000 metric tons in 1908 and about
25,000 in 1909.

The corundum deposits of India are numerous and include not only
the common abrasive varieties but also the most highly prized gem
varieties. Commercially important deposits of the abrasive variety
occur in the presidency of Madras. The following provinces and native
states also contain the mineral in more or less abundance: Afghanistan,
Bengal, Burma, Central Provinces, Punjab, and Travancore.

Available data on the production of corundum in India indicate an
output between 100 and 500 long tons a year, up to and including 1915.
In 1916 the production was approximately 2,000 long tons and since
then it has probably equaled or exceeded that figure. Nothing definite
is known as to the corundum resources of India, except that they are
undoubtedly large.

The only recorded deposits of abrasive corundum in commercial
quantities on the continent of _Africa_ are in the vicinity of
Pretoria, in the Transvaal, where corundum, probably occurring
originally in schists, is concentrated from residual material on the
land surface. Little information concerning these corundum deposits is
available, but it is probable that large reserves may be developed. The
production, which had been slight or negligible prior to 1912, expanded
greatly in 1917 to about 3,000 long tons.

Corundum appears to be abundant on the Island of Madagascar, where
large amounts of gem stuff and abrasive materials have been found in
alluvial deposits. The production of abrasive corundum, which was
very small in 1910, expanded to about 1,100 metric tons in 1913, and
approximately 1,000 metric tons in 1916.

DEVELOPMENTS AND CHANGES IN THE NEAR FUTURE

No material changes in geographic distribution of resources appear
probable in the near future. None of the deposits now productive is
approaching exhaustion, and only concerning emery in Virginia, where
somewhat larger emery production may be expected, is information at
hand upon which to forecast changes in output.

Substitution of artificial abrasives for emery and corundum may be
extended. Experiments conducted early in 1918 looking toward the
development of an artificial abrasive suitable for use in optical
and plate-glass work have been successful, so that there may remain
no industrial operation wholly dependent on emery and corundum. The
complete supplanting of the natural abrasives, however, will depend in
part on the supply of bauxite available for manufacture into artificial
abrasives. At present the United States supplies of bauxite are
sufficient for such use.

The demand in Britain and France for Indian and South African corundum
and Greek emery would undoubtedly diminish if the French artificial
abrasive plants were in full operation. Such a change would also
probably cut down exports of artificial abrasives from the United
States, and correspondingly affect the demand for emery and corundum.

POLITICAL CONTROL

Emery and corundum resources within the United States are owned, so far
as known, by American citizens, and are in no way state controlled.

The Greek emery industry was formerly a monopoly controlled by
the Greek government, but the inhabitants of the emery region had
always maintained their sole right to mine the emery. This right was
respected, and the Greek government merely regulated and managed
sales and exports, exacted high royalties, which were changed from
time to time, fixed prices, and maintained high quality and uniform
standards of emery for export. The French government during the war
assumed control of the Naxos emery supply and presumably continued
the regulations of the Greek government. Supplies of Greek emery were
available only to France and her allies, through allocation by the
French government.

COMMERCIAL CONTROL

In the United States the various emery and corundum deposits are in
small holdings that are mostly owned by local residents. The mines
and quarries have been worked by lessees on royalty, generally. A
considerable number of operators are and have been engaged in several
localities, and there are no trade coalitions. Crushing and grading
are in the hands of eight independent competitive companies, except in
so far as they were welded during the war into a trade association by
the War Trade Board for the purpose of allocating, under Government
supervision, the small imports of Greek emery to essential industries.

In Canada the better portions of the corundum deposits seem to be
controlled largely by one company--Manufacturers Corundum Co.--whose
owners seem to be dominantly or entirely of Canadian nationality.

The Greek emery deposits, particularly those of Naxos, are claimed to
be the inalienable property of the families resident upon the island.

There is no control of emery and corundum resources through ownership
of crushing, milling, and grading plants, nor through patents or
secret processes of preparation. Trade combinations as affecting
emery and corundum supply are unknown. There are a number of milling
companies in the United States, Britain, France, and Germany, who
compete for the world’s supply of raw material, and those of each
country compete with one another for markets for the graded, prepared
material.

POSITION OF THE NATIONS

The _United States_ has supplies of inferior emery and resources of
corundum which are not developed adequately to meet the demands for
natural abrasive materials. During the war the United States was short
of the amount of emery and corundum desired by consumers. However, this
shortage was offset by an excess supply of artificial abrasives.

_England_, in India and South Africa, has corundum supplies probably
more than sufficient for her needs. England is probably well enough
supplied with these abrasives, particularly as long as she continues
to import from Canada and the United States the needed artificial
abrasives.

_France_ has no home supply of emery and corundum, but has large
resources in her colony, Madagascar, and during the war controlled the
Greek emery supply. Furthermore, France has in reserve rich bauxite
deposits and hydro-electric power for manufacture of artificial
abrasives.

_Germany_ depended upon Turkish emery during the war. She is short of
bauxite, but makes large quantities of carborundum.

_Japan_ probably can supply her needs by drawing on Indian corundum
resources and on the United States for artificial abrasives. During the
stringency of supply in 1917 some material was exported to the United
States from Japan.

SUMMARY

Corundum and emery, the latter a close association of corundum with
certain other minerals, are used as abrasives for grinding and
polishing metals, glass, stone, and wood. Many of the operations
formerly performed with emery and corundum are now being performed with
artificial carbide and alumina abrasives.

The deposits of emery and corundum are few in number, but their product
is ample for all present needs. Commercially important deposits are
situated in the Appalachian region of the United States; on the islands
of the Grecian Archipelago, especially the Island of Naxos; in the
Province of Aidin, in Asia Minor; in the presidency of Madras and the
provinces of Punjab, Bengal, and Travancore, India; in Madagascar; and
in the Transvaal near Pretoria.

The geological formation of emery and corundum deposits makes
impossible any accurate estimate of reserves or any forecast of future
discoveries.

The political control of the emery and corundum resources of the
world corresponds to the geographical location except as regards the
deposits on the Island of Naxos. This island is Grecian territory,
but the French government during the war assumed control of the emery
industry and allocated supplies of the abrasive only to the industries
of France and her allies. The deposits of Asia Minor are at present
(1920) nominally in the control of Turkey, but actually partly in the
coastal strips seized and held by the Italians and the Greeks after the
armistice. Madagascar is a French possession, and the Transvaal and
India are parts of the British Empire.

The deposits of the United States are owned by a number of small
independent operators, all American as far as is known. The Canadian
deposits are controlled largely by one company, the Manufacturers
Corundum Co., whose owners are predominantly or entirely Canadian. The
Greek emery deposits, particularly those of Naxos, are claimed to be
the inalienable property of the families resident on the island.

TABLE 64.--PRODUCTION OF EMERY AND CORUNDUM, 1910-1917

--------------------------+-------------------------------------
| Emery | Corundum
----+------+-------+------+------+-------+------+-------+-------
|United| | |United| | | Mada- |So.
|States| Greece| |States| Canada| India| gascar|Africa
| [149]| [149] |Turkey| [149]| [149] | [149]| [149] | [149]
----+------+-------+------+------+-------+------+-------+-------
| | Ore | | | | | Grains| Grains
| Ore |shipped| |Grains| |Grains| or ore| or ore
| pro- | from | | pro- | Grains| pro- | pro- | pro-
| duced| Syria | | duced|shipped| duced| duced | duced
| (long|(metric| | (long| (long | (long|(metric| (long
| tons)| tons) | | tons)| tons) | tons)| tons) | tons)
----+------+-------+------+------+-------+------+-------+-------
1910| 940| 12,939| [150]| [151]| 1,660 | 218| 11 | [150]
1911| 620| 9,845| [150]| [151]| 1,270 | 275| 150 | [150]
1912| 870| 7,687| [150]| [151]| 1,600 | 345| 496 | 99
1913| 900| 1,440| [150]| [151]| 1,090 | 355| 1,099 | [150]
1914| 460| 10,226| [150]| [151]| 500 | 105| 556 | [150]
1915| 2,840| [150]| [150]| [152]| 220 | 62| 327 | [150]
1916|14,400| [150]| [150]| [152]| 60 | 1,868| 914 | [150]
1917|15,400| [150]| [150]| 770 | 160 | [150]| [151] | 4,051
| | | | | | | | [153]
----+------+-------+------+------+-------+------+-------+-------

[149] Statistics for United States from U. S. Geol. Survey; for
Canada, Canada Dept. Mines; for Greece, British Consular Reports
quoted in “Mineral Industry;” for India, Records India Geol. Survey;
for Madagascar, Service des Mines, Madagascar; for South Africa,
American Consular Reports.

[150] Figures not available.

[151] No production.

[152] Small unrecorded amount.

[153] Nine months, Jan.-June and Oct.-Dec.

CHAPTER XXI

MAGNESITE

BY R. W. STONE

USES OF MAGNESITE

Magnesite and its derived products are used in a variety of industries,
the most essential of which, beyond doubt, is metallurgy. Owing to the
high fusion point and chemical inertness of the oxide of magnesium,
magnesite is one of the principal minerals used in the metallurgical
and other industries where highly refractory material is required. For
this purpose dead-burned magnesite is used in the form of brick or of
grains. Brick and shapes are employed for lining open-hearth steel
furnaces, welding, heating, and melting furnaces, reverberatories,
settlers, and furnaces for refining lead, copper converters, and
electrical furnaces. Crushed or granular magnesite is used for lining
the bottoms of open-hearth steel furnaces, and in making crucibles and
cupels.

In the manufacture of the cement known as oxychloride or Sorel cement
the quantity of magnesite used is exceeded only by that used for
refractory purposes. This cement is employed largely for sanitary
flooring, and to a less extent for wall plaster, both interior and
exterior. It is used also instead of Portland cement for some forms
of exterior construction where quick and strong set is required.
Magnesite is used in the manufacture of wood-pulp paper on the Pacific
Coast, in fire-resisting paint, as a non-conductor of heat in pipe and
furnace coverings, and in the manufacture of magnesium chloride, light
carbonate, and other products, including metallic magnesium.

GEOLOGICAL OCCURRENCE

Deposits of magnesite are widely distributed throughout the world and
occur in two distinct forms, amorphous and crystalline. Amorphous
magnesite, the most common form, is fine-grained, and compact; it
is usually found in veins or masses in serpentine resulting from
the alteration of magnesia-rich rocks of the peridotite family. To
this group belong the Grecian deposits, nearly all the California
deposits, and those in Mexico, Venezuela, and other parts of the
world. Crystalline magnesite is medium to coarse grained, and occurs
as masses in limestone, dolomite or associated sediments which have
been metamorphosed. The principal deposits of this class are those in
Austria, Hungary, Quebec, and Washington.

Deposits of magnesite are regarded as having originated in three
ways. The massive non-crystalline variety, such as that in California
and Greece, is believed to have been formed by the decomposition of
serpentine. Magnesite deposits near Bissel, California, and on Muddy
River, near St. Thomas, Nevada, are said to be of sedimentary origin.
The Austro-Hungarian, Washington, and Quebec deposits are regarded
as resulting from the replacement of calcareous sedimentary rocks by
magnesian-bearing solutions.

Magnesite deposits that occur as veins in connection with serpentinized
magnesian rocks probably are formed both from the breaking down of the
serpentine-making minerals and from the serpentine itself. It seems
probable that usually both serpentine and magnesite are formed in the
process of decay of the original minerals in peridotite and the allied
basic rocks, and that during the decay of the serpentine the formation
of magnesite continues. In any case the magnesia or magnesian mineral
is changed to carbonate, dissolved by percolating water charged with
carbon dioxide, and precipitated in cracks and crevices as veins. When
formed in this way the magnesite occurs in large and small veins,
lenses, and stockwork, and its distribution and extent are erratic.
It seems fair to assume that these deposits may extend to the limit
of depth of easily circulating surface waters, which in favorable
conditions may be several hundred feet. Faulting, on the other hand, is
as likely to cut the veins off in depth as in length. Any estimate of
available tonnage of magnesite in deposits of this type therefore is
unwarranted in advance of development work.

Sedimentary deposits such as those of Bissel, California, and near St.
Thomas, Nevada, are by their nature more regular in occurrence, and
their tonnage can be estimated from the outcrop in natural exposures
and prospects.

Replacement deposits like those in Washington and Quebec are not so
regular as the sedimentary deposits, but are more regular than the
veins, and tonnage estimates may be based on the surface exposure and
an assumed depth of 50 to 100 feet.

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION

The known distribution of magnesite deposits is as follows:

_North America._
Canada: Quebec, British Columbia and elsewhere.
United States: California, Washington, Nevada.
Mexico: Lower California on Santa Margarita Island.

_South America._
Venezuela: Island of Margarita.

_Europe._
Austria, Hungary, Germany, Greece, Italy, Macedonia, Norway, Sweden,
Russia.

_Africa._
Transvaal, Rhodesia, Portuguese West Africa.

_Asia._
India, in Madras and Mysore.

_Australia._
Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia, Tasmania.

_Oceania._
New Caledonia.

The following description by countries is in the order given above:

=North America.=

_Canada._--The principal magnesite deposits in Canada are in the
Grenville district, Argenteuil County, _Quebec_, where the mineral is
associated with serpentine, dolomite, and other minerals. The magnesite
in the Grenville district is a glistening cream-white to milk-white
or gray material that occurs in extensive masses associated with
bands or lenses of dark green to light-yellow serpentine. Throughout
the great mass of the deposits the magnesite and dolomite are so
similar in appearance that the detecting of dolomite is difficult.
There is considerable positive evidence in support of the hypothesis
that the deposits have been formed by the solution and replacement
of crystalline limestone through the agency of magnesia-rich
solutions. Outcrops of the deposits are up to 1,000 feet long and 300
feet wide. It is estimated that there are in sight 686,900 tons of
magnesite containing less than 12 per cent. CaO and 483,700 tons of
magnesite-dolomite containing more than 12 per cent. CaO.

In the Atlin mining district, in _British Columbia_, both magnesite
and hydromagnesite have been noted, but the extensive masses of
hydromagnesite near the town of Atlin are the most important. These
deposits are superficial beds of fine powdery white hydromagnesite 6 to
8 feet thick, that cover areas up to 18 acres in extent. Two groups of
these deposits are estimated to contain 180,000 tons of hydromagnesite.

_United States._--Magnesite in commercial quantity occurs in
California, Nevada, and Washington. Reports of workable deposits in
other states have not been verified.

In _California_ there are magnesite deposits in many places throughout
the Coast Range and on the west slope of the Sierras, from Mendocino
and Placer counties on the north to Riverside County on the south.
Before the war, mining was limited to a few localities and the annual
output was about 10,000 tons, but the demand caused by large reduction
in imports started active prospecting and development, with the result
that in 1917 thirteen counties yielded a total of 211,663 tons, valued
at $2,116,630. In nine counties the deposits are large and in four
counties only small deposits have been found as yet. The most important
deposits are in Napa, Santa Clara, San Benito, and Tulare counties.
In 1917, 63 per cent. of the crude magnesite produced was mined in
Tulare County. Practically all of the California magnesite deposits
are irregular veins in serpentine, resulting from the alteration of
magnesian igneous rocks.

In the state of _Washington_ deposits of crystalline magnesite have
been found at several places. The Washington magnesite differs greatly
from the California deposits and occurs in larger masses. It is
coarsely crystalline, like marble or coarse textured dolomite, and is
red, pink, black, white, and gray. The Stevens County magnesite has
been formed by the replacement of lenses of dolomite in sedimentary
rocks. The recrystallization of the purer magnesian carbonate may have
been secondary and influenced by the intrusion of basic magnesian
rock which occurs above and below the magnesite in some places. The
larger deposits are 200 or more feet thick and 1,000 or more feet
long. Estimates of one million tons within 100 feet of the surface are
reasonable for at least three of the deposits. Mining in Washington
began in December, 1916, with a production of 715 tons. The output in
1917 was 105,175 tons, valued at $783,188.

The only known deposit of magnesite in _Nevada_ is an extensive
sedimentary bed in the valley of Muddy River, Clark County. The
magnesite carries more than 5 per cent. lime and more than 11 per cent.
silica. It has not been developed.

The total production of magnesite in the United States in 1915 was
30,499 short tons; in 1916, 154,974 short tons; in 1917, 316,838 short
tons; and in 1918, 231,605 short tons.

_Mexico._--On the Island of Santa Margarita, in Magdalena Bay, _Lower
California_, are extensive deposits of magnesite from which exports
have been made to the United States. Walls of canyons in the mountains
show masses of magnesite several feet thick, and magnesite boulders
strew the stream beds. Large quantities can be obtained without mining
and need only to be broken up for shipment. An analysis of calcined
magnesite from Santa Margarita Island shows practically no silica,
lime, or iron.

=South America.=--The deposits on Margarita Island, _Venezuela_, are
of the amorphous or California type and occur in veins and stockwork.
No information is available regarding their extent, but 500 tons were
exported to the United States in 1915.

=Europe.=--The magnesite deposits of _Austria_ and _Hungary_, which
until recently furnished much of the world’s supply, extend along a
northeast line for several hundred miles across the two countries.
The mineral occurs in lenses. A large deposit near Veitsch, Austria,
measures 700 to 800 feet from the top to the base. The ore is quarried
in a series of benches. Another very large deposit in Austria is at
Radenthein. The magnesite is quarried by great cuts, and lowered by
gravity to rotary kilns. Calcining is done near the mine and both grain
and magnesite bricks are shipped. The property was owned by Americans
before the war and much of the output went to American ports.

The magnesite in these deposits is crystalline and occurs in dolomite,
probably of Carboniferous age, from which it was derived by the
infiltration of magnesium carbonate solutions and the leaching out of
soluble calcium carbonate. It is finely to coarsely crystalline, yellow
or bluish-white, carries 3 to 4.5 per cent. iron oxide, less than 2 per
cent. silica, and less than 3 per cent. lime. It calcines readily to
the dead-burned state and makes satisfactory grain magnesite and brick
for refractory purposes.

Deposits of magnesite were worked for many years near Frankenstein,
Silesia, _Germany_.

In the Province of Santander, in northern _Spain_, coarse crystalline
magnesite lying in Lower Cretaceous limestone and dolomite has been
mined for a number of years. The production in 1915 was 1,400 tons.

In _Greece_, magnesite is of the non-crystalline type and occurs
associated with serpentine in veins and masses. The most important
deposits are on the Island of Euboea. The Euboean deposits are all
close to the seashore, and under normal conditions cheap water
transportation to the principal magnesite markets of the world is
available. The production of Greek magnesite in 1914 was mainly in the
hands of three companies: the Anglo-Greek Magnesite Co., 24 Finsbury
Sq., London; the Société Hellenique des Mines, Athens; and the Hellenic
Magnesite Co., Athens. The distribution of the magnesite is controlled
by the London company. The Anglo-Greek Magnesite Co. works mines at
Galataki and Afration, in Euboea. At the Galataki mines the vein of
ore exposed is known to be 1,300 feet long and 50 to 60 feet wide. The
Société Hellenique des Mines (now called The Financial Corporation of
Greece, Ltd.,) controls the production of several mines at Mantoudi,
Limni, Larimna, etc. The Hellenic Magnesite Co. obtains most of its
ore from surface excavations. In 1912 the production of magnesite by
several companies in Greece, (not including the Hellenic Magnesite Co.)
was as follows: Raw magnesite, 87,338 tons; calcined magnesite, 30,645
tons; dead-burned magnesite, 3,201 tons. This is equivalent to about
150,000 tons of crude ore, and does not include the product of one of
the three largest producers.

The magnesite from Greece and that from California are practically
identical in physical and chemical character, but prior to 1915 the
California material could not compete with the Grecian in the New York
market, because of the transcontinental freight rate being so high in
comparison with the ocean freight on material brought as ballast.

Magnesite is found in large quantities in _Macedonia_, occurring as
veins in serpentine.

Magnesite deposits, formerly worked, occur in _Italy_ in the Turin
district, and on the Island of Elba. None of the deposits seems to be
large. An analysis of magnesite from the Island of Elba shows over 8
per cent. silica, a trace of iron, and from 1 to 3.5 per cent. lime.

Magnesite occurs in _Norway_ as small veins in serpentine, but, unlike
other magnesite in serpentine, it is crystalline. It is remarkable in
that it shows no lime, but it carries over 4 per cent. iron and 9 per
cent. silica. It is calcined and made into brick.

Deposits similar to those in Norway are found in _Sweden_, but
on account of their situation, which entails heavy operating and
transportation expenses, it is doubtful if they will ever be able to
compete with cheaper European magnesite.

Magnesite has been mined in the Orenburg government, _Russia_. One mine
yielded 26,320 metric tons in 1906. Magnesite occurs also on the north
slope of the Caucasus Mountains.

=Africa.=--Extensive deposits of magnesite occur in the _Transvaal_,
as veins, that range up to 4 feet in thickness. The rock is used
for making carbon dioxide and oxychloride cement. Great deposits of
magnesite are reported in _Portuguese West Africa_. The deposits are
near, or associated with, boiling springs.

=Asia.=--The most important occurrence of magnesite in _India_ seems
to be in the Madras presidency, in the southern part of the peninsula
of Hindustan, where the mineral occurs in interlacing veins. The main
deposits have produced more than 2,000 tons in a single year.

Crystalline magnesite occurs in limestone in the _Manchuria_ mountains,
and is mined at Daisetsukyo for refractory purposes.

Magnesite is reported in _Asiatic Turkey_ about 75 kilometers from
Smyrna.

=Australia.=--The deposits of magnesite in _Queensland_ are so small
that they probably have no commercial value. Rounded blocks of pure
white magnesite outcrop in one locality in _New South Wales_, where
many thousands of tons are available at small cost. An analysis shows
99.01 per cent. magnesium carbonate and no lime. Large deposits of
magnesite are reported in _South Australia_. Extensive deposits also
occur on the north end of the west coast of _New Caledonia_. A small
quantity has been exported.

POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL CONTROL

The magnesite deposits that play a notable part in the world’s economy
are situated in Canada, United States, Austria-Hungary, and Greece.

_United States._--The principal magnesite deposits in the State of
Washington are owned by the Northwest Magnesite Co., Spokane, Wash.;
Valley Magnesite Co., Spokane, Wash.; and American Mineral Production
Co., Chicago, Ill. The Northwest Magnesite Co. is the largest producer
in the Washington field and probably has made the largest investment.
The American Mineral Production Co. has a plant at Valley, Wash.; the
Valley Magnesite Co. has a deposit near Valley, but is not operating it.

The principal producers of magnesite in California in the summer
of 1918 were the Tulare Mining Co., with a mine near Porterville;
Porterville Magnesite Co. of California, with mine at Porterville;
Western Magnesite Development Co., with a mine at Red Mountain; and
Frank R. Sweasy, working the White Rock mine, Pope Valley, Napa County.

_Austria._--The Veitscher Magnesite Co., of Vienna, and the Magnesite
Co., Ltd., of Budapest, formed a combination or cartel, with the
understanding or agreement that all the sales of magnesite outside of
Austria and Hungary had to be made through Carl Spater & Co., a German
firm in Coblenz, Germany. The firm of Carl Spater & Co. formerly owned
the works of the Veitscher Magnesite Co., but sold out and obtained
the perpetual selling agency when the stock company was formed. The
Harbison-Walker Refractories Co., Pittsburgh, Penn., is said to have
been the American representative of Spater & Co.

The Austro-American Magnesite Co., whose deposit and works at
Radenthein, Austria, represent an investment of $1,800,000, is owned by
Americans. The entire stock is absolutely controlled by the principal
stockholders of the American Refractories Co., or was so controlled
before the war. The Austro-American Magnesite Co., it is claimed, was
doing virtually 95 per cent. of the magnesite business in England
before the war, and about 65 to 70 per cent. of the business in the
United States. This company has a capacity of 150,000 tons of calcined
magnesite a year.

When it was found that Carl Spater & Co., who handle both magnesite and
magnesite brick made by the Veitscher Magnesite Co. and the Magnesite
Co., Ltd., would not sell magnesite to the English refractory brick
makers, the Austro-American Magnesite Co. formed a selling company
in England, called the Anglo-Austrian Magnesite Co., of Sheffield,
England. The English company sold magnesite from the Austro-American
Magnesite Co. works at Radenthein, Austria, to all the refractory brick
manufacturers of England, and virtually took all the English trade from
the Germans.

The General Magnesite Co., of Budapest, has a magnesite deposit and
plant at Hizonvich (Hisnyoviz?), Hungary. The stock of this company
is believed to be owned principally by stockholders of the General
Refractories Co., 111 Broadway, New York. The balance of the stock,
believed to be about 40 per cent., is owned by some Hungarians of
Budapest, represented by Mr. Gunst, of Budapest, president of the
company.

According to the United States Department of Commerce,[154] there
are seven companies exploiting magnesite in Greece: The Anglo-Greek
Magnesite Co., Ltd., with head offices in London, England; the
Société Financière de Grèce, Solon and Lycabettus Streets, Athens;
The Internationale Magnesite Werken, with head offices in Rotterdam,
Netherlands; L. Carambelas, Limni, Euboea; N. Papantonatos, Limni,
Euboea; G. A. Georgidades, Athens, (exploiting a concession on behalf
of the General Magnesite & Magnesia Co., of Philadelphia); and Alexiou,
Daphnopotamos, Euboea. Most of the producers in 1917 had an abundance
of orders for magnesite to be used in the steel industry in France and
England.

[154] Commerce Reports, May 1, 1917.

SUMMARY

The principal and most essential use of magnesite is in metallurgy,
as a refractory material for lining furnaces. Magnesite is also used
in the manufacture of Sorel cement and of paper from wood-pulp, in
fire-resisting paints, as a non-conductor of heat in pipe and furnace
coverings, and in the manufacture of magnesium chloride, light
carbonate and other products, including metallic magnesium.

Magnesite occurs in two forms, amorphous and crystalline, and the
deposits originate in three ways: by the decomposition of serpentine,
as sedimentary deposits, and by the replacement of calcareous
sedimentary rocks by magnesium-bearing solutions. In advance of
development work it is impossible to make reliable estimates of
available tonnage of the first type, but fairly accurate estimates can
be made of deposits of the second and third types.

Developed magnesite deposits that have been productive at one time are
situated in California and Washington; in Quebec and British Columbia,
Canada; on Santa Margarita Island, Lower California; on the Island
of Margarita, Venezuela; in Austria-Hungary, Germany, Spain, Greece,
Macedonia, Russia, Norway, Transvaal, and India. Other deposits, some
of which have produced small amounts, are situated in Nevada, Ontario,
New Brunswick, on Cedros Island, Lower California; in Asia Minor,
Sweden, Rhodesia, Portuguese West Africa, Australia, Tasmania, and New
Caledonia. There is no reason to believe that there will be in the near
future any marked shift in the important sources of supply. In 1916
and 1917 the production from the deposits of the Pacific Coast of the
United States increased very rapidly, but since January, 1918, there
has been a severe slump in California production.

The magnesite deposits of California and Washington are owned by
a number of companies, all of them American. American refractory
manufacturers are believed to be interested in some of the Canadian
deposits. The deposits on Santa Margarita and Cedros islands, Lower
California, seem to be owned or operated for the most part by residents
of California. The deposits off the coast of Venezuela are held by
a Philadelphia company. Two of the large magnesite companies of
Austria-Hungary have agreed to make all of their sales outside of
Austria-Hungary through a German firm in Coblenz. Two other companies,
the Austro-American Magnesite Co. and the General Magnesite Co.,
are owned mainly by Americans. The magnesite deposits of Greece are
controlled by seven companies, one of them being English, one American,
one Dutch, and the remainder seemingly Greek. The other magnesite
deposits of the world are of little importance at present.

CHAPTER XXII

GRAPHITE

BY H. G. FERGUSON, FRANK F. GROUT, AND GEORGE D. DUB

USES OF GRAPHITE

Graphite is produced in several grades which are adapted to different
purposes. Amorphous graphite is a trade term applied to non-crystalline
or very fine-grained graphite of varying degrees of purity. If
crystalline graphite is produced in flakes or scales, it is flake
graphite; but if mined from veins it may have other forms, and be known
as vein graphite. Lump, chip, and dust refer to products of larger
crystals of Ceylon vein graphite more or less broken in mining and
treatment. All those three are spoken of as crystalline. Artificial
graphite, made from coal or other carbonaceous matter, resembles the
amorphous variety.

Graphite for crucible use must be high grade, either lump, chip, or
flake graphite, contain at least 85 per cent. graphitic carbon and be
free from fluxing impurities. Vein graphite is considered especially
desirable for this use. Possibly the increased development of the
electric furnace in the steel industry and in non-ferrous metallurgy
will reduce the demand for crucibles. Both crystalline and amorphous
graphite are used as lubricants. For this purpose the graphite should
be free from quartz or other gritty impurities. For foundry facings,
amorphous graphite and Ceylon dust are chiefly used; high-grade
material is not required. For the better grades of pencils, mixtures
of crystalline and high-grade amorphous are needed; for the poorer
grades, amorphous is used alone. The graphite used as polish for high
explosives is amorphous. This use does not consume large amounts. For
the manufacture of electrodes, artificial graphite is considered the
most suitable. The graphite used as dry battery filler may be either
amorphous, artificial or crystalline. Pure material is required, but
the size of grain is not a factor.

Amorphous graphite is used in boiler compounds for preventing hard
scale; pure material is not essential. For paints, either amorphous or
crystalline graphite may be used and need not be high grade.

For stove polish and shoe polish amorphous graphite is chiefly used;
imperial graphite is used as an adulterant in fertilizers, to give the
desired dark color.

For amorphous graphite and dust, artificial graphite may be
substituted. For crystalline graphite used in the manufacture of
crucibles no good substitute is available. However, the use of
electric furnaces or open-flame furnaces in non-ferrous metallurgy may
reduce the need of crucibles. For lubricating, mica is used in somewhat
the same way as graphite but is much inferior. Many other boiler
compounds serve the same purpose as graphite. In paints, lampblack is a
substitute. Talc is used in connection with and as a partial substitute
for graphite in foundry work. Blast furnace graphite, or “kish,” offers
possibilities as a substitute for flake graphite for lubricating
purposes. Developments along this line, however, have not proceeded far
enough to be conclusive.

GEOLOGICAL OCCURRENCE

Amorphous graphite may occur wherever coal or other carbonaceous beds
have undergone regional or igneous metamorphism. Crystalline graphite
has two principal geologic occurrences, as flakes in schists and
as larger crystals in veins. Flake graphite in schists is usually
associated with granitic intrusions which appear to have aided
recrystallization of original carbonaceous material in the sediments.
Vein graphite in commercial quantities is rather rare. It is found
associated with granitic intrusives and generally with graphitic
sediments containing the flake variety. Such rocks in most parts of the
world have not been prospected enough to make sure that all important
bodies of graphite are discovered.

WORLD CAPACITY FOR GRAPHITE PRODUCTION

In the order of their importance the following table lists the various
countries which produce graphite or in which graphite deposits have
been reported:

=1. Crystalline Graphite=
_A. Vein Graphite_
Ceylon--could produce up to 35,000 short tons per year, all
grades.
United States--small production from Montana.
Canada--small amount recently produced.
_B. Flake Graphite_
Madagascar--could produce up to nearly 50,000 short tons per
year.
Bavaria--has averaged 12,000 tons for several pre-war years,
and greatly increased production during the war. Produced
40,000 metric tons in 1917.
United States--could readily produce 4,000 tons of flake
exclusive of dust.
Canada--could probably produce 1,200 tons of flake exclusive
of dust.
Spain--deposits being developed.
Norway--new development reported.
Roumania--important deposits recently reported.
Japan--has not produced very much.
Sweden--very small production.
Transvaal--very small production, locally consumed.
Greenland}--large deposits reported. Very little development.
Brazil }
German East Africa (former)--deposits of supposed large extent
reported.
=2. Amorphous Graphite=
German Austria }--has long produced large amount of graphite
Czecko-Slovakia} annually.
Chosen--could probably produce 12,000 tons per annum.
Italy--could probably produce 12,000 tons per annum.
Mexico--could probably produce 6,000 tons per annum.
United States--could readily produce 6,000 tons natural and
6,000 tons artificial amorphous graphite.
Spain--could probably produce 1,000 tons annually.
France--could probably produce 1,000 tons annually.
Siberia--large amount available but undeveloped.
Rhodesia--local supply.
Brazil--supply undeveloped.
Queensland--supply undeveloped.

FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS

Although no definite data are available, it is believed that Ceylon can
not produce much longer at the present rate, and it is possible that
the virtual exhaustion of the deposits is not far distant. Madagascar
is capable of greatly increased production. It is doubtful if American
deposits with less than 5 per cent. graphite will be able to meet free
competition from Madagascar, where over 20 per cent. of the rock as
mined is graphite. Too little is known of the Greenland and Brazilian
deposits to hazard a guess as to their future importance, but it is
reported that immense reserves exist in Greenland. The German flake
deposits will hardly survive free competition from Madagascar, unless
modern methods are introduced. Amorphous graphite will probably be
chiefly produced, as at present, by Austria, Bohemia, Mexico and
Chosen. Mexico and Chosen are likely to supply most of the pencil
graphite of the world. Increased production of artificial graphite
may reduce the demand for amorphous graphite. In 1918, notices in
the German technical press told of the discovery of immense deposits
of flake graphite in Roumania. These were to be worked jointly by
the German and Austrian governments under a 75 year lease from the
Roumanian government. The outcome of the war of course annulled this
arrangement.

Vein graphite (that is, Ceylon graphite) is preferred for crucible
manufacture, but increasing amounts of flake are being used
successfully. European manufacturers seem to use flake almost
exclusively; and American manufacturers will no doubt find it possible,
if necessary. Increasing amounts of amorphous graphite are being
employed for various industrial uses, chiefly foundry facings. The
development of the electric steel furnace, by reducing the use of
crucibles, may tend in some degree to reduce the difference in value
between crystalline and amorphous graphite.

POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL CONTROL

Amorphous graphite is so widely distributed that no serious difficulty
is likely to be encountered by any of the great commercial nations in
filling their vital needs. Mexican graphite is the chief supply of good
material for pencils. Interest centers in the material capable of being
made into crucibles.

Crucible graphite has been produced in the past mostly in _Ceylon_. Its
granular form (characteristic of vein graphite) has been assumed by
crucible makers to be the best. The deposits are worked mostly by small
local owners in Ceylon, and the output is controlled by the British
through state sovereignty and shipping. Control by ownership and
operation with modern plant was attempted by an English company, but
met native opposition until a few years ago.

Recently _Madagascar_ flake graphite has largely replaced Ceylon
material in European practice. This deposit is under French sovereignty
and the French exercise a large degree of commercial control. The flake
graphite of the United States has not yet reached a high development.
There are large reserves of schist with about 5 per cent. graphite.
Bavarian material is crystalline though not of such good quality. It is
under German control. Prior to the war, mining and milling methods were
primitive, and the product correspondingly poor. _Canada_, _Norway_,
_Sweden_, _Greenland_, _Brazil_ and possibly others have reserves of
flake within their boundaries. _Japan_ has a small production of flake
graphite and controls a supply in Chosen.

American control of _Mexican_ mines brings the entire Mexican output to
this country for refining and re-export. One of the large _Canadian_
mines is also owned in the United States.

When the British supply in Ceylon declined and the Madagascar
production increased, the British, who had always controlled the
world’s main supply, did not readily relinquish control. They bought a
large part of the Madagascar product and have a concentrating plant on
the island. The Morgan Crucible Co., of London, operates on the island
as the French company “Graphites Maskar,” but this is a subsidiary of
the London company and the control is entirely British. This is not the
only plant, however, working on the island. One large company before
the war had its main office in Hamburg, Germany, one at Antwerp, and
there were several French companies. Some Austrian mines were owned by
Belgian companies prior to the war, and English interests own a part of
the Italian deposits.

During the war the French and British, having adopted the Madagascar
graphite successfully, apparently arranged an agreement by which that
supply should be used in Europe, while Ceylon graphite was sent mostly
to the United States. The control was only possible by a combination
of British and French, apparently a commercial rather than a political
matter, though subject to government control.

There appears to be a combination among Madagascar graphite producers,
as evidenced by a statement from the consul in Tananarive in November,
1918, that the “Union des Producteurs de Graphite” could furnish to
this country annually 15,000-20,000 tons of 85 per cent. graphite at a
definite price, f.o.b. Tamatave. The object of the combine appears to
be to protect producers against unfair practices of the manufacturer.

The Colombo Graphite Union is mentioned in some sources as a local
combination, probably interrelated with the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce.
It has not been active in improving mining and milling methods, and has
also objected to modernization by outside capital.

The Graphite Producers’ Association of Alabama was organized in
1917 and had for its objects the furthering of the interests of the
graphite miners of the state. An effort was made to sample and analyze
shipments honestly and thus help remove the most serious objections
that manufacturers had against using domestic flake--unreliability of
product.

POSITION OF THE NATIONS

Low-grade amorphous graphite is abundant in the _United States_.
There are supplies in many states and in Alaska, which have not been
developed to any extent. An excellent grade of material from Mexico
is available in large amounts, making extensive domestic development
unprofitable, except when the deposits are very favorably situated. The
most productive Mexican deposit is owned by the United States Graphite
Co., of Saginaw, Mich. Artificial graphite is made at Niagara Falls
in large amounts, making the country independent in the matter of
electrodes.

This country is not yet independent in the matter of crucible graphite.
Crucible makers have insisted on having Ceylon graphite, about 15,000
tons or more a year. The only supply of similar graphite in the country
is a very small deposit in Montana. However, there is a fair supply of
flake graphite in Alabama, Pennsylvania, New York, Alaska, Texas and
possibly other states. Some 3,500 tons a year were produced prior to
1919. This resembles Madagascar rather than Ceylon graphite, though
the flakes are smaller. American crucible makers are slow to make use
of it, though there is evidence that it might serve very well. If the
demand for crucible graphite continues, the demand for imports will
probably continue.

Our deposits are not so high grade or so favorably situated as to
compete successfully with those of Ceylon and Madagascar.

Canadian companies producing flake similar to that in the United States
are in part owned by United States capital.

The flake graphite supply for crucible makers in normal times may come
from Madagascar, but we can be fairly independent in case of necessity
if we are prepared to stimulate mining in this country.

_England_ controls the graphite from Ceylon. However, there seems to be
a general opinion that Ceylon production is likely to decrease unless
the control passes into the hands of some one who will introduce modern
efficient mining methods. England normally allows about two-thirds of
the Ceylon product to come to the United States. England’s own supply
of crucible graphite is now mainly obtained from Madagascar, where an
English owned and controlled company operates on the island. Amorphous
graphite is obtained from Italy and Chosen. A London company operates
in Quebec, producing some flake and dust. English capital is invested
in Italian graphite deposits and apparently also in the Spanish.

Through her sovereignty over Madagascar, _France_ probably controls
the world’s best future supplies of flake graphite. The deposits are
large, conveniently situated, and remarkably rich--20 per cent. or more
graphite. They are capable of greatly increased production. Already
the output exceeds that of any other country, though the deposits have
been developed but recently. France has a small local production of
amorphous graphite, and obtains some from Italy.

_Germany_ is now chiefly dependent on Bavarian flake graphite for
crucibles. The efforts made during the war to get Ceylon graphite in
through Holland and Switzerland indicate that the Bavarian supply is
not wholly satisfactory. Amorphous graphite is supplied from Austria.
Overproduction has made it possible at times to sell the products in
America below cost.

_Japan_ produces some flake graphite. Chosen has an abundant supply of
the amorphous variety. In Chosen there have been recent discoveries of
crystalline graphite which may be of importance.

Figure 11 shows the changes in the annual output of graphite in the
chief producing countries, and Figure 12 shows the percentage of
crucible graphites produced by the main sources of supply.

SUMMARY

Graphite occurs in nature in two forms, crystalline and amorphous, each
form having its own peculiar uses. Crystalline graphite is used in the
manufacture of crucibles, as a lubricant, and in paints. Amorphous
graphite is used as a lubricant, for foundry facings, in pencils,
in paints, as a polish for high explosives, in boiler compounds, in
electrodes, in dry batteries, as a stove and shoe polish, and as a
filler for fertilizers. Most of the above uses are essential and
cannot easily be eliminated. Artificial graphite made from coal or
other carbonaceous matter can be substituted for the natural amorphous
graphite.

[Illustration: FIG. 11.--Annual output of graphite in chief producing
countries, 1902-18. Full lines indicate crystalline graphite; dotted
lines principally amorphous graphite.]

[Illustration: FIG. 12.--Percentage of crucible graphite produced by
main sources of supply, 1907-1917. Bavarian data since 1913 doubtful,
but since completion of the graph it has been found that the 1917
production was much larger than shown.]

Amorphous graphite may occur wherever coal or other carbonaceous beds
have undergone regional or igneous metamorphism. Crystalline graphite,
both flake and vein, is usually found in association with granitic
intrusives. Since such rocks have not been thoroughly prospected in
all parts of the world, it is probable that important new deposits of
graphite will be discovered, especially in Canada, Siberia and parts of
South America and Africa.

Ceylon is the chief source of supply of the best grades of crystalline
graphite, viz., vein graphite. The crystalline graphite obtained in
Madagascar, Bavaria, and in small quantities in the United States,
Canada, Norway, Sweden, Japan and Chosen is chiefly of the flake
variety and for that reason it is considered by manufacturers inferior
in grade to that obtained in Ceylon. Large undeveloped deposits are
reported in Greenland and Brazil. The discovery of the large deposits
of flake graphite in Roumania was reported some time since. From
time to time discoveries are reported from other localities but the
importance is questionable, chiefly because the deposits are usually
situated in places difficult to reach. It is believed that the Ceylon
deposits have passed the maximum of their production and if deposits
of vein graphite of equal grade and richness could be found, Ceylon
producers might be hard pressed. During the last few years Madagascar
has become the leading producer of crystalline graphite, and the
influence of this potential supply should exert a stabilizing effect on
prices of Ceylon graphite.

Austria, Chosen, Mexico, Italy and the United States are the principal
producers of amorphous graphite; Chosen and Mexico supply most of the
pencil graphite of the world.

The development of the electric furnace will no doubt decrease the
demand for crucibles in steel making.

Great Britain, through sovereignty over Ceylon and Canada, and France,
through sovereignty over Madagascar, control politically the world’s
most important deposits of crystalline graphite. Japan controls the
deposits of Chosen.

American capital controls the deposits of the United States, the
deposits of Mexico, and in part the deposits of Canada. The Ceylon
deposits have been worked mainly by small local owners, who opposed
until a few years ago the attempts of an English company to gain
control through the erection and operation of a modern plant. The
Graphites Maskar, owning a part of the Madagascar deposits, is a
subsidiary of a British company, the Morgan Crucible Co. Another large
Madagascar company before the war had its main office in Hamburg,
Germany. Other companies are controlled by Belgian and French capital.
British interests own a part of the Italian and probably a part of the
Spanish deposits.

CHAPTER XXIII

MICA

BY DURAND A. HALL

USES OF MICA

Two varieties of mica are of particular economic importance: muscovite
or white mica, and phlogopite or amber mica. Three other varieties,
lepidolite, zinnwaldite and biotite, find occasional commercial use.

Mica is marketed as sheet or block mica, mica splittings, thin sheets
split chiefly from smaller sizes of block mica, and scrap or ground
mica. The uses to which sheet or block mica may be put depend upon the
size, thickness and shape of the piece which can be cut from it and the
quality of the material itself. Factors entering into the quality of
mica are: presence or absence of stains, spots, inclusions, cracks or
pin holes; flexibility and elasticity; hardness; degree of distortion
of the sheets; transparency; and dielectric strength.

An essential use of sheet or block muscovite is in electrical work;
from the mica are made condensers for radio equipment, magnetos and
certain telephone equipment; also to a less extent for resonators
in sounding boxes. This mica is also used in making spark plugs,
particularly plugs in high-compression engines, for winding cores and
as washers in place of porcelain. These uses were widely extended by
the war to meet requirements for motor transport, airplanes and radio
equipment.

A great deal of this variety of mica is used for other insulating
purposes. There are a vast variety of uses, such as for sheets, washers
and disks in dynamos, electric-light sockets, guards in rheostats, fuse
boxes, telephones, etc.

Sheet or block phlogopite is used for general electrical
insulation--particularly where mica softer than muscovite is required.

Mica splittings of both muscovite and phlogopite are employed for the
manufacture of “built-up mica,” which is used widely for electric
insulation in many different forms, such as sheets, tubes, cups, etc.
Mica board built up from phlogopite splittings is used extensively for
insulation between the copper segments of commutators.

Among the less essential uses of sheet or block mica (mainly muscovite)
are in windows for stove fronts and ovens; chimneys and shades for
lamps and lanterns; and for many other purposes where a transparent
non-inflammable, non-shattering material is required. It is also used
for heat insulation, in various electric heating devices.

Ground mica is also used for heat insulation, as in pipe and boiler
covering, etc.; and as a patent roofing, both as a coating to prevent
sticking when rolled, and as a filler in the roofing itself. It is also
used in annealing steel, and as a lubricant for wooden bearings.

Among the non-essential uses of mica, those for which a satisfactory
substitute is known, are the uses of sheet or block mica for phonograph
diaphragms, and for decorative purposes, chiefly in India. On a similar
basis are the uses of ground mica (mixed with oil) as a lubricant for
metal bearings; as a filler for rubber goods, etc.; and for decorative
purposes--in wall paper, decorative paints, ornamental stone, etc.

=Substitutes.=--No other substance possesses the combination of
elasticity, toughness, flexibility, transparency, ability to withstand
excessive heat and sudden changes in temperature, high dielectric
strength, flatness and amenability to splitting into thin films, which
belongs to mica.

For the vast variety of electrical equipment in which mica is used, no
satisfactory substitute has been found. In the manufacture of certain
low-tension condensers sheets of oiled paper have been used instead of
mica films, but attempts to substitute this material more widely have
met with little success. According to one report a compressed paper
product called “Pertinax” was developed in Germany during the war which
is claimed to be “most satisfactory” for all electrical purposes, even
for the manufacture of high-tension condensers. The fact, however, that
Germany was paying $75 a pound for mica from Norway, and continued
to use mica in the manufacture of condensers for airplane magnetos,
indicates that complete substitution was not possible.

For a great many glazing purposes it is possible to substitute
heat-withstanding or non-shattering varieties of glass.

CHANGES IN PRACTICE

From the nature of mica deposits there has been little encouragement
for the application of any but rather crude and simple methods of
mining. These methods proved sufficient as long as there remained new
and easily accessible deposits. There is at present a tendency in
India, Canada, and the United States to apply more scientific methods
to exploration and extraction, where the exhaustion of the easily
worked deposits is threatened.

Sorting, cleaning, grading, trimming and cutting of mica for the market
are all essentially hand processes, and from the nature of the product
will continue to be. For this reason producing localities possessing
abundant cheap labor have a distinct advantage over those where labor
is high and scarce. In one important direction attempts have been made
to apply a mechanical device to a process which has always required
hand labor. This is in the manufacture of mica splittings, widely used
in the manufacture of built-up mica. These inventions have not yet been
demonstrated as commercially successful on a broad scale.

Mica is being used to an increasing extent for electrical purposes.
The war created a large demand, particularly for the better grades of
material for the manufacture of magnetos and radio condensers and spark
plugs, and many of these uses will continue to require much mica. The
use of mica for glazing purposes, however, particularly in the fronts
of stoves, is diminishing. This is due to the decreasing manufacture of
the type of stove in which mica is used.

GEOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION

It has been estimated that mica constitutes about 4 per cent. of the
igneous rocks of the world. Segregation into deposits of workable size
containing mica of commercial size and quality is comparatively rare.
Mica mines are worked for the small percentage of sheet or block mica
they contain, the large amount of waste mica being utilized only where
a ready market warrants the grinding.

Individual deposits of both muscovite and phlogopite are characterized
by their extreme irregularity, so that any prediction as to reserve is
uncertain. This fact is responsible for the crude methods of mining
which have for so long been almost universally employed. The output of
a district as a whole is from many small mines rather than from any
single large one.

An important consideration in the geological distribution of mica from
an economic standpoint is the degree of dynamic metamorphism to which
the region has been subjected during or subsequent to the formation of
the mica-bearing deposits. This is due to the fact that the value of
sheet mica depends, among many other factors, upon the freedom from
distortion of the sheets.

Muscovite mica in commercial quantities invariably occurs in dikes and
lenses of pegmatite which are considered to represent segregations
of certain portions of granitic intrusions. The principal associated
minerals are quartz and feldspar, both of which are usually
considerably in excess of the mica. The dikes or lenses of pegmatite
may be within the granite itself or in other inclosing rocks that may
seem unrelated to a parent intrusive. Schists or gneisses form the
inclosing rock of the pegmatite in most commercial deposits.

Phlogopite is much rarer than muscovite and occurs in deposits
structurally similar to granitic pegmatites. The important associated
minerals are pyroxene, apatite and calcite, although in certain
deposits the mass is almost entirely of mica. The Canadian deposits,
which are best known, consist of veins and pockets in pyroxenite dikes
and the inclosing rock is usually limestone, a significant fact as
regards the origin of the deposits.

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION

India, Canada, and the United States produce about 98 per cent. of
the sheet mica of the world. The output of India and of the United
States is entirely muscovite, whereas the Canadian production is
almost entirely phlogopite. Brazil and Argentina have become important
producers in the last two years, and German East Africa was becoming
of considerable importance immediately before the war. South Africa,
Guatemala, Ceylon, Madagascar and Australia have produced small amounts
of mica and may be considered as potential sources of supply.

_India_ produces about 65 per cent. of the sheet mica of the world,
and is the most important source of high quality muscovite. The two
principal producing regions are the Hazaribagh district, in the
Province of Behar, and Orissa, in Bengal, and the Nellore district,
Madras Presidency.

The output of _Canada_ is practically all phlogopite or amber mica,
of which that country is the world’s principal source. The important
producing districts are north of the city of Ottawa, in the Province of
Quebec, and in the central part of the Province of Ontario. The Lacey
mine, in Ontario, has been the largest producer of amber mica in Canada
for many years.

The _United States_ produces about 15 per cent. of the sheet mica
muscovite of the world. In terms of value, about 70 per cent. of the
American product comes from North Carolina, and 23 from New Hampshire.
Other districts are insignificant: 3 per cent. comes from Virginia, 1
from South Dakota, and 3 from Georgia, Alabama, Idaho, and Colorado
taken together.

The principal sources of mica in _Brazil_ are the states of Bahia, Sao
Paulo, Goyaz and Minas Geraes. The two last mentioned are particularly
important. The deposits are widely scattered over a large area.

Production of mica in _Argentina_ has been incidental until very
recently and the development has been slight. Deposits are numerous but
are of special importance in the provinces of Cordoba, San Luis and San
Juan. As far as is known muscovite is the only mica produced.

Considerable activity has been shown in mica mining in _Guatemala_ and
shipments have been made quite regularly to this country. The mica,
however, is of inferior grade and has not found favor in American
markets.

The production of the former _German East Africa_ is confined entirely
to muscovite mica found in the districts of the Ulguru Mountains and
neighboring ranges. Considerable quantities of high-grade material
were exported to Germany before the war. The mica mines in German East
Africa were worked during the war under the direction of the British
Ministry of Munitions. The district is of importance as a future source
of high-grade muscovite.

The principal locality in _South Africa_ is near Leydersdorp, in the
Northern Transvaal. Both muscovite and amber mica are reported from
this area.

Small amounts of high-quality amber mica have been shipped from
_Ceylon_ to England.

Deposits of excellent quality mica are known to exist in the McDonald
range, in _South Australia_, from which small shipments have been made
sporadically. This is the only district from which lepidolite or lithia
mica has been noted in sheets of commercial size.

In _China_, large deposits of muscovite mica are reported from the
vicinity of Kiao-Chau bay and also from Shantung, but no commercial
development has taken place, and it is believed that the deposits are
worthless as a source of sheet mica.

Prior to 1914 efforts to produce mica in _Norway_ on a commercial scale
met with no success and little is known of the deposits. The great need
of mica in Germany during the war stimulated production in Norway,
tremendous prices being paid for the material.

CHANGES IN KNOWN GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION IN THE NEAR FUTURE

The most important change in known geographic distribution of mica
for the near future concerns the increased development of the South
American fields. During the war Brazilian mica found considerable favor
both in this country and Europe, and the better grades are considered
equal to the best India mica. Importations of mica from _Brazil_
were of much importance in meeting the large demands of the United
States for mica of high quality to fill government needs. Owing to the
nature of mica deposits in general, it is not safe to make estimates
concerning reserves. This is particularly true of Brazil, where the
industry is young, and careful prospecting and development have not
been carried far. From the large number of known deposits and the
rapidity with which the industry responded to war demands, despite
difficulties in transportation from the mines to the seaboard, it would
appear that Brazilian mica will play an increasingly important part in
the mica markets of the world, particularly of the United States. No
matter how great the merit of the mines of a district may be, however,
unless the mica is carefully prepared, graded as to size and quality,
and shipments are standardized, it cannot expect to attain permanent
favor among consumers in this country or in Europe.

Less is known concerning the future possibilities of _Argentina_ as
a mica-producing country of importance. Many deposits are known and
considerable shipments have been made to the United States and to
Europe. The material received here has not been equal to Indian or
Brazilian mica.

There is every reason to expect that _India_ will retain its position
as the most important mica-producing country. The great number of
deposits offer almost every grade of muscovite required in the trade.
The industry is well-established, and labor conditions are extremely
favorable for the production of a commodity requiring such a large
amount of hand labor before being ready for market. It is true,
however, that the richest and most easily accessible deposits have
been mined out, and scientific methods must be applied to mining if
production is to retain its former place.

It is doubtful whether the immediate future will see any important
change in the position of the _United States_ as a mica producer.
Although the reserves of the country as a whole are probably large,
the deposits are small and the percentage of high-quality mica is
not great. Production of important amounts of medium-grade mica will
continue. Labor conditions are not favorable to producing cheaply an
article that has a large part of its value determined by preparation
and careful grading.

Scientific methods have been applied to the mining and preparation of
a considerable part of the Canadian output. Reserves are large and
_Canada_ will undoubtedly retain for many years its position as the
principal source of amber mica.

POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL CONTROL

The British Empire, through state sovereignty, controls 75 per cent.
of the present sheet-mica production of the world. In Brazil and
Argentina, which have important potential resources of mica, and in the
United States, political control is determined by state sovereignty.

For the most part, the ownership of mines and concessions in India
has been in the hands of natives. In the Hazaribagh district, F. F.
Christen & Co., an English firm, owns rights over large areas of land
outside the government forest and has mined on a considerable scale.
At the outbreak of the war, Germany, through commercial interests,
had obtained a large measure of control over many Indian mines. S.
O. Fillion & Co., of New York, is the one American firm known to be
working mines in India.

The most important producing phlogopite mine in Canada, at Sydenham,
Ontario, is owned and operated by the General Electric Co., of
Schenectady, New York. The same company owns several other properties
in the vicinity and has a large mica-manufacturing plant at Ottawa,
Ontario. Other smaller interests are held chiefly in Canada.

Davol & Co., of New York, is the only foreign firm known to be actively
working mica mines in Brazil at present.

Mica mines in the United States are, as far as is known, all owned by
Americans.

POSITION OF LEADING NATIONS

The _United States_ was before the war the world’s largest consumer
of mica of all kinds. The development of her electrical industry
is dependent upon her supply of mica, a large part of which is
imported from India and Canada. Production in this country has been
considerable, but has not proved nearly adequate to supply the demands,
particularly the demand for the higher grades of mica for use in
magnetos, radio condensers and spark plugs, and for mica splittings
used in making built-up mica.

The large demands and high prices created by the war did not increase
domestic production enough to warrant the belief that this country
can become independent as regards sheet mica under any but the most
artificial conditions. The producer is protected by a 25 per cent.
import duty on unmanufactured (rough or knife-trimmed) mica and a 30
per cent. duty on cut mica, splittings and other manufactured forms.
Production in this country is largely in the hands of individuals and
small companies, who are financially incapable of increasing output
spasmodically even under very favorable conditions. Moreover, many
consumers have a decided prejudice in favor of imported mica.

If the United States is to take a dominant position in the electrical
industry of the world an adequate supply of mica must be assured.
The most promising field for the development of such a supply is
undoubtedly South America. This is particularly true because the
important development of the electrical industry in England during the
war places that country in the dominating position formerly occupied by
Germany and Austria. This development will require a large part of the
Indian mica formerly available for export trade.

The _British Empire_ possesses in India the most important source of
muscovite mica in the world and in Canada the only important supply of
amber mica. In spite of England’s tremendous advantage with regard to
raw material, Germany, through her important position in the electrical
industry and the large measure of control acquired in the Indian mines,
threatened to dominate the mica market of the world at the outbreak of
the war. Since the outbreak of the war England has secured her position
not only as the controlling center for raw mica but as the chief
producing nation of electrical equipment. London is the distributing
center of the world for Indian mica and London prices regulate the
market. During the war Indian mica was controlled by the British
Ministry of Munitions, and allotments were made to the associated
nations at fixed prices.

In the development of the South American fields lies the best
possibility of the world lessening its dependence upon England for this
most essential raw material.

_France_ is entirely dependent upon outside sources for her supply of
mica. Before the war her demands were not large and were filled by
Indian mica.

Although _Germany_ before the war was entirely dependent on outside
sources for mica, her leading position in the electrical industry
enabled her to gain control of much of the Indian production. Every
advantage was taken of this opportunity, and in 1914, according to the
British Secretary of Munitions, the mica market of the world was at
the point of being transferred from London to Hamburg. The deposits of
German East Africa were being actively exploited and German commercial
interests were being extended to South America.

Although probably possessing very large stocks in 1914, Germany felt
very acutely the shortage of mica during the war. High prices were paid
to Norway for the output of that country, but this source is probably
entirely incapable of meeting the normal demands of Germany.

SUMMARY

Sheet mica is essential to the manufacture of a vast variety of
electrical equipment, and must, therefore, be classed as one of the
important raw materials of the world. The magneto, such a vital factor
in modern transport on land, air and sea, depends upon mica for its
construction, and mica condensers are indispensable in modern radio
equipment.

India, Canada, and the United States are at present the most important
mica-producing countries. Deposits of future importance from which
production has thus far not been great are known in German East Africa,
Brazil, Argentina and the Transvaal; from several other parts of the
world more sporadic production is reported.

Unlike the development of many other raw materials the production of
mica has not been universally undertaken on a large scale, nor have
scientific methods been applied to its extraction. This has been
largely due to the irregular nature of the deposits and their scattered
position within a district, making considerable investment of capital
in mining a particularly hazardous venture. Trading interests have,
therefore, played an important part in controlling production and
markets.

The British Empire, having within its boundaries a large proportion
of the important mica-producing districts, at present dominates
the situation politically. British commercial control, threatened
by Germany’s leading position in the electrical industry and wide
interests in Indian mines at the outbreak of war, is now firmly
re-established, and Great Britain has taken the place in the electrical
industry formerly held by Germany and Austria.

The United States, the largest consumer of mica among the nations of
the world, has relied upon imports to supply a considerable part of the
consumption and will probably continue to do so in the future, although
steady development of domestic sources of supply may be expected.
Brazil offers the most promising foreign field for the development of
an independent source of supply for American markets.

CHAPTER XXIV

ASBESTOS

BY OLIVER BOWLES

USES OF ASBESTOS

Asbestos is useful because of its incombustibility, insulating
qualities, and fibrous structure. High-grade asbestos is spun or woven
into ropes and fabrics, the fabrics being used for many purposes,
such as safety curtains, mats, mattresses, upholstering, firemen’s
suits and gloves. Of late years much high-grade asbestos has been used
for friction facings in brakes and for packings. Low-grade asbestos
is used for a great many purposes, which may be classed in three
groups--building, insulating, and miscellaneous.

For building purposes asbestos is employed in many ways. A mixture
of asbestos and cement is used to make fireproof shingles or slates.
Asbestos is also used with Portland cement to make a protective surface
on metal sheathing; asbestos paper is used for weather and sound
proofing and also for fire-protection purposes. It is used widely for
plaster, which not only is fireproof but also improves the acoustic
properties of auditoriums, churches, etc. Asbestos is also used for
floor tiling and in the manufacture of paints. Asbestos lumber and
millboard are employed for many structural purposes.

Asbestos cement, a mixture of asbestos fiber and clay, is much used as
a covering for boilers and steam pipes to prevent heat radiation. Other
coverings are made from a mixture of asbestos and magnesia. Varieties
of asbestos having a low iron content are useful for electrical
insulating purposes.

Some of the many miscellaneous uses of asbestos are for fire brick,
acid filters, lead-fume collectors, stove mats, cooking-utensil
linings, etc.

The most essential of the above uses are those in which the long-fiber
asbestos is employed. For fireproof ropes and fabrics nothing can take
its place. Its use in friction facings for brakes is essential in all
motor vehicles.

The uses for which low-grade asbestos is employed may be regarded as
less essential and might be eliminated in case of necessity, though
such elimination would no doubt involve many serious difficulties.
Fire risk would thereby be increased and many boilers and heating
plants would be rendered less efficient and more wasteful, though
these difficulties could be overcome to some degree by the use of
substitutes.

=Substitutes.=--Slag wool or mineral wool is a fireproof material and
a good non-conductor of heat and sound. It is also highly porous,
and hence it is useful as an absorbent. It can, therefore, be used
to some extent as a substitute for asbestos for heat insulation and
fireproofing. However, as it is brittle and cannot be woven as readily
as asbestos, it is not to be regarded as a satisfactory substitute for
the higher grades. Talc may be employed in the manufacture of fireproof
and corrosive-proof paints, and also as a lining for furnaces and
fireplaces. Infusorial earth is used to some extent as a substitute for
asbestos for insulating and fireproofing. But it is important to note
that none of the substitutes mentioned above can replace the high-grade
spinning fiber.

CHANGES IN PRACTICE

As has been indicated, there is a probability of the demand for
asbestos increasing. The wide use of motor-transport equipment
demands a large amount of high-grade fiber for brake linings, while
the increasing use of steam equipment, and electrical equipment and
appliances, demands more and more material, both for electrical and
heat-insulating purposes. Although substitutes may be employed for
the lower grades, no substitutes are known for the spinning grades of
asbestos, which are now in strongest demand. Consequently there are no
changes in practice that will reduce the demand for asbestos.

GEOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION

Asbestos originates for the most part from rocks consisting largely
of olivine, such as peridotites or dunites, or from rocks consisting
largely of pyroxene. Hence it is only in altered rocks of this nature
that asbestos of the common types is to be expected. Two distinct types
of alteration are common: Alteration of the olivine or pyroxene to
serpentine, with development of chrysotile in places; and alteration of
olivine or pyroxene to amphibole with development of anthophyllite (a
variety of amphibole) and related forms. Both types of alteration are
well represented in the great North American belt of asbestos-bearing
peridotites that extends from central Alabama along the Piedmont
Plateau to the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec, a distance of more than
1,600 miles. In the northern part of the belt, in Vermont and Quebec,
the alteration has been to serpentine with chrysotile asbestos in
places, while in the southern part the alteration has been largely to
amphibolite with development of anthophyllite asbestos and talc.

Chrysotile asbestos (Quebec type), as represented in most deposits, is
formed by serpentinization, with subsequent prismatic crystallization
in cracks, the veins thus formed representing a recrystallization
along the walls and thus being replacement veins rather than fissure
veins. Contact metamorphism evidently plays an important part in the
process, for in most regions intrusive dikes are associated with the
deposits and evidently had a definite influence on the development of
the commercial product. As serpentinization is a deep-seated process,
chrysotile deposits may occur at considerable depth.

Anthophyllite asbestos (Georgia type) results from alteration
of peridotites or pyroxenites to amphibole, giving the fibrous
anthophyllite and related forms. This type of asbestos does not occur
in veins but constitutes the major part of the rock mass.

While the modes of alteration noted above account for most of the
asbestos deposits known, there are two important exceptions--the
crocidolite, or blue asbestos, of South Africa, and the chrysotile
deposits of Arizona, both of which occur in sedimentary rocks.
Crocidolite is interbedded in jasper and ironstone, and the Arizona
chrysotile has resulted from the alteration of cherty limestone
influenced to some extent by the action of diabase intrusions.

As pointed out in the discussion of uses, for various select purposes
anthophyllite cannot be employed as a substitute for chrysotile of
spinning grade. As the uses of anthophyllite are thus restricted, and
as the supply seems to be ample for many years to come, the problem of
supply centers about the deposits of high-grade chrysotile.

Deposits of serpentinized basic rocks are by no means rare, and
even the development of a fibrous structure is common, but in all
chrysotile-bearing deposits only a small part of the serpentine is
fibrous, and of the fibrous part only a small percentage can be
utilized as high-grade asbestos. The value of deposits of most ores
depends largely on the percentage of metal and of impurities present,
and little attention need be given to the physical character of an
ore. The value of asbestos, however, depends not only on purity
of composition, but on very definite physical properties, such as
length of fiber, flexibility, and tensile strength. Such properties
result from a combination of favorable conditions of crystallization,
conditions that are at present little understood.

A large body of serpentinized basic rock bears, therefore, no certain
promise of an asbestos supply, though it may offer encouragement for
prospecting. High-grade fiber is evidently formed under a peculiar
combination of geologic conditions which involve the presence of
certain primary rock types, their alteration to secondary minerals
and recrystallization of these in veins, such recrystallization being
induced by a combination of metamorphic agencies. Although it is quite
probable, therefore, that new fields will be discovered, there is no
probability of an abundant supply.

An important point to be considered in connection with future supplies
is that for most uses of asbestos there is little or no scrap
recovery; that which is once used is for the most part gone beyond
recall. It is wise, therefore, to maintain a conservative view of the
asbestos reserve, for although there is evidence of a supply in the
Canadian deposits and elsewhere to last for many years, the probability
is that deposits of high-grade material are neither numerous nor
extensive.

The total production and estimated reserves of spinning asbestos in the
important producing countries are shown in Figure 13.

[Illustration: FIG. 13.--Total production and estimated reserves of
spinning asbestos.]

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION

=United States.=--Asbestos in the United States is of two types,
chrysotile and anthophyllite. The chrysotile variety occurs in Arizona,
Vermont, Wyoming, and California, and the anthophyllite in Georgia,
Virginia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Idaho.

_Chrysotile Asbestos._--The asbestos deposits of _Arizona_ are unusual
in being cross-fiber chrysotile veins in cherty limestone, and thus
quite distinct in origin from the Quebec deposits. The asbestos-bearing
beds are thin and some of them are almost inaccessible.

Asbestos was first discovered in Arizona at two points in the Grand
Canyon of the Colorado, west of the mouth of the Little Colorado River.
The mineral occurs in a single bed, 12 to 14 inches thick, the veins
being parallel with the bedding. In some places the veins are 4 inches
thick, but usually they do not exceed 2¹⁄₂ inches. The visible supply,
therefore, is not great, and as the district is difficult of access
production has been slight. Asbestos also occurs in Ash Creek Canyon
near Globe. Production began in 1914, and has increased considerably
since. The asbestos carries only 0.5 per cent. iron oxide, while
Canadian asbestos runs 2.2 per cent. to 2.6 per cent. iron oxide. The
Arizona material is, therefore, superior to Canadian asbestos for
electrical insulation. It is estimated that under favorable conditions
the region can supply 1,000 tons annually for many years to come, but
that the output will never be large as compared with that of Canada.
In 1914 an asbestos deposit similar to those of Ash Creek was reported
near Young postoffice. It is 80 miles from the nearest railroad station
and will probably be inaccessible for many years. Near the summit of
Mount Baker, north of the Roosevelt Reservoir, a mine producing good
chrysotile was opened in 1917. The asbestos occurs in cross-fiber veins
in limestone.

The asbestos deposits of _Vermont_ are situated at Lowell, in the same
formation as the Quebec deposits. The asbestos occurs in numerous
irregular veins, the supply is probably large, and some of it compares
favorably with the Canadian product. There was a considerable
production in former years, but after 1912 the quarries were idle. The
reserves of low-grade rock are probably large.

The main deposits of _Wyoming_ occur south of Casper in igneous Archean
rocks. The mineral is chrysotile asbestos, mostly of the cross-fiber
type, though some slip-fiber is present. It is claimed that the Wyoming
asbestos has better heat-resisting qualities than the Canadian fiber.
However, a very small proportion of the fiber is of spinning grade.

Deposits of chrysotile asbestos have been noted in many parts of
_California_, scattered over 13 counties. The deposits seem to be
small, and thus far the production has not exceeded a few tons a year.
A small production is recorded for 1917 from Nevada and Inyo counties.
There was an increased output in 1918, the total being 229 tons. Some
No. 1 spinning fiber was obtained in Nevada County.

_Anthophyllite Asbestos._--The anthophyllite asbestos deposits in
_Georgia_ yield the largest production of any state in the Union. The
material is not of spinning grade and is practically all used for
fireproofing and insulating. There is a considerable demand for such
material, however, and the industry is established on a firm basis.
A notable feature of the Georgia deposits is that approximately 95
per cent. of the rock quarried is fibrous anthophyllite of commercial
quality, whereas in Quebec only about 6¹⁄₂ per cent. of the material
quarried can be utilized.

Anthophyllite asbestos deposits occur in _Virginia_ near Bedford. The
material is low-grade and the amount is probably small. A little is
consumed in the manufacture of “tenax,” a preparation used by dentists.
Amphibole slip-fiber asbestos has lately been mined on a small scale in
_Maryland_, near Pylesville. It is used for filters. Several years ago
a small production was recorded from Dalton, _Massachusetts_, and New
Hartford, _Connecticut_.

Anthophyllite asbestos occurs in _Idaho_, near Kamiah. It is not of
spinning grade, is of low tensile strength, and is inferior to all but
the lowest grades of chrysotile. The deposit is evidently large, but
the production is almost negligible.

=Canada and Newfoundland.=--The most important asbestos-producing
deposits of the world are those of the province of _Quebec_, Canada,
chiefly in the region of Thetford and Broughton. Asbestos occurs
in serpentine of Cambrian age, the area in which the important
mines are found extending from southern Vermont to Gaspé, in the
Province of Quebec. The serpentine lies in three prominent belts.
The Danville-Eastman-Vermont serpentine belt is about 62 miles long.
The scattered outcrops probably are connected beneath the heavy
drift deposits and forest growth. Prospects have been worked in six
places, but the production attained is small. The belt is an uncertain
quantity, that gives fair promise of a large future supply.

The Thetford-Black Lake area is the important area of Quebec and now
the most productive asbestos district of the world. In 1917 there were
17 active mines in the district. In 1918 the quantity of rock mined
was 2,445,745 tons, and the total asbestos production was 159,225
tons, valued at $9,053,945. The Broughton and the central and eastern
Thetford areas are mainly slip-fiber asbestos. The West Thetford,
South Ireland, and North Coleraine Township deposits constitute the
vein-fiber belt which yields the high-grade spinning asbestos that has
a world-wide reputation.

Serpentine rocks bearing chrysotile asbestos are reported near Port au
Port, in _Newfoundland_, probably representing a continuation of the
Quebec belt. The possibility of commercial development is uncertain.

=Mexico, Central and South America.=--Asbestos deposits have been
reported in _Brazil_, but aside from this no commercial deposits have
been noted in South America.

There is no record of asbestos deposits in Mexico or in Central America.

=Europe.=--The asbestos deposits of _Russia_ probably rank next
to those of Canada. The principal mines are 57 miles north of
Ekaterinburg, in the Ural Mountains. The quarries can be worked only
from May to November in each year. Transportation is over the Perm
Railroad, and the output is exported via Riga. The fiber is of the same
type as the Canadian, a chrysotile asbestos, chiefly of the cross-fiber
type. The richest ore yields 42 to 55 pounds of asbestos per cubic
yard. Production has also been reported by the South Urals Asbestos
Co., operating in the Orsk district, in Orenburg. Russian asbestos is
said to be harsher than Canadian and less suitable for spinning, but a
great deal of high-grade fiber has been produced and Russia is likely
to be an important future source of asbestos.

The asbestos of _Italy_ is of the anthophyllite variety. There are
three main districts: the Susa Valley deposits, near the French
border, which lie 6,000 to 10,000 feet above sea level and are,
therefore, not readily available; the Aosta Valley deposits, of wide
extent, with long-fibered, strong, and soapy product; and the deposits
in Lombardy, also of great extent. Italian asbestos may be used to some
extent as a substitute for Canadian fiber, or to mix with it, but the
supply of high-grade fiber is not great, and it is more difficult and
expensive to work than the Canadian material. The United Asbestos Co.,
of London, England, is the largest producer.

Large deposits of asbestos are known on the island of _Cyprus_.
The material is derived from serpentine and is of the amphibole
anthophyllite type. Much of it is short-fibered but some of it can be
used to mix with Canadian fiber.

Good spinning asbestos has been noted in central _Finland_ but
production up to the present time is almost negligible.

Asbestos deposits have been noted in _England_, _Scotland_, _Ireland_,
_France_, _Portugal_, _Spain_, _Switzerland_, _Germany_, _Norway_,
_Greece_, and _Turkey_, but all the above deposits are said to consist
of coarse and brittle material of little commercial value. A large
deposit of good asbestos is reported in the island of _Corsica_.

=Asia.=--Deposits are known in various districts of _India_. Asbestos
is also reported in _Afghanistan_. Indian asbestos is of inferior
tensile strength, and the lack of development renders it an uncertain
resource.

The United States Geological Survey reported in 1912 that three
asbestos mines were in operation 45 miles northeast of Antung, China.
The product, which was shipped into Manchuria, is of the amphibole
(anthophyllite) type and quite brittle. Chrysotile asbestos of good
quality is reported south of Lake Baikal, in _Mongolia_. It has never
been mined, and on account of its remoteness is not likely to be
developed. Deposits yielding a small output are reported from several
other provinces.

Asbestos deposits occur in several localities in _Japan_. The output is
of inferior quality and is mixed with imported material for asbestos
packing. The Japan Asbestos Co., of Osaka, is the chief manufacturer of
asbestos products.

Deposits have been opened at Minusinck, on the Yenesei River, in
_Siberia_, but production is reported for the year 1905 only.
Transportation is difficult.

=Africa.=--The asbestos of _Cape Colony_ is crocidolite, or blue
asbestos; it is of the amphibole type and will not bear high
temperature, probably on account of its iron content, but is longer,
stronger, finer, and more elastic than chrysotile. On account of its
low fusibility it is useful in electric welding. The mineral occurs
in three important districts and outcrops at numerous points from the
Orange River north to Bechuanaland. Government engineers report it
to be the largest asbestos-bearing area in the world. The principal
deposits are at Koejas, where the Cape Asbestos Co., Ltd., produced in
1916 about two-thirds of the total amount of asbestos mined in South
Africa. Blue asbestos is gaining favor in foreign markets, and this
fact, in connection with the great extent of the deposits, indicates
that these deposits constitute an important factor in world supply.

Large and probably extensive deposits of chrysotile asbestos of the
finest quality occur in the _Transvaal_. Three companies have recently
operated in this district. Production, which began about 1914, in which
year 30 tons were reported, had increased to a total of 407 tons in
1916.

A new and important development is the mining of a long-fibered
amphibole asbestos known as “amosite.”

A small output of asbestos from _Natal_ has been reported for several
years; however, the fiber is not high grade and an increase of
production is not likely.

Important deposits occur in southern _Rhodesia_. The Southern Rhodesia
Geological Survey reports that there is in sight several years’ supply
for an output of 200 tons per month without going deeper than 60 feet.
The “probable ore” supply is very great. It has been stated that the
Rhodesian fiber is the only class of chrysotile asbestos that can
compete successfully with the best grade of Canadian fiber.

=Australasia.=--A chrysotile-bearing serpentine belt covers a
considerable area in _Queensland_. A deposit occurs near Rockwell,
_South Australia_. The Australia Asbestos Manufacturing Co. has
produced a small amount of material similar to Italian asbestos. A
small amount of chrysotile has also been found. A deposit of chrysotile
prospected in _New South Wales_ is claimed to have the longest asbestos
fiber in the world. No production has been reported. In the Pilbarra
district, _West Australia_, there is chrysotile asbestos of spinning
grade which is said to be superior to either the Russian or Italian
product. Some years ago a mine was worked to considerable depth by the
Pilbarra Asbestos Co., of London, England, but in recent years the
production has been almost negligible. In _New Zealand_ chrysotile
asbestos of spinning grade occurs in Nelson Province. The Australasian
Asbestos Co., of Sydney, has recently prospected the serpentine belt of
_Tasmania_, which contains both chrysotile and anthophyllite asbestos.

DEVELOPMENTS AND CHANGES IN DISTRIBUTION OF MINES

The United States leads all nations in the manufacture of asbestos
products, and the large supply of asbestos in Quebec is readily
available. There is, therefore, little prospect of any radical change
in the geographical distribution of American asbestos mines. As there
is always a possibility of such changes, however, it is well to
consider the controlling factors.

As to the future of the Quebec deposits, the present source of
supply, little definite information is available. The fact that
serpentinization is a deep-seated process has led Canadian geologists
to conclude that commercial fiber may be formed to the full depth of
the original peridotite rock. For all practical purposes, however, the
depth of the deposit is limited to the depth at which asbestos can be
extracted profitably. One mine is now working at a depth of 300 feet
and drill holes sunk 400 feet farther indicate a thickness of at least
700 feet of good fiber-bearing rock. Cirkel has stated that in one of
the Black Lake quarries there is 44,377,500 tons of asbestos rock in
sight above the railway tracks, ready for immediate exploitation. A
deduction of 50 per cent. for waste rock would leave 22,000,000 tons of
mill rock available, or enough to supply for 22 years a plant capable
of producing 4,000 tons a day. As this includes only the visible ore
it may be inferred that the reserve is very great. Cirkel estimates
the total acreage of productive vein fiber as 12,420, of which 1,100
acres is under development at the present time. A geologist who spent
two summers studying the geology of the region states that second-grade
fiber is very abundant and that the high-grade deposits are not more
than 25 per cent. exhausted. There is, therefore, no prospect for many
years of any change in the geographical distribution of working mines
through the exhaustion of present deposits.

During 1916 and 1917 the production of high-grade fiber in the United
States grew steadily, but is still far from meeting domestic demands,
as the total United States output in 1917 was only one-eightieth of
the amount imported. The most important development has been in the
high-grade chrysotile districts of Arizona, but these new deposits do
not give promise of an abundant supply, and it is unlikely that they
will constitute a dominating factor in American production.

Legislation may have a profound effect on the development of deposits.
A high export duty placed on raw asbestos by a country now producing it
in large quantities would have the effect of encouraging prospecting
in other countries and the development of deposits that might supply
substitute material. In this connection it is interesting to note
that the Board of Trade of the eastern townships of Quebec proposed
measures to protect the export of raw asbestos, in order to force
the manufacture of asbestos products in Canada. The Canadian Mining
Institute Bulletin (August, 1916) pointed out the dangers of such
action, for other countries would immediately search for asbestos
deposits elsewhere, and as good asbestos occurs in Russia, South
Africa, Cyprus, and other localities, substitutes for Canadian material
could probably be found. It is evident, therefore, that Canada does not
control the supply, but that so long as Canadian fiber is available at
reasonable prices there is no strong incentive for the development of
new deposits.

In the Old World the situation is less stable than in America.
European countries import considerable material from Canada, and the
balance of their requirements is filled from various sources, chiefly
from Russia, Cyprus, Italy, South Africa, and Australia. High-grade
asbestos deposits exist in various countries and are for the most
part developed to a small extent. The factors determining changes in
production are somewhat different from those outlined for America.
The lack of a strong central government greatly hampers production in
any country. Thus under recent conditions in Russia the output fell
from nearly 20,000 tons in 1913 to about 9,000 in 1916. Stabilized
conditions and more efficient governments would tend to increase
the output of several eastern countries. The most important factor
contributing to the slow development of the Old World deposits is poor
transportation. Russian asbestos for the English market has to pay
transportation costs of $25 to $30 per ton. The important crocidolite
deposits of South Africa are likewise hampered by poor transportation.
Not only are the roads poor, but the most important deposits of Koegas
are 18 miles from a traveled road, and other deposits are about 100
miles from roads. This drawback is offset to some extent by cheap labor.

The present political upheaval in Europe, involving the formation of
new states and new forms of government, may have a pronounced effect on
the development of asbestos deposits, but until progressive governments
are established and vast improvements made in transportation, no great
increase in production is possible.

POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL CONTROL

A large share of the asbestos deposits of the world, being situated in
British colonial possessions, are under the political control of Great
Britain. The deposits of Cyprus are at present under British political
control, but this may not be permanent. Before the war, Cyprus was
nominally Turkish, though administered by Great Britain; in 1914, Great
Britain formally annexed the island. Cyprus was offered to Greece in
return for her assistance in the war, but the offer was not accepted.

From information available it is evident that the governments of Russia
and Italy have in the past imposed no serious restrictions on the
development of their asbestos properties through either domestic or
foreign capital.

Below is set forth the commercial control of the asbestos deposits of
the world, by countries, in the following order: United States, Canada,
Russia, South Africa, Italy, Cyprus, and Australia.

In the Globe district of Arizona, in the _United States_, spinning
asbestos is produced by the Johns-Manville Co., working the Snell &
Fisk property, and by the American Ores & Asbestos Co. The Sierra
Asbestos Co., near Nevada City, California, produced spinning fiber in
1918. As far as is known all the companies operating in the United
States are American owned.

The asbestos mining industry in _Canada_ is confined to the eastern
townships of the Province of Quebec. The largest company is the
Asbestos Corporation of Canada, Ltd., with head office in Montreal.
This company operates the Kings and Beaver mines, at Thetford Mines,
the British Canadian mine, at Black Lake, and the Frazer mine, at East
Broughton. The company is controlled by English, Canadian, and United
States capital. The Bell Asbestos Mines Co., the Asbestos & Asbestic
Corporation, and the Manville Asbestos Co. are wholly or largely owned
in the United States. The remaining companies are mostly controlled
by English or Canadian capital, though United States interests are
represented in some of them. Evidently, therefore, the ownership of
the companies is divided between English, Canadian and United States
capital, with British interests probably predominating.

The most important of the Ekaterinburg mines in _Russia_ are the
Voznesensky and Zoe-Anonsky, near Bazhenof. About one-third of the
total output of the Urals came from these mines in 1916. It is reported
that prior to the war a German syndicate controlled several Russian
mines which produced in all more than 80 per cent. of the entire
Russian output. Germany and Austria were the chief buyers of Russian
asbestos before the war.

In _South Africa_ the crocidolite of Cape Colony is mined largely
by the Cape Asbestos Co., a British firm with mines at Koegas and
Westerberg, and having factories in England, Turin, and Hamburg. A
sister company in France, Compagnie Française de l’Amiante du Cap,
handled in 1916 about two-thirds of the total South African production
and was the chief manufacturer of blue asbestos products. In the
Transvaal, asbestos is mined by three companies, The Transvaal Asbestos
Syndicate, now absorbed by the Consolidated Gold Fields; the South
African Minerals Option Syndicate, a subsidiary of the Bechuanaland
Exploration Co., and the Anglo-Swiss Asbestos Co. British capital
predominates. The Rhodesia Asbestos Co., Ltd., was the chief Rhodesian
producer until recently, but in 1917 the Rhodesia and General Asbestos
Corporation was organized with a capital of £400,000 to take over the
operating mines. The commercial control is, therefore, British.

The chief producer in _Italy_ is the United Asbestos Co., of London,
England.

Prior to the war the _Cyprus_ deposits were worked by the Cyprian
Mining Co., an Austrian corporation. As mining concessions are obtained
from the British government by lease on a royalty basis, it is probable
that the lease has now been cancelled.

The deposits in _Australasia_ are practically all controlled by English
or Australian capital.

Mines that have no milling equipment can produce crude fiber which may
be treated at manufacturing plants. The various grades of mill fiber
may be produced only where mills are located at or near the mines.
As the utilization of all grades can be accomplished only with the
assistance of mills, such mills are necessary for efficient mining.
Consequently, with other factors equal, mines with near-by mills have
a distinct commercial advantage over mines that produce crude fiber
only. Although mills are not essential factors in the asbestos-mining
industry, they exert a secondary influence in commercial control
through the increase in mining efficiency that they render possible.
For deposits remote from centers of manufacture, mills are of
little advantage, as fiber below spinning grade will not bear heavy
transportation charges. Most of the United States and Canadian mines
have mills for treatment of rock bearing short fiber. Several of the
Russian mines are similarly equipped, but in other parts of the world
little or no milling is done.

A number of important manufacturers of asbestos products in the United
States are owners of or have intimate trade agreements with large
Canadian asbestos mines, and also with some of the domestic mines.
Hence as regards commercial control the United States is practically
assured of a supply of raw material.

POSITION OF LEADING COMMERCIAL NATIONS

Although the _United States_ is the largest manufacturer of asbestos
products in the world, in 1917 less than 1 per cent. of the raw
material was mined in this country. The country is, therefore, largely
dependent on foreign sources of supply. The abundant deposits of
Quebec, Canada, are conveniently near, and so long as the present
amicable relations with Canada continue, an ample supply seems to be
assured. In 1916 the United States used 86 per cent. of the Canadian
output. During 1916 and 1917 there was marked activity in developing
the high-grade chrysotile deposits of Arizona. While there is as
yet no evidence of an abundant supply, the material is an important
supplementary source of supply because of its quality.

While no commercial asbestos is mined in the British Isles, British
colonial possessions hold control of about 88 per cent. of the annual
asbestos output of the world and approximately 70 per cent. of the
world’s reserves. Thus, although the supply within the _British Empire_
is ample, the home requirements of the nation can be met only under
favorable shipping conditions, as all necessary material must be
transported several thousand miles.

_Russia_ is the second largest producer of asbestos in the world, and
seemingly has large reserves. As little manufacturing is done in the
country, practically the entire output is exported. Being independent
as regards her own needs for raw asbestos, Russia requires only the
maintenance of an active foreign market to assure a permanent industry.

No commercial asbestos deposits are known to exist in _Germany_. Prior
to the war asbestos was imported chiefly from Russia and Canada. The
chief Russian mines are said to have been controlled by German capital.

_Italy_ has large deposits of amphibole (anthophyllite) asbestos,
some of which is of spinning grade, but as production has always been
small and has, except for minor fluctuations, been stationary for the
past 18 years, it is unlikely that the deposits can supply domestic
requirements of high-grade fiber. A small amount has been exported for
filter use, for which Italian asbestos is well adapted. As the chief
mine is operated by a British company, considerable Italian asbestos is
shipped to England.

No asbestos deposits are worked in _France_. Supplies are obtained from
Russia, Canada, and South Africa. France is the leading nation in the
manufacture of blue asbestos products.

Several deposits of asbestos occur in _Japan_, but all are of inferior
quality. The material mined is mixed with imported fiber for the
manufacture of asbestos packing.

SUMMARY

Asbestos is a unique mineral for the reason that it combines
incombustibility and insulating qualities with a fibrous structure that
makes possible its manufacture into fabrics, felts, and similar wares.
The spinning grades of asbestos are most in demand and the problem of
supply hinges largely on the deposits of high-grade chrysotile. Such
material is used for the manufacture of ropes, safety curtains, mats,
packings and friction facings in brakes. The lower grades are used for
making fireproof shingles and other building materials, for insulating,
and for fire brick, acid filters, etc. Although some substitutes may be
found for the lower grades, no substitutes are known for spinning fiber.

Asbestos occurs in three main types, chrysotile, crocidolite, and
anthophyllite; the first and second provide most of the spinning fiber,
and the third is almost all of non-spinning quality. The most important
deposit of chrysotile asbestos is in Quebec, Canada, but large deposits
are worked in Russia and Rhodesia. Crocidolite is mined only in Cape
Colony, South Africa. Large deposits of anthophyllite occur in the
United States, Italy, and Cyprus.

The United States is by far the largest manufacturer of asbestos
products in the world, but produces only a small fraction of the
necessary raw material; it is practically assured of an ample supply
of this because the largest deposits in the world are in the adjacent
Province of Quebec, Canada. The Arizona deposits provide an excellent
grade of fiber and constitute a promising supplementary source of
supply, though the estimated reserves are not great. The British
Empire holds a dominating position, controlling about 88 per cent.
of the annual asbestos production of the world and approximately 70
per cent. of the estimated reserves. Canada is far in the lead of all
countries, supplying about 85 per cent. of the world’s output. Russia
was, before the revolution, second to Canada as a producer; because of
the cost of transportation the chief output is spinning fiber. South
Africa has large reserves of good fiber, but the output is handicapped
by poor transportation.

Exhaustion of the chief sources of supply is not likely for many years,
nor is there immediate prospect of any material shift in the centers of
production, though with improved transportation a shift to South Africa
is possible. The demand for high-grade asbestos will probably increase
at a steady rate.

All the asbestos quarries in the United States seem to be American
owned. The Canadian deposits are controlled by Canadian, English, and
American capital, British interests probably being predominant. British
companies evidently hold exclusive control of the present output in
South Africa, Australasia, and Italy. Before the war the Russian output
was largely controlled by a German syndicate, and the Cyprus output by
an Austrian company.

CHAPTER XXV

PHOSPHATE ROCK

BY R. W. STONE

USES OF PHOSPHATE ROCK

Phosphate rock is chiefly used, after treatment with sulphuric acid,
as an ingredient of artificial fertilizers. A small quantity is finely
ground and used directly as fertilizer. Lesser quantities are used for
making phosphoric acid and phosphorus. Phosphorus plays an important
part in military operations, being used for incendiary bullets and
smoke screens. Phosphorus also is a common ingredient of matches and
the striking surface on boxes of safety matches, and it enters in small
proportion into phosphor-bronze, phosphor-copper and phosphor-tin.

=Substitutes.=--Substitutes for phosphate rock may be classed as
natural and artificial. Natural substitutes are phosphatic limestone;
other phosphate-bearing minerals, such as apatite, nelsonite, and
wavellite; guano; marl; animal excrement and bones. Artificial
substitutes include basic slag and manufactured compounds, like
ammonium phosphate.

GEOLOGICAL OCCURRENCE

Phosphate rock is a sedimentary deposit containing phosphate of lime.
It occurs as a hard rock interstratified with beds of sandstone, shale,
or other sediments; as amorphous nodular concretions or pebbles in
stream deposits; and as a residuum from the decomposition of phosphatic
dolomite or limestone, or other rocks containing phosphate of lime.
Another type of deposit commonly classed as phosphate rock is the
porous coralline or other limestone of tropical islands which has been
permeated with phosphate leached from guano.

Phosphate deposits of the western United States, Algeria, Tunis,
and Egypt are hard rock beds of the first type. Amorphous nodular
deposits occur in South Carolina, part of Florida, Wales, England,
Belgium, north-central and eastern France, and Russia. The deposits
in Tennessee, Kentucky, and some of those in Florida are residual.
Leached guano deposits are found on the islands of Aruba, Curacao, and
Sombrero, in the West Indies, and on Christmas, Ocean, Makatea, Angaur
and other islands in the Indian and South Pacific oceans.

The reserves in the United States are fairly well known and are
estimated at 6,000,000,000 tons. Reserves of high-grade rock in Algeria
and Tunis have been estimated at 300,000,000 tons. No information is at
hand regarding the quantity of phosphate rock in Egypt or in Europe,
except that Russia is believed to have 80,000,000 tons in one of its
fields. The deposits in the South Pacific islands are estimated at
70,000,000 tons. Before the war the world’s output of phosphate rock
was about 6,000,000 tons annually, of which about one-half was mined
in the United States. The next largest production is made in northern
Africa.

Phosphoric acid is derived also from apatite, a calcium phosphate that
occurs in veins. Apatite has been mined in the Province of Quebec,
Canada, and in Spain.

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION

In the Western Hemisphere phosphate rock is produced in the United
States, in Canada, the Dutch West Indies, and French Guiana, and occurs
in Peru and Chile.

=United States.=--The principal deposits of phosphate rock in the
United States are in Florida, South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky,
Arkansas, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, and Utah. Although by far the
largest deposits are in the western states, those deposits yield less
than 1 per cent. of the whole because of the lack of a large near-by
market and because of high freight rates on the crude rock. It is not a
matter of common knowledge, but it is, nevertheless, a fact, that the
western rock phosphate deposits are so extensive as to be practically
inexhaustible, even if the entire world depended on them for its supply
of phosphate.

The _Florida_ phosphate deposits, which are the most extensively
developed in the United States, comprise three classes of
phosphate--hard rock, land pebble, and river pebble. The first is
highest grade, the second is produced in largest quantity, and the
third is not mined at present. The hard-rock deposits lie in a narrow
strip along the western part of the Florida peninsula from Suwanee
County to Pasco County, a distance of approximately 100 miles. The
land-pebble phosphate area, just east of Tampa, is about 30 miles long
and 10 miles wide. Sales of Florida phosphate declined tremendously
after 1913 through the restriction on exports by the war. In 1913
the sales were 2,500,000 tons, valued at $9,500,000, and in 1915 the
production was 1,350,000 tons, valued at $3,700,000.

_South Carolina_ produces land rock phosphate in the vicinity of
Charleston. River-pebble phosphate occurs in the same area but is not
mined. Some of the South Carolina output has been exported annually.
Sales decreased from 169,000 tons in 1911 to 83,000 in 1915, and the
value in the same years from $673,000 to $311,000.

_Tennessee_ deposits of rock phosphate are in the west-central part and
extreme northeast corner of the state; the latter have not been mined.
Three types are recognized and known by their colors as brown, blue,
and white rock; the last has not been mined recently. The brown rock
is sold under guarantee of 70 to 80 per cent. tricalcium phosphate;
the blue rock varies considerably in its phosphatic content. Sales of
Tennessee phosphate in 1914 were 483,000 tons, valued at $1,823,000; by
1915 they had fallen to 390,000 tons, valued at $1,328,000.

_Kentucky_ has been an insignificant producer of phosphate rock in
recent years. _Arkansas_ phosphate deposits are in the north-central
part of the state. The output is small.

Four western states possess enormous deposits of high-grade rock
phosphate, but their output is as yet insignificant, being only 3,000
to 5,000 tons a year. The producing states are Idaho, Utah, and
Wyoming. Montana is not a producer, although it contains extensive
deposits easy of access and close to rail transportation.

_Idaho_ has an unlimited supply of high-grade phosphate in the
southeast part of the state. A small quantity is mined in Bear Lake
County. The _Utah_ deposits are east of Great Salt Lake, in the Wasatch
and Uintah ranges, and east of Bear Lake. These deposits are extensive,
but the rock is leaner than the general run of the Idaho phosphate,
averaging nearer 60 per cent. than 80 per cent. tricalcium phosphate.
Western _Wyoming_ also is rich in rock phosphate, the deposits being
mostly in the Owl Creek, Wind River, Gros Ventre, and Salt River
ranges. Some of the beds are thick, carrying 80 per cent. tricalcium
phosphate, and extend for many miles. They constitute a reserve supply
that may be called inexhaustible. Small local demand for fertilizer and
lack of cheap transportation may retard for some years the development
of the great and rich western deposits.

An estimate of the quantity of rock phosphate available in the United
States was made several years ago and need not be revised to account
for that mined in the meantime. It is repeated here:

RESERVES OF PHOSPHATE ROCK IN THE UNITED STATES

Long tons
Florida 227,000,000
Tennessee 88,000,000
South Carolina 9,000,000
Kentucky 1,000,000
Arkansas 20,000,000
-----------
345,000,000
Western States: Montana, Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming 5,367,082,000
-------------
Total 5,712,082,000

=Canada.=--The principal phosphatic rock in Canada is apatite, which
occurs in workable quantity in two main districts--one in the Province
of _Ontario_, the other in the Province of _Quebec_. These deposits,
which were worked mainly by quarrying, are now practically abandoned.
Rock phosphate occurs in a thin bed near Banff, _Alberta_, but is not
used.

=South America.=--In Aruba and Curacao, islands of the _Dutch West
Indies_, off the coast of Venezuela, are deposits of phosphate rock,
from which a small quantity is mined and shipped to Europe. It is
reported that the output in 1914 was about 100,000 tons, averaging 85
to 90 per cent. of calcium phosphate.

In _Peru_, in the Department of Ica, is a deposit of nodular lime
phosphate, which is not used because of a local preference for guano.

A large, rich deposit of phosphate is reported in _Chile_, about 300
miles north of Valparaiso, but has not been developed as yet.

Phosphate deposits occur on the Island of Salut and on the Connetables,
close to the coast of _French Guiana_. The rock is exported.

=Europe.=--The high-grade phosphate deposits of _Belgium_ are
exhausted, only low-grade deposits remaining. The rock is found in
layers and pockets, and carries between 25 and 65 per cent. of bone
phosphate. The production from 1911 to 1913 averaged more than 200,000
tons annually.

The principal deposits in _France_ are in the Somme and Oise basins.
The best French deposits are higher grade than the Belgian, as they
carry 50 to 80 per cent. of bone phosphate, but they are nearly
exhausted, only low-grade material remaining. The production from 1910
to 1914 was about 300,000 tons annually.

Important deposits of phosphate rock in _Russia_ can be divided into
the northern, central, and southern groups. The deposits of the
southern group were the only ones exploited before the war. Their
output was about 25,000 tons a year--very small in comparison with
the size of the deposits, which are estimated to contain more than
1,500,000,000 tons. Some of the rock is high grade, carrying as much as
75 per cent. tricalcium phosphate, but the normal grade is about 50 per
cent.

The only deposits worked extensively in _Spain_ are apatite veins in
the Province of Caceras. After lying idle many years these deposits
were reopened and produced 28,000 tons in 1917.

Low-grade phosphate in the form of beds of nodules occurs in _England_,
and in _Wales_. The production has been slight because the deposits are
too small for commercial exploitation.

=Africa.=--The principal deposits of phosphate rock in _Tunis_ are the
Gafsa fields, in the southern half of the country. There phosphate
occurs in beds several feet thick, but only those carrying more than
58 per cent. phosphate of lime are exploited. The deposits can be
traced for several hundred miles, and constitute a reserve of hundreds
of millions of tons. Tunis now produces more phosphate than any
other foreign country, its annual output being between 1,500,000 and
2,000,000 tons, most of which goes to southern Europe.

The deposits of phosphate rock in _Algeria_ are continuations of those
in Tunis, the important mining districts being in eastern Algeria. The
production is over 500,000 tons a year, and the exported rock carries
58 to 68 per cent. of lime phosphate.

Extensive deposits of phosphate occur in _Egypt_, near the Red Sea,
in thin and irregular beds of the same geologic age (Eocene) as the
deposits in Tunis and Algeria. The best deposits average 70 per cent.
lime phosphate and the output in 1916 was 125,000 tons. There are
mines 20 miles from Port Safalga, and concessions 12 miles inland from
Kosseir and also at Sebaia, on the eastern bank of the Nile between
Keneh and Assouan. Beds of phosphate are found in other districts on
both sides of the Nile valley. Practically all the raw rock phosphate
produced contains 65 per cent. or more of tricalcium phosphate and is
exported mainly to Japan.

Deposits of phosphate occur 80 to 120 kilometers from the city of
_Tripoli_ in beds more than 1 meter thick. These beds probably are a
continuation of the phosphate deposits in southern Tunis.

Deposits of phosphate are reported in _Morocco_ 125 kilometers
south-southwest of Casa Blanca on the west coast and 70 kilometers from
the end of a railroad. These deposits are said to be comparable to the
Gafsa field, in Tunis.

It is reported that at Dielor, in _Senegal_, about the latitude of Cape
Verde, the westernmost point on the African coast, there is a phosphate
bed which is 2 meters thick to a depth of 64 meters. The rock carries
only 50 per cent. tricalcium phosphate, so it is not workable under
present conditions, especially in view of the abundant high-grade rock
in Algeria and Tunis.

Phosphates have been found in _Natal_, near Weenen, Ladysmith, and
Byrnetown, in the form of phosphatic shales and of nodules. The
percentage of tricalcium phosphate in the phosphatic shales is too low
for use in making superphosphates; the phosphatic nodules are of higher
grade but not abundant enough to be of value.

=Asia and Australasia.=--In the government of Uralsk, in southwestern
_Siberia_, bordering on the north end of the Caspian Sea, there is
reported to be 600,000,000 tons of phosphate rock. It is said that the
greater part of this material carries 17 to 20 per cent. phosphoric
acid, which is equivalent to 36 to 43 per cent. tricalcium phosphate.
The government of Turgai, which borders Uralsk on the east, is
reported to contain 67,000,000 tons of phosphate rock, most of which
carries 18 to 19 per cent. phosphoric acid, or about 40 per cent.
tricalcium phosphate. The highest-grade material reported is 24 per
cent. phosphoric acid, equivalent to about 52 per cent. tricalcium
phosphate. All the phosphate therefore is low grade. No production is
reported from either of the localities.

Low-grade phosphate rock, in sedimentary beds of considerable extent,
and high-grade vein deposits are reported in _Palestine_, on the east
side of the Jordan. The sedimentary deposits occur also on the west
side of the Jordan. The known reserves are about 3,500,000 tons. The
sedimentary deposits average about 48 per cent. and the vein deposits
77 per cent. tricalcium phosphate. As the vein material is suitable
for export, these deposits have been explored by a French company, but
available information indicates there has been no output.

_Islands in the North Pacific Ocean._--After the discovery of phosphate
rock on _Rasa Island_, 500 miles east of Formosa, a number of years
ago, a Japanese company was formed to exploit the deposits. The rock
is rich, carrying 75 per cent. phosphate of lime, and the reserves are
estimated at 2,800,000 tons. In 1915 Rasa Island yielded 50,000 tons. A
former German supply of phosphate is on _Angaur Island_, in the Pelew
group, east of the southern end of the Philippines. Reserves on this
island are estimated at 2,000,000 to 4,000,000 tons of phosphate rock,
mostly of high grade. Germany increased the output from 45,000 tons in
1910 to 90,000 tons in 1913. Japan has held this island since October,
1914, and is mining 30,000 tons or more phosphate annually.

Deposits of phosphate, consisting of replacements of dolomitic
coralline limestone, and phosphatic guano are reported on several other
islands in Oceania, as Baker and Fanning Islands, in _Polynesia_, and
Fais Island, in the _West Caroline Islands_. It is probable that on
other islands there are commercial deposits as yet undiscovered.

_Islands in Indian and South Pacific Oceans._--North of Adelaide,
in _Australia_, are pockety deposits of phosphate; they are without
regular stratification and are of varying quality. The annual output
has been 4,000 to 6,000 tons for several years. In the Otago district,
near Clarendon, _New Zealand_, beds of phosphate 3 to 12 feet thick
rest in pockets in limestone. There has been very little if any
production.

On _Christmas Island_ (Straits Settlements), which lies in the Indian
Ocean 190 miles south of Java, rock carrying 80 per cent. of bone
phosphate is quarried and shipped to Australia and Japan. The deposits
seem to be irregular, but are estimated to contain several million tons
of rock of very high grade. The island belongs to the government of
Singapore. Exploitation of the deposits by the British began in 1900.
Exports in 1913 were 150,000 tons.

Phosphate rock of high grade is mined on _Ocean Island_, in the
Gilbert Archipelago, between the Marshall and Solomon Islands, east
of New Guinea and north of New Zealand. On this and other so-called
coral islands in the equatorial belt which for ages have been sea-bird
rookeries, leachings from the guano have impregnated the limestone,
forming phosphate rock many feet deep. The deposits on this island
are said to be many millions of tons and are among the richest in the
world. They have been mined since 1901, and have produced as high
as 300,000 tons a year. In 1916 the output was 70,000 tons of rock
carrying about 85 per cent. tricalcium phosphate. The island is a
British possession.

Another British possession in the Gilbert Archipelago containing
phosphate rock is _Pleasant Island_, which is also known as Nauru, or
Ngaru, Island. The deposits are similar to those on Ocean and Christmas
Islands, being very high in calcium phosphate and low in iron and
alumina. Germany formerly owned this island, but it was taken over by
the British in 1917.

Makatea, near Tahiti, in the _Society Islands_, is estimated to
contain 10,000,000 tons of very high-grade phosphate rock, irregularly
distributed between reefs and pinnacles of dolomite. The deposits were
developed as recently as 1910 and yielded more than 300,000 tons before
1917. Some of the rock carries 85 per cent. lime phosphate. The island
is a French possession.

RECENT CHANGES AND DEVELOPMENTS

When the World War began, exports of phosphate rock from the United
States, ordinarily about 1,000,000 tons a year, were cut off and
the annual production of the United States fell from 3,000,000 tons
to 1,800,000 tons. There has been a strong recovery in the domestic
industry and if labor and transportation conditions improve there
should shortly be an annual production of nearly 3,000,000 tons for
domestic consumption, or as much phosphate rock for our own use as
formerly was produced for ourselves and a large export trade.

It is surmised that northern Africa will yield larger quantities in the
future than during the pre-war period. Production in Algeria, Tunis,
and Egypt was probably stimulated during the war on account of the
large reduction in the quantity of American rock sent to Europe.

Japan doubtless will make a large output from the German deposits in
Polynesia which came into her possession at the beginning of the war.

COMMERCIAL CONTROL

Ownership of the phosphate deposits in the United States is largely
domestic; some of the Florida hard-rock deposits are owned by French
and (before the war) German companies. The German-owned deposits were
taken over by the Custodian of Alien-Enemy Property, and have doubtless
passed into other hands. The phosphate deposits on Curacao, Dutch West
Indies, are worked by the Curacao Phosphate Mining Co., which ships the
output to England and Germany. Phosphate deposits in Algeria and Tunis
are exploited by French companies. Some of the companies work under
lease. La Compagnie des Phosphates de Paris and La Compagnie Algerienne
des Phosphates have been mentioned as engaged in these fields. Deposits
on the lower Nile and Red Sea are worked by the Egyptian Phosphate Co.,
a British concern, and by the Societa Egiziana per l’Estrazione de il
Commercio dei Phosphati, a company managed by Italians. It is reported
that much of the output goes to Japan. The Pacific Phosphate Co., Ltd.,
of London, operates under concession the phosphate deposits on Ocean
and Pleasant islands. Japanese companies are mining phosphate on Rasa
and Angaur islands.

POSITION OF LEADING NATIONS

The United States has the largest known deposits of phosphate rock
in the world, and, as before the war, can supply the needs of other
countries as well as her own. Since mining began about 55,000,000 tons
have been mined, or less than 1 per cent. of reserves. Great Britain
possesses phosphate in Egypt and on Christmas, Ocean and Pleasant
islands, and has imported from the United States and probably from
northern Africa. France and the other Mediterranean countries have an
ample supply in Algeria and Tunis. Germany formerly possessed rich
deposits of phosphate on Angaur Island, in the Pelew group, Polynesia,
and on Pleasant and Ocean islands, but so far as known now lacks a
source of supply. Japan has a large supply of high-grade phosphate at
her disposal on Rasa and Angaur islands.

SUMMARY

The principal use of phosphate rock is as an ingredient of fertilizers.
Lesser quantities are consumed in the manufacture of phosphoric acid,
in phosphorus used in military operations, in the manufacture of
matches, and in metallurgy. Both natural and artificial substitutes are
available for many of the uses of phosphate rock.

Phosphate rock is a sedimentary deposit containing phosphate of lime.
It occurs as a hard rock between beds of sandstone or shale, as
amorphous nodular phosphates in stream deposits, and as a residuum
from the decomposition of phosphatic dolomite, limestone, and other
phosphate-bearing rocks. The porous limestone of tropical islands,
where it is permeated with phosphate leached from guano, is commonly
classed as phosphate rock.

The phosphate rock deposits of present commercial importance are
situated in the United States, Algeria, Tunis, Egypt, and the islands
of the Indian and South Pacific oceans, the United States possessing
by far the largest reserves. Smaller deposits, either undeveloped or
nearly exhausted, are in Canada, Venezuela, Chile, Belgium, France,
Russia, England, Spain, South Australia, and New Zealand.

During the war the exports of phosphate rock from the United States
decreased greatly. With the return to normal conditions, however, the
United States should experience little difficulty in becoming once more
the principal source of phosphate rock.

The principal phosphate-rock deposits are controlled politically by the
United States, France (Algeria and Tunis), and Great Britain (Egypt). A
number of phosphate-bearing islands in the Pacific Ocean were owned by
Germany before the war, but have been seized by Great Britain and Japan.

The commercial control of the deposits of the United States is mainly
in the hands of Americans, although German (before the war) and French
interests own some of the Florida hard-rock deposits. The deposits of
Algeria and Tunis are controlled by French companies. The Egyptian
deposits are controlled by two companies, one British and the other
Italian.

Germany will be without a source of supply under her own control now
that she has lost her colonies.

CHAPTER XXVI

POTASH

BY HOYT S. GALE AND A. W. STOCKETT

NATURE AND USES OF POTASH

The term potash is commonly used to designate any of the salts of the
element potassium, particularly those soluble in water, which are
largely used in agriculture and manufacturing. The element potassium
is widely distributed as a component of rocks, soils, and vegetable
and animal substances, but large quantities of potassium salts in
forms suitable for the uses of man have been found in only a few
places. Ashes of wood, which were formerly the principal source of
potash in commerce, now supply an inconsiderable part of the world’s
requirements. Since 1860, the principal, in fact almost the only,
commercial source of potash salts has been the immense deposits in
northern Germany. The crude potassium salts obtained from these
deposits by mining operations are used either as fertilizer in the
form in which they are taken from the ground, or are purified by
crystallization or manufactured into various compounds of potassium
needed for both agriculture and other industrial uses.

Use in agriculture as an ingredient of the so-called artificial or
chemical fertilizers accounts for 90 per cent. or more of the world’s
consumption. Potassium is not only one of the ten or more chemical
elements essential to plant life, but of these ten it is one of three
that frequently become so lacking in soils that the yield of crops is
not profitable. Even if potassium exists in soils, it may be and often
is present in some form not readily available for plant use, so that
the addition of fresh, readily water-soluble salts of potassium shows
prompt reaction in stimulating the growth of the crop. In a general way
potash is supposed to supply a necessary plant food, that strengthens
the stalk and fills the kernels of the growing plant. Also it is a
general belief that some destructive plant diseases, such as blight and
rust of cotton and potatoes, are largely favored by improper nutrition
as well as by poor physical condition of the soil, for which potash
seems to be a specific. Thus the so-called potash industry, by which is
meant the mining and marketing of the principal or commonest compounds
of potash, is based chiefly on use in agriculture.

The other uses of the salts of potassium are many and diverse. Most
of the potassium salts have properties similar to the corresponding
salts of sodium, and for most industrial purposes the salts of these
two elements may be interchanged, a generalization which does not,
however, apply to any extent whatever to the agricultural application
of potassium. Some industrial preferences for the potassium salt depend
on more favorable physical properties of the potassium over the sodium
salt, such as a less tendency of the potassium salt to absorb moisture
from the air. Other preferences depend on slight chemical differences,
as for instance a somewhat greater solubility, which renders the
purification of the potassium salt more easy. During the scarcity and
high prices of the wartime period many substitutions have been made,
which either directly or by some modification of practice are now
proving so satisfactory that they will probably be continued.

One of the most urgent demands for potash has come from the match
manufacturers. Potassium chlorate is an important ingredient of most
matches, and this use consumes a surprisingly large amount of potash.
Certain varieties of glass, especially cut glass tableware (flint
glass) and some optical glass, are made from potash, generally in the
form known as glass-makers’ carbonate. Most soap is made from soda,
but potash (as caustic or hydroxide) is used for some of the finer
grades, such as shaving, toilet, and shampoo soaps, especially the
liquid forms. Caustic potash has had a considerable use in laundries,
and for the scouring or washing of wool. The old form of black powder
was made from potash as potassium nitrate or saltpeter; hence the
commonly assumed military importance of potash. Black powder, though
now largely superseded by modern high-explosive powders, still has a
relatively small though nevertheless important application in modern
warfare. There are other uses, which, though requiring a small total
amount, include some important requirements, among these being the
medicinal or pharmaceutical, tannery, dye, photographic, electroplate,
and metallurgical needs.

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION

The great deposits of potash in northern Germany underlie an extensive
area in the Prussian provinces of Saxony, Hanover, and in the duchies
of Anhalt and Brunswick. The most important mining regions lie in
an area practically encircling the Harz Mountains, 75 to 150 miles
southwest of Berlin, and 100 to 150 miles south to southeast of
Hamburg. This area is outlined more exactly on the accompanying index
map (Fig. 14).

The field originally opened at Stassfurt has since been explored
by deep boring and developed by the sinking of mining shafts, with
the result that there has now been outlined an estimated reserve
of 20,000,000,000 metric tons of crude potash salts, which at the
present rate of the world’s consumption should be sufficient to last
almost 2,000 years. Thus for all practical purposes the field may be
considered as inexhaustible.

[Illustration: FIG. 14.--Distribution of potash deposits in northern
Germany.]

In 1904 another important and extensive deposit of water-soluble potash
salts was discovered by boring in the valley of the Rhine River in
southern Alsace. Alsace, then in possession of Germany, has now been
restored to France. The deposit is in two essentially continuous beds
that underlie within accessible depth an area of 70 to 80 square miles
of the flat bottom lands of the Rhine Valley. The beds are estimated
to contain about 1,500,000,000 metric tons of crude potash salts,
which average considerably richer in potash than the output of the
north German deposits, and, being of simpler chemical composition, are
more readily refined. The mines opening these deposits are readily
accessible to water transportation by way of the Rhine River and the
canals of the Rhine Valley. The distance to ocean ports is considerably
longer than it is from the north German deposits, being about 375
miles, as compared with 150 miles by canal and river boats from the
latter, but the amount of handling necessary to transport similar
cargoes from the two districts seems to be about the same. The deposit
in Alsace lies in an elliptical area centering about 5 miles northwest
of the city of Mulhouse.

Some potash has been produced from a deposit in Galicia, near Kalusz,
south of Lemberg, from deposits reported to be of a type similar to
those of north Germany, but the field has never yielded even enough
potash to satisfy the local demand, and is thought not to be large.

During the war relatively small outputs of potash salts were obtained
from many independent sources, in the United States, Abyssinia, Tunis,
and other countries. Under stress of war necessities and the complete
shutting off of other supplies, these outputs in the aggregate formed
a considerable amount. Much of the development probably will not be
permanent, when strict competition with the potash from more available
sources is renewed, but each of these fields and doubtless many others
contain the possibilities of development that may give the world
situation a new aspect at any time. Chief among the most immediate
prospects for important development is a rather extensive field in
eastern Spain, near Barcelona. This field has not as yet produced on
a commercial scale. One estimate of the reserves in the Spanish field
claims a proved area of 13.5 square miles containing 200,000,000 tons
of potassium oxide.

The nitrate deposits of Chile contain a small percentage of potash, and
this is being recovered separately from the sodium nitrate at several
of the refineries. It has been estimated that a total production of
240,000 tons of potassium oxide annually might be derived from this
source.

Many different sources in the United States are yielding potash salts.
The largest known deposit of soluble potash in fairly concentrated
form is at Searles Lake, California. This is a dried saline lake,
now represented by a bed of crystalline salts with a large amount of
saturated brine rich in potash. The body of salts carrying the brine
underlies an area of about 25 square miles and extends to an average
depth of 70 feet. It is estimated that the brine alone in this deposit
carries nearly 20,000,000 tons of potassium oxide, which would be
enough potash to supply the needs of the country for about 60 years
at the present normal rate. Numerous small lakes in western Nebraska
carry brines exceptionally rich in potash, and these are now yielding
a considerable production of potash fertilizer salts. No satisfactory
estimate of the reserves in this field is available.

Under present operating conditions about one-third of the annual
requirements of the United States is recoverable from the cement mills.
About 380,000 short tons of potash, most of which is volatilized, is
annually charged into the blast furnaces of the country. The best
available estimates indicate that about 30,000 tons of potash have
formerly gone to waste in molasses distillery slop, and-about 8,000
tons in Steffens waste water at the beet-sugar refineries of the
country. Kelp and alunite are available in quantities sufficient to
continue to yield a substantial production. Enormous quantities of
leucite lava, carrying 10 per cent. of potash in an insoluble silicate
form; greensand carrying 6 to 7 per cent. of insoluble potash; sericite
with from 7 to 12 per cent., and feldspar with similar content, are
available as raw materials of production if satisfactory commercial
processes can be developed. Thus potential supplies of potash in the
United States are practically inexhaustible. The future of the American
potash industry, therefore, depends on the development of processes or
methods of separation economical enough to permit the domestic product
to compete with imported potash.

GEOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION

The potash deposits of northern Germany lie in the midst of a series
of formations known as the Zechstein, the geologic age of which is
Permian. Both the Alsatian and Spanish deposits are found in Oligocene
Tertiary rocks, although the deposits were not necessarily strictly
synchronous in origin. The Galician deposits are described as of lower
Miocene (Tertiary) age. These are the principal known bedded deposits
of potash in the world, for which as a class the distinction as to
geologic age seems to have a special significance. The association
of potash with the large salt and gypsum deposits of the world seems
for some reason to have been exceptional in geologic history. But the
determination that these somewhat analogous occurrences have been
formed at various times and places is a good basis for expecting that
similar deposits may yet be discovered elsewhere.

CHANGES IN COMMERCIAL PRACTICE

Before the war the world’s consumption of potash was practically
the measure of the German production, the statistics of which are
available in considerable detail. In round numbers, Germany produced
about 10,000,000 metric tons of potash salts, averaging about 10
per cent. of K₂O, of which she used more than 60 per cent. at home,
and exported about 25 per cent. to the United States. For two years
a very small production from Alsace had been lumped with the rest.
Shortly after the outbreak of the war the German government placed an
embargo on the export of potash, presumably in the hope of thereby
injuring crop production of the Allies, and possibly because of the
small military significance that it has. The production of potash
in Germany was continued, however, at practically the same rate as
before the war, the portion formerly exported being distributed for
fertilizer use at home. This naturally gave a tremendous stimulus to
the efforts of other countries to develop sources of potash. Although
no huge natural resources comparable to the already known deposits
were discovered, the efforts nevertheless had a reasonable amount of
success, so that the world has not suffered in any vital way because
of deprivation of potash. The cost of potash in the United States and
its Allied countries increased to as much as ten times the pre-war
price, but the supply was sufficient to meet all of the most pressing
needs. Many possibilities for production from various sources have been
opened, for which it is still too soon to predict the final outcome. It
appears that a number of these new enterprises have entered the field
permanently, although there will necessarily be some uncertainty during
the period of reconstruction.

The ceding of Alsace to France, which is discussed in a subsequent
paragraph, undoubtedly entails the largest and most significant change
in the commercial situation as regards the world market for potash.
A possibility of production from the deposits in eastern Spain holds
similar although more remote significance.

SOURCES OF PRODUCTION

The output of potash during 1917, summarized by countries according to
the best available data, is as follows:

TABLE 65.--WORLD PRODUCTION OF POTASH IN 1917

[155] Estimated from data indicated.

POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL CONTROL

=Germany.=--The potash industry in Germany is reported to have
represented an investment of M.500,000,000 ($119,000,000). In 1918
there were 209 mines capable of producing, as indicated by the
Kalisyndikat list assigning quotas for anticipated production from the
individual mines for the year.

Most of these mines are privately owned under a variety of laws in the
several German states and provinces. Originally the developments are
said to have taken place under various local regulations; for example,
in Hanover the mining rights belonged to the property holders, in
Saxony the prospecting rights were free and the mining concessions
belonged to the first discoverer of the deposits without regard to the
owner of the surface soil, and in Anhalt mining was at first declared
to be a state monopoly, which was later contracted to a few private
companies. Some properties are, however, owned and operated by the
state. The Prussian government owns mines at Stassfurt, Bleicherode,
and Vienenburg; the Duchy of Anhalt has large works at Leopoldshall;
and the Duchy of Brunswick holds interest in some potash properties.

Two instances of participation by American concerns in the German
industry are known. The International Agricultural Corporation, an
American company organized in 1909, was for a time the owner of all
the capital stock of the Sollstedt Works in Germany. Later, one-half
interest in this American corporation was transferred to the Kaliwerke
Aschersleben, another German concern, under conditions which seemed
to complicate the matter of ownership. The Virginia-Carolina Chemical
Co., of Richmond, Virginia, is reported to have purchased a controlling
interest in the Einigkeit Works, presumably by a direct cash
transaction.

Under a law of the German Reichstag, known as the potash act of the
25th of May, 1884, an obligatory control of the potash industry in
Germany was ordained. A common agency, known as the Kalisyndikat, was
established, to represent all of the mines, with power to control the
opening of new mines, the output of each mine, and the selling prices
of potash salts. The industry has thus become a trust re-enforced by
the German government, although the private ownership of individual
properties remains. This syndicate differs from an American syndicate
in that it is formed for a limited period of time, in the present case
5 years, and its working capital is small, only enough to provide
for the actual working needs of the organization. The object of the
syndicate is to prevent disastrous competition, to insure that the
supply will conform to the demand, and that reasonable profits may be
obtained by producers.

The mines or works composing the potash syndicate, as with most mining
syndicates in Germany, may be either of the limited liability sort, the
shares of which are not assessable, or those whose capital stock is
divided into shares called “kuxe,” which are assessable at anytime and
are of unlimited liability. The shares of both kinds are dealt in on
the exchanges in the large cities of Germany.

Each company that is a member of a German syndicate has its
representative on the board of management of the trust, and
this board fixes the quota of production allowed each mine, and
generally administers the affairs of the entire combination under
its constitution and by-laws (statuten).[156] The constitution and
by-laws must be signed by each concern entering the syndicate and
the provisions therein contained strictly observed under penalties
enforceable in courts of law.

[156] Abstract from Daily Consular and Trade Reports, No. 265, vol.
4, Nov. 11, 1911, p. 760.

The weak point in this form of organization is the dissension that
often arises over the quotas allowed the different members. Each
company wants as large an allotment as it can get. Upon the expiration
of the life of a syndicate there is always uncertainty as to whether
it will be renewed, owing to competition among the various constituent
firms.

Before the war, under the terms of the contracts of the five large
fertilizer companies with the German potash syndicate, one-half of the
maximum discount allowed was deducted from the amount of the invoice
covering each shipment, and the remainder was paid to the buyer at the
end of each half year, provided he made a statement in writing to the
syndicate to the effect that he had purchased his entire requirements
of potash from the syndicate. Thus by allowing maximum discounts to
the large buyers, and preventing them from dealing in potash from
any source except the syndicate, this provision aimed to stifle the
development of any competitive sources of supply.

=Alsace.=--The potash deposits of Alsace were developed under the
German mining law for Alsace-Lorraine of December 16, 1843, amended
July 14, 1908, with specific reference to potash. Since the armistice
the German mines have been operated under the sequestration régime,
under charge of the French military authorities, directed by the
ministry of industrial reconstruction in France. Now that the treaty of
peace has been ratified by Germany, Alsace may be regarded as having
formally and finally passed into the possession of France, and with
this naturally the political and commercial control of the Alsatian
potash deposits. It remains therefore for the French Parliament to
determine what the final disposition of the former German ownership of
these properties shall be, and questions such as nationalization or
French-Alsatian control were being discussed in the summer of 1920.

Although most of the concessions in the Alsatian potash field had been
granted to German interests, the development was started by Alsatians,
and two of the concessions are in French-Alsatian ownership. These
have not been and probably will not be altered, unless they are to
enter some voluntary combination.

An agency for the sale and distribution of the Alsatian potash has been
arranged in the United States, and for the present at least the product
is coming in direct competition with the salts from the older German
mines.

=Spain.=--The potash deposits recently discovered in the provinces
of Barcelona and Lerida, of Cataluña, in eastern Spain, are subject
to special regulations of the Spanish government. A large area of
concessions already granted to private interests covers a considerable
part of the field outlined by exploratory borings. Operations on
these concessions are permitted, but the state reserves the right to
subordinate the exploitation to the interests of the country, and
impose special conditions in favor of the consumption of the potash
produced in Spain. Recently, unexplored state lands have been opened,
by royal decree, to bids for exploration and lease. The scheme follows
in general the plan of governmental control of the German potash
industry. According to it, all concessions for the working and sale
of salts are subject in many details to governmental control. Among
other conditions, working must be continuous save in certain exempted
circumstances; the state shall fix annually the home and export prices,
as well as the maximum and minimum quota for each mine.

=Other Countries.=--Before the war, the Austrian potash syndicate,
which consisted of the Austrian government and a group of capitalists,
controlled the deposits near Kalusz, in Galicia. No specific
governmental regulation is reported for the minor operations connected
with the production of potash in other countries.

SUMMARY

More than 90 per cent. of the potash handled in the world’s commerce
is used as a fertilizer. The rest is used as a chemical in various
industries, chief among which are the manufacture of matches, certain
kinds of glass and soap, and the better grades of black powder. The
uses specifically mentioned in this paragraph are essential, as no
satisfactory substitutes are known.

Up to 1914 practically all of the potash used in the world came
from the deposits in northern Germany, which are substantially
inexhaustible. Next in importance are the deposits of Alsace, which
contain enough potash to meet the world’s present demands for almost
300 years. Other resources are known in Spain, Galicia, Abyssinia, the
nitrate beds of Chile, and in deposits in the United States, but it is
too early to predict with assurance what part they will play in the
expansion of the potash industry.

Germany will no longer be able to maintain a world monopoly of the
potash market. The passing of control of the important resources in
Alsace from Germany to France foreshadows competition from recognized
adequate sources of supply. There are many other possibilities, the
mere potentialities of which are sufficient to restrain any tendency
to unreasonable extortion by those who control the German fields.
Moreover, attention has been so directed to the desirability of
developing independent sources, and so much able technical talent
is now being devoted toward bringing successful issue from the many
undertakings in progress, that it is very unlikely that this country,
or any other, will in the future be dependent on one or two arbitrarily
handled monopolies.

CHAPTER XXVII

NITROGEN

BY CHESTER G. GILBERT

USES OF NITROGEN

Plant life requires nitrogen and gets it in the normal cycle of events.
But when the occasion calls for stimulating the growth of plant life by
feeding, by soil fertilization in other words, nitrogen in available
form is indispensable. Further down along the channels of food supply
it exercises another and equally important function in providing the
chemical (ammonia) around which the modern practice of refrigeration is
built. Likewise, the chemistry of explosives is basically the chemistry
of nitrogen compounds. Nor is this all, for chemical operations in
general--hence research and industrial chemistry in general--involve
the employment of nitrogen compounds. Such, in brief, is its status. On
each of three major counts, the interests of food production, of food
distribution, and of national defense, it is indispensable; and of no
less consequence is the retinue of less conspicuous agencies serving
the interests of chemistry at every turn.

GEOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION

The development of fixed nitrogen sources is conditioned by three
simple chemical facts. With these three simple facts in mind the rest
follows largely as a matter of inference. The facts are:

That under all ordinary conditions of temperature and pressure, free
nitrogen is a gas.

That it is extremely inert and indisposed to participate with other
elements in the formation of chemical compounds.

That such combinations when they do occur are characteristically
soluble.

In consequence of these three governing principles, along with its
relationship to organic matter, as alluded to under the preceding
caption, nitrogen has four habits of occurrence, worth considering as
at least potential sources of supply.

=Atmospheric Nitrogen.=--Being indisposed to participate in chemical
combinations, nitrogen in the course of world evolution was left
largely to itself; and since in the free state it is normally gaseous,
it established its home in the atmosphere. Thus it comes about that
the atmosphere today is approximately four-fifths nitrogen gas, and
after all is said and done the atmosphere is bound to constitute the
great source to which we must turn for our supplies. With a source
so boundlessly ever-present, the question of supply at first glance
looks simple enough. But atmospheric nitrogen, it must be remembered,
is nitrogen uncombined, and the demand is not for nitrogen itself
but for nitrogen-bearing compounds. Once in a state of combination,
it may remain so indefinitely, and the form of combination may be
changed more or less readily to suit the demand. Before it can be
put to use, however, it must be induced to surrender its gaseous
freedom and affix itself in some such state of combination. The free
nitrogen must become fixed nitrogen--hence the terms fixed nitrogen,
nitrogen fixation, and the like in common use. Toward this end it must
be induced to do what it has not seen fit to do of its own accord,
and the very trait of aloofness responsible for the inexhaustible
resources of atmospheric nitrogen stands as an obstacle opposing their
utilization. The obstacle has not proven insuperable, as will appear
later; but it is sufficiently a source of trouble even to this day, so
that the fixed-nitrogen situation may with peculiar appropriateness be
characterized as distinctly in the air.

=Nitrate Ore Deposits.=--The disposition on the part of nitrogen to
take up its abode in the atmosphere has an obvious result in minimizing
the development of mineral nitrates. Atmospheric nitrogen is not
entirely stagnant, however. Natural processes are constantly at work
effecting substantial fixation. The processes are not obtrusively
energetic, as in the case of atmospheric oxygen, whose fixation
processes constitute the ever-present phenomena of oxidation. Still, in
various ways, the most prominent among which is undoubtedly a form of
bacterial action, nitrification and the building up of nitrate minerals
everywhere in the soil goes quietly forward, and their concentration
in ore deposits of more or less plentiful occurrence is thus to be
looked for in the natural course of geologic events. In attempting to
trace their further course, however, we are confronted at the outset
by the principle of solubility. The nitrate minerals are in the nature
of soluble salts. They leach from the immediate environment in which
they form, just as do the soluble minerals in general. Mostly these
latter are carried in solution to the ocean, adding themselves to
its salinity; but under exceptional conditions of topography, where
the drainage feeds into land-locked basins, the water finds itself
entrapped with no avenue of escape except through evaporation. Here
the salts accumulate, become concentrated, and finally give rise to
deposits.

This, in outline, is the course set for the soluble mineral salts as
a class, and it is along this course that we must expect to trace the
development of nitrate ore deposits. But the ocean, with its 3¹⁄₂ per
cent. of salinity, has only traces of nitrate minerals; and the same is
true for the waters of land-locked basins, in all the various stages
of concentration. Their solubility is such that they can not have
escaped in substantial form along the way. There is only one inference
to be drawn. Evidently the inherent trait of aloofness is not lost to
nitrogen when it does combine. The compounds do not survive for any
length of time, but undergo dissociation, releasing their nitrogen
and returning it to the atmosphere even as other processes are slowly
withdrawing it from the atmosphere.

With this the eternal cycle is closed for nitrogen, and closed without
apparent provision for any considerable side-tracking, such as would
be required in the building up of ore deposits. So much for the rule;
now as to the exceptions: Mostly they are of minor consequence. Pockety
enrichments in the soil are common. Accumulations tend to build up
in caves, and may even grow to be of consequence in a small way, as
during the Civil War, when they helped materially toward relieving the
nitrogen troubles of the blockaded Confederacy. In arid country, too,
they not infrequently assume sufficient prominence to be of interest,
especially at the hands of the promoter. Finally, there are the Chilean
nitrate fields, which far from being of minor consequence, go to the
other extreme in catering to the needs of the entire world.

These occurrences, especially the last named, have served to keep
alive the hope that others of economic importance await discovery.
The Chilean deposits alone among them all deserve more than passing
notice. The origin of these deposits is veiled in uncertainty. Just why
or how the natural forces, which elsewhere as a matter of universal
observation have been seen to oppose both the formation of nitrogen
salts and the accumulation of such as do manage to form, should have
failed in this particular instance remains wholly conjectural. A
conclusive explanation would be of the utmost value in determining
the likelihood of similar occurrences elsewhere. But none has been
forthcoming, and nothing is to be gained to the present purpose from
stopping to inquire into the plausibility of the various attempts that
have been made. Confronting us on the one hand are the evidences of a
nitrogen cycle established, seemingly, without affording any visible
loophole of opportunity for the accumulation of extensive deposits;
on the other hand stands the bare fact of enormous deposition. This
fact of existence unquestionably carries with it the possibility of
duplication elsewhere. However, the fact of occurrence merely suggests
the possibility, but does not determine the chances of recurrence.
These are recorded in the prevalence of the conditions requisite to
extensive deposition. In the case of nitrogen they are unique beyond
comprehension, and the prospect of recurrence is to precisely the same
degree unlikely. Accordingly, to all practical purposes, a review of
the world’s nitrate ore deposits, both real and potential, resolves
itself down to a review of the Chilean occurrence.

The Chilean nitrate fields lie in the arid valley basin to the east of
the lofty coast range and just south of the present Peruvian boundary
line. They do not occur as a single expansive area of deposition, but
as deposits scattered here and there along the desert land at the
bases of the mountain slopes. The formation consists of a conglomerate
or breccia of rock material from the adjacent slopes, cemented with
a mixture of soluble salts in which sodium chloride, common salt, is
the dominant member, with sodium nitrate ranking second. The formation
is called _caliche_. It lies for the most part just below the surface
of the ground and varies from a few feet to many feet in thickness.
Only in scattered patches is the caliche high enough in content of
sodium nitrate to warrant treatment. These patches are sought out and
excavated, and the picked ore is loaded in carts, which haul it to the
extraction plant for treatment. Here the soluble salts as a whole are
extracted in solution, and the nitrate in turn is segregated from the
other salts by crystallization. Aside from haulage, hand labor is used
throughout.

The caliche regarded as worth treating contains not less than 10
per cent. nitrate and ranges up to 25 per cent. and over, with an
average of around 18 per cent. The product marketed is of two general
grades--the ordinary, listed as 95 per cent. nitrate, and the refined,
a guaranteed 96 per cent. nitrate, low in sodium chloride. The
deposits have been worked more or less consistently, and with steadily
increasing output, since about 1830. Their importance in the scheme of
nitrogen supply may be gathered from Figures 16 to 18.

=Organic Nitrogen.=--Another source of fixed nitrogen grows out of
its relationship to life processes, and is consequent on the very
requirements of organized society which earlier it is called upon to
assist in meeting. In other words, fixed nitrogen participates in the
material cycle of life. It enters into the material demands of life for
food, and it is yielded up among the material discards available to
absorption. All manner of residuum, animal and vegetable alike, affords
at least a potential source of fixed-nitrogen supply. Some of these are
in service; others for one reason or another are not. Prominent among
those in the former class are animal excreta, the so-called tankage
from animal rendering plants, slaughter-house refuse, fish scrap, and
vegetable-product refinery refuse. Most prominent among those still
largely potential are sewage and garbage disposal.

The nitrogen from these organic sources does not appear on the market
as such. Instead, the products enter in bulk into the make-up of
fertilizer. They are of miscellaneous character, and only part of what
is contributed collects to pass through industrial channels where
its flow may be measured. The industrial flow goes on record and the
records are available, but even here the nitrogen content has never
been systematically computed, so the record is inadequate. For the
rest, the portion that does not reach the channels of industry, there
is nothing whatever in the way of data to go by. Taken all in all,
then, the significance of the organic nitrogen resources is largely
conjectural. This is unfortunate. Approximate figures covering the use
of organic nitrogen would be of value in various connections, as in
the interests of intelligent allocation in times of nitrogen shortage,
as helping to determine the extent to which the growing demands of
agriculture incident to the growth of population may be discounted from
the consequent expansion of scavenging opportunity, or as affording a
basis for estimating the very considerable influence of motorization
toward increasing the demand for chemically prepared fertilizers.

As things stand, all such questions of relationship lead only to
profitless speculation. Even the relative importance of the organic
sources as a whole in the economics of nitrogen supply is uncertain.
What they have to offer of undeveloped reserves, now taking the form of
wasteful sanitation procedure, will be taken up later. Under existing
conditions, it is probably fair to assume that 40 to 50 per cent. of
the nitrogen normally put to use in the United States is organically
associated.

=Carboniferous Deposits.=--Nitrogen in its organic relationships is
bound up with carbon, of which organic matter is largely composed, and
the bond between the two is entirely disestablished only as the carbon
itself loses its substantial form through oxidation. In consequence
of this enduring alliance, nitrogen is characteristically present in
carboniferous deposits, a form of occurrence giving rise to still
another, a fourth type of nitrogen resource. Coal and oil-shale loom up
as the outstanding representatives of this class. In each, the nitrogen
content is variable, but amounts to 1 per cent. or over. With so low a
percentage of nitrogen, it goes without saying that neither of these is
to be regarded as a possible source of direct supply. The cost would
be prohibitive, even under the stress of the most extreme emergency.
The nitrogen in a coal bed or an oil-shale formation is as worthless
as the iron in any ordinary rock. But coal has other uses, and so has
oil shale, or at least will shortly. The nitrogen does not have to
be extracted; it gets released incidentally, and when its release is
effected under conditions that prevent its escape, the result is a
productive nitrogen resource. The nitrogen from this type of resource
is in the form of ammonia, the relative importance of which is shown in
Figures 16 to 18 and Table 66.

GENERAL ASPECTS OF CONTROL

Such is the nature of the nitrogen resources. The resource situation
as a whole is represented graphically in Figure 15. None other can
compare with it for inclusiveness. Its sources are animal, vegetable,
mineral, and atmospheric, which is to say, universal; and out of this
unparalleled diversity has grown an industrial development as complex
as it is diversified, and, incidentally, in view of its bearing on food
and munitions supply, as important as it is complex. The situation at
best can be but imperfectly grasped, for it has been but inadequately
studied. In transgressing all set rules of resource occurrence, it
transgresses the limits set for organized investigation. Geologists
have studied one phase of the situation, electrochemists another,
sanitation experts another, and so on; and the various commercial
interests involved have seen to the giving of publicity where publicity
would do the most good.

TABLE 66.--STATISTICS OF NITROGEN PRODUCTION

----+-----------+--------------------------
| Organic | Chemical nitrogen
| nitrogen +-------------------------+
+-----------+ Sodium |
| | nitrate |
| Dried +---------+-----+---------+
| blood; | | Do- | |
| tankage; | | mes-| |
| guano; | | tic | +
|fish scrap;| World’s | pro-| |
|cotton seed| pro- | duc-| |
| cake and | duction,|tion,| Imports,|
Year|meal; etc. | tons | tons| tons |
----+-----------+---------+-----+---------+
1900| | ...| ...| ...|
1901| Data for |1,328,664| ...| 203,960|
1902| organic |1,349,300| ...| 205,245|
1903| nitrogen |1,485,279| ...| 272,947|
1904|indefinite,|1,559,091| ...| 228,012|
1905| but |1,754,605| ...| 321,231|
1906| probably |1,800,500| ...| 372,222|
1907| about |1,846,036| ...| 364,610|
1908| equal to |1,970,974| ...| 310,713|
1909|the total |2,110,961| ...| 428,429|
1910| for |2,465,415| ...| 529,172|
1911| chemical |2,521,023| ...| 544,878|
1912| nitrogen. |2,585,850| ...| 486,352|
1913| |2,772,254| ...| 625,862|
1914| |2,463,356| ...| 541,715|
1915| |1,755,291| ...| 772,190|
1916| |2,912,893| ...|1,218,423|
1917| |2,950,000| ...|1,555,839|
1918| |2,900,000| ...|1,845,192|
----+-----------+---------+-----+---------+

----+---------------------------------------
| Chemical nitrogen
|---------------------------------------+
+ Fixation |
| compounds |
|--------------------------+-----+------+
| | Do- | |
| World’s production | mes-| |
|--------+-------+---------+ tic | |
| Ammon. |Calcium| | pro-| |
| sulph. |nitrate|Cyanamid,| duc-| Im- |
|(Haber),|(Arc), | tons |tion,|ports,|
Year| tons | tons | | tons| tons |
----+--------+-------+---------+-----+------+
1900| ...| ...| ...| ...| ...|
1901| ...| ...| ...| ...| ...|
1902| ...| ...| ...| ...| ...|
1903| ...| ...| ...| ...| ...|
1904| ...| ...| ...| ...| ...|
1905| ...| ...| ...| ...| ...|
1906| ...| ...| 386| ...| ...|
1907| ...| ...| 1,874| ...| ...|
1908| ...| ...| 2,767| ...| ...|
1909| ...| 45,450| 12,734| ...| ...|
1910| ...| ...| 22,596| ...| 764|
1911| ...| ...| 59,479| ...| 5,617|
1912| ...| ...| 115,688| ...| 7,134|
1913| 20,000|181,800| 173,026| ...|14,656|
1914| 60,000| ...| 208,070| ...|29,536|
1915| 150,000| ...| 845,388| ...|20,564|
1916| 300,000| ...|1,053,439| ...|38,023|
1917| 500,000|300,000| 954,765| ...|44,146|
1918| ...| ...| ...| ...|43,070|
----+--------+-------+---------+-----+------+

----+------------------------
| Chemical nitrogen
|------------------------
+ By-product
| ammonium sulphate
|---------+-------+------
| | Do- |
| | mes- |
| | tic |
| World’s | pro- |
| pro- | duc- | Im-
| duction,| tion, |ports,
Year| tons | tons | tons
----+---------+-------+------
1900| 540,000| 27,600| 8,411
1901| 580,000| 29,279|14,486
1902| 600,000| 36,124|18,146
1903| 640,000| 41,873|16,777
1904| 650,000| 54,664|16,667
1905| 694,575| 65,296|15,288
1906| 778,365| 75,000| 9,182
1907| 906,255| 99,300|30,114
1908| 970,200| 83,400|38,238
1909| 987,840|106,500|42,914
1910|1,104,705|116,000|92,342
1911|1,206,135|127,000|94,633
1912|1,356,075|165,000|59,542
1913|1,532,475|195,000|65,775
1914|1,320,000|183,000|75,010
1915|1,690,000|249,000|36,370
1916|2,000,000|285,000|12,962
1917| ...|325,000|
1918| | |
----+---------+-------+------

[Illustration: FIG. 15.--Nitrogen sources and their cycles of
utilization.]

[Illustration: FIG. 16.--Wartime developments in the production of
nitrogen. Figures are thousands of tons.]

But an investigation working on the basis of geology alone can not cope
with the situation; neither can one on the basis of technology alone;
nor one on the basis of organic chemistry, or bacteriology alone; nor
yet one prepared to employ any or all of these means, but only with a
view to some special end. Nor yet again does the discordant grinding
of many axes make a noise from which it is possible to gather an
adequate comprehension. The nitrogen situation has been inadequately
treated because it has been inadequately studied. It has been studied
piecemeal, always through the medium of limited means or with some
special end in view. It is not a series of technical problems in
geology, in bacteriology, in fixation, in munitions supply, and the
like. It has to do with a composite economic structure, building for
the dependence of society in peace and war alike. Until treated as
such, the needs of the situation are bound to be inadequately met and
its control a matter of perilous uncertainty. The present discussion
makes no pretense of supplying this deficiency or of doing much of
anything more than to show the extent to which it exists.

Figure 15 is designed to show not so much the scope of the resources
as their composite functioning in the system of nitrogen supply. The
influence of geography in the control of resources so universally
available is bound to be subordinate. True, it enables Chile to
exercise monopolistic control over the mineral nitrate supply, but
it leaves the way open for the development of others; and while
acknowledging the fullness of our dependence, as shown in Figures 16 to
18 and Table 66, we must not lose sight of the fact that it is so not
of necessity, but because we have been content to leave it so rather
than undertake to develop supplies of our own. So, too, with political
control; what is gained in one direction is, potentially at least,
offset by the possibilities opening up in others. Control of the sea
gives a control over the mineral nitrate supply as absolute as that in
Chile’s territorial monopoly. Yet in the recent great war, Germany,
with her shipping obliterated at the outset, was not made to suffer
materially from a nitrogen shortage. Britain’s supremacy of the sea
went for naught. In the years before the war the force due in season
to exercise control over the nitrate supply served only to stimulate
the development of domestic potentialities, with the result that when
the test came Germany’s proved actually to be the more advantageous
equipment.

So it goes. Control over the nitrogen resources themselves is
impossible. They are too universally available. Their only
susceptibility to control is in the shaping of their development. This
is too important a matter to be disregarded with impunity and left
to develop without guidance. The modern nation that does so courts
the irrepressible disaster of a nation at war but bereft of the means
not only of waging war but of maintaining a food supply as well. From
Figure 16 may be gathered the quality of attention given the matter of
domestic supply by the different nations immediately before and during
the war. Germany, it will be observed, heeded the call to give the
matter special attention well before the war and had an independent
system of supply developed in readiness, drawing upon the atmosphere
and coal-product nitrogen with the results already chronicled. Great
Britain did not ignore the importance of nitrogen, but placed reliance
on her supremacy of the sea and paid little or no attention to
shaping the course of developments. Nor did its importance go unheeded
elsewhere abroad, and the foothold gained for fixation in France,
Italy, Austria, Russia, and Japan was, it is safe to say, not wholly
automatic. The United States alone among the great nations up to the
outbreak of hostilities in Europe in 1914 neglected to take any special
precautions whatever.

[Illustration: FIG. 17.--Nitrogen developments in the United States. 1.
Wartime expansion for munitions manufacture. 2. Field of competitive
opportunity for Chilean nitrate, air nitrate fixation, improved
coal-fuel practice, shale-oil ammonia, bacterial fixation, improved
sanitation, etc. 3. Field of opportunity reserved to coke-oven
recovery. 4. Developments indicated for coke-oven recovery.]

[Illustration: FIG. 18.--Nitrogen developments for the world,
1900-1918.]

The war, when it came, far exceeded all expectations as to magnitude,
and so in consequence did the demand for specially developed nitrogen
supplies. To meet the emergency, some could be deflected from
agricultural channels, but nothing like what was required, for food
was just as important as munitions. The organic sources offered no
help. Rather they were a hindrance; for organic nitrogen, broadly
speaking, comes as a by-product of sanitation, and as such develops as
the outgrowth of civilization’s refinements. There was a measurable
response from the carboniferous sources, but these could not be made
to meet the emergency, for, being of by-product order, the supply
is determined not in response to the demand for nitrogen but for the
major products. Dependence on the native mineral source in Chile was
out of the question, or at least precarious for any country except
Great Britain. Accordingly, of the four great sources it remained
for atmospheric nitrogen to meet the emergency. Thus, the war in
bringing the nitrogen situation emphatically to the fore, communicated
practically the whole weight of its tremendous impetus to development
in the one direction of fixation. The result is shown in Figure 18.

Roused by the nightmare of war in 1914, even the United States awoke
to the perils if not to the real needs of the domestic situation. It
is a striking and highly significant fact that despite the fundamental
importance of nitrogen, the awakening found us absolutely without
any formulated program of action, even military or agricultural, let
alone anything of comprehensive economic scope. A hysterical effort at
improvising a program ensued. We were not yet in the war, and public
interest was just roused to the gullible stage. The opportunity for
private pickings from public favors was too promising to go by the
board. The only prospect opening up lay in the direction of fixation
developments, and fixation in the hands of the promoter is one of the
most appealing propositions imaginable. Its major requirements are
nitrogen and power. With the former inexhaustibly present in the air
and the latter inexhaustibly available in the wasting waterpowers of
the country, nothing it would seem, could offer greater promise. Add
to this the reflection that cheap nitrogen means cheap fertilizer, and
cheap fertilizer means lowered cost of foodstuffs, and the proposition
broadcasted over the country is complete. Out of the confusion of
interests, public, political, and private, a program was finally
evolved, following our entry into the war, calling for the erection of
a series of fixation plants with an aggregate producing capacity of
around 85,000 tons of fixed nitrogen annually. For the present is must
suffice to say that the war ended before any of these had reached the
producing stage, and the United States, like Great Britain, depended on
imports.

The charts comprising Figure 16 show the influence of the war in the
development of nitrogen distributively among the countries concerned.
The Scandinavian developments, while actuated from wholly commercial
motives, were so largely influenced by the politically stimulated
market that they may well enough be included in that general class
of politically controlled developments. The same is true for the
neutral countries in general. Figure 18, based on the best information
obtainable, is designed to bring out the collective influence of
the war in contributing to the world’s supply. Organic nitrogen is
disregarded both because it involves too many uncertainties and because
the wartime emphasis was all in the direction of chemical nitrogen.
This figure takes into consideration only the actual production and
leaves out what was in process of construction when the war ended.
Accordingly, while in one respect it overrates the effect of the war
by including strictly commercial operations that very possibly might
have transpired anyway, in another it underrates the situation by
disregarding developments like those in this country. The best that can
be done is to consider these as balancing each other, which, all things
considered, is probably fair enough for all practical purposes. Taken
on this basis, the net effect of the war, it will be observed, was to
swell the production of fixed nitrogen some 40 or 50 per cent. above
the figures indicated for the normal rate of expansion.

Thus the wartime shortage was made up; but all this is history. Now
that the war is over, the question arises as to whether the world
is due to face the situation in reverse. In making ready for war,
and finally in meeting its demands, has the world been building up
a 50 per cent. over-production beyond the needs of peace? Offhand,
the answer would seem to be in the affirmative, but the question
is not one that can be answered offhand. Agriculture is capable of
absorbing an indefinite amount of nitrogen, and the war has wrought a
lasting change in the agricultural situation. The changed agricultural
conditions make room for much, perhaps for all, of the increment to
nitrogen production. The development cannot be sustained, however,
on its present arbitrary preferential basis of political expediency.
Least of all can it be sustained on that basis in this country.
Normally, we do not and can not be made to think in terms of war. The
reason is evident enough, and its recurrent force is already apparent.
Distasteful as the fact may be in some of its extremes of application,
the only rational procedure is to accept it and fashion our measures of
economic preparedness so that the normal activities of peace will keep
our economic forces exercised and in trim for the test of war. It was
recognized all along before the war that without an assured source of
nitrogen supply, our system of defense was hollow; but we succeeded in
building up no means of supply in direct response to political needs.
We managed to get comfortably started during the war, but it remains
to be seen to what extent this artificially nourished development is
fitted to withstand the bitter strife of competition ahead.

COMMERCIAL ASPECTS OF NITROGEN CONTROL

Free nitrogen, it will be recalled, has no economic significance.
To be available in the industrial arts it must be in a state of
chemical combination. The form of compound is of secondary importance,
since this may be modified more or less readily to suit the need,
but its value is conditioned in terms of its availability in the
form of nitrogen compounds. In consequence, the several sources are
classifiable industrially under three heads:

Natural compounds--nitrogen occurring naturally in the form of
marketable compounds.

By-product compounds--nitrogen rendered available incidentally in the
course of operations otherwise directed.

Fixation compounds--nitrogen whose availability is dependent on special
fixation treatment.

=Natural Compounds.=--Chile nitrate is the outstanding representative
of the natural compounds. The guano industry, or what there is left of
it, and a few other odds and ends of production from organic sources,
belong here as well, but their combined output is so relatively small
that the Chilean industry comprises what amounts to a monopoly of the
natural resources. It is not operated as such, however, but by private
capital, which owns and operates the oficinas, paying the Chilean
government a royalty or export tax amounting to about $11.20 per ton.
British and Chilean interests share about equally in making up the far
greater part of the capital invested. The balance is largely German and
American. The total capitalization in 1909 amounted to approximately
$134,000,000, representing an actual valuation of about $30,000,000.
Various efforts on the part of the commercial interests involved to
effect combinations for the purpose of stabilizing production have
been attempted, but have not been entirely successful, and the general
tendency has all along been toward overproduction.

The operations, as already outlined on page 424, are crude, and the
cost of production is correspondingly high, amounting to around $25 to
$30 per ton at seaboard, inclusive of the $11 export tax. The nitrate
is marketed largely through commission houses. The American situation
is mostly in the hands of three companies, W. R. Grace & Co., E. I. du
Pont de Nemours Powder Co., and Wessel, Duval & Co. The magnitude of
the Chilean industry as a whole and its relative importance are shown
in Figures 16 to 18 and Table 66.

=By-product Compounds.=--To this class of compounds belong, with
the few minor exceptions already noted, the nitrogenous products of
organic derivation as a whole, and those from carboniferous sources
such as coal and oil shale. From the former source comes a miscellany
of organic refuse resulting from activities dealing with animal,
vegetable, and fish products, and carrying nitrogen in the form of
organic ammoniates commonly left as such for use in agriculture. From
the latter the nitrogen recovered is all chemical nitrogen in the
form of ammonia or ammonium salts, mostly ammonium sulphate, and is
available in all capacities.

The organic production is impossible of definite analysis from any
angle. The lack of systematically compiled records, and back of that
the miscellaneous largely decentralized character of the output,
along with the fact that the producing costs are for the most part
indistinguishable, leaves altogether too much to the imagination. Much
of the supply is derived from connections of sanitation, especially of
local sanitation, such as the rural practice, for which there is no
measure whatever. Another prominent source of supply is represented in
what is known as tankage, the refuse from animal-rendering plants; but
here too the issue is lost in the scattering of the production, the
indefiniteness of composition, and the fact that not all of the product
is used as a source of nitrogen, some of it going into the preparation
of animal food. The same is true of cottonseed meal and various other
less prominent forms of organic waste resulting from industrial
activities. Fish scrap and slaughter-house refuse from meat packing
also contribute prominently and at the same time rather more definitely
to the supply of agricultural nitrogen; but even here adequate figures
are not available. The Federal Trade Commission undertook to analyze
the 1913 consumption, with results given in the following table:

ESTIMATED CONSUMPTION OF NITROGEN IN COMMERCIAL FERTILIZERS FOR THE
YEAR 1913

-------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-------------
|Fertilizing|Consumption| Content | Units
Materials | substance | (tons) |(per cent.)|consumed[157]
-------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-------------
Nitrate of soda | Ammonia | 260,000 | 18.0 | 4,680,000
Sulphate of ammonia| Ammonia | 130,000 | 25.0 | 3,250,000
Cyanamid | Ammonia | 15,488 | 18.0 | 278,784
High-grade tankage | Ammonia | 210,000 | 10.5 | 2,205,000
Concentrated | Ammonia | 18,351 | 14.5 | 266,090
Dried blood | Ammonia | 40,000 | 17.0 | 680,000
Dried fish scrap | Ammonia | 50,000 | 11.0 | 550,000
Cottonseed meal | Ammonia | 660,000 | 7.5 | 950,000
-------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-------------
Total | ... | ... | ... | 16,859,874
-------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-------------

[157] A unit is 1 per cent. of a ton, or 20 pounds.

This estimate, however, takes into account only the more strictly
industrial sources, leaving rural sanitation and the like out of the
reckoning.

Aside from the conversion of organic ammoniates, which is practiced
on a large scale only in a few instances, notably that of the Paris
system of sewage disposal, four general types of industrial operation
figure more or less in the production of by-product ammonia. They
include coal distillation, bone carbonization, oil-shale distillation,
and blast-furnace operations. The American production, however, is all
derived from the first two types. Both the others are active producers
abroad, especially in Scotland, but neither of them has as yet obtained
a foothold in this country. The American recovery in connection with
bone carbonization is of minor consequence. Practically the whole
supply comes from gas works and by-product coking operations. Figure
17, in the shaded area bearing the designation “ammonium sulphate
production,” shows the magnitude and trend of the production from year
to year since 1900.

The organic nitrogen recovered in all of the various by-product
connections taken together probably constitutes 40 to 50 per cent. of
the total supply. Coal product ammonia in this country adds another 12
to 15 per cent. So over half of our supply is of by-product derivation.
The domestic output is supplemented in the case of the organic form by
considerable importations from South America, and, until interfered
with by the war, small amounts of ammonium sulphate were imported
annually from Europe. Essentially, however, the by-product supply is
of domestic origin. Despite its magnitude, it occupies an anomalous
sort of position industrially. It is recovered incidentally for what
it is worth, and sold for what it will bring. The cost of production
is largely charged off against the major operations with which its
recovery is associated, and the returns are credited in conformance,
as a saving in the cost of the major operations. This is equally true
whether the source be that of the domestic animal on the farm, a coke
oven, or a packing house.

The industrial output is built up as a sequence to industrial
concentration. This is evidenced all down the line, notably in the
output of coke-oven ammonia from the steel industry and in that
of organic ammoniates from the meat-packing industry. It is this
influence of co-ordinated industrial concentration, along with the
call for the major operations, that controls the supply of by-product
nitrogen; so the development and handling of the industrial output
comes naturally to be largely in the hands of trade combinations. Thus,
the coal-product ammonia situation is largely at the disposal of the
Barrett Co., the tankage and other animal-product ammoniates gather for
disposal at the hands of the packing interests, and the nitrogenous
fertilizers from cottonseed are for the most part prepared and marketed
by interests subsidiary to the Cotton Oil Co.

The manufacturing interests involved are concerned primarily in the
manufacture of other than nitrogen products. The by-product nitrogen
recovered has to compete for its market against what comes from the
other two industrial classes of supply, and its price goes just
low enough to enable it to do so. The limits set in the incidental
character of the output leave no special incentive to carry the price
competition further. Whatever additional latitude of advantage as
to cost of production it possesses goes not to promoting a further
reduction in the price of nitrogen but to lowering costs with reference
to the major theme of production. Gas-house ammonia, for instance, does
not affect the nitrogen market so much as it does the cost of gas, and
the organic ammoniates recovered in connection with meat packing have
not lowered fertilizer costs so much as they have kept down the cost
of meat to the consumer. Thus the by-product class of supply, though
the leading one in the point of magnitude, and by far the cheapest to
produce, has little to do with determining the price of nitrogen. The
selling price of by-product nitrogen is determined by the price the
product from competing sources brings. In this country it is controlled
by the price of Chile nitrate, and not, as commonly imputed, by the
trade combinations that develop and handle the output.

=Fixation Compounds.=--Nitrogen has five general habits of combination:
with oxygen, giving rise to nitric acid and its retinue of nitrate
salts; with hydrogen, giving ammonia and the ammonium salts; with
carbon, to form cyanogen and the cyanides; with basic elements,
yielding nitrides; and organically, in the form of organic ammoniates.
Various projects have been advanced for turning these to account in the
fixation of atmospheric nitrogen. For the most part they have met with
little or no practical success, but there are exceptions to the rule of
failure in all five directions.

_Direct Oxidation--Arc Fixation._--Nitrogen does not oxidize at all
readily under any ordinary conditions, but its natural indisposition
to combine with oxygen may be overcome by passing a mixture of the
two gases through an electric arc. The atmosphere furnishes the
nitrogen and oxygen ready mixed, so all that is needed in the way of
raw materials is an abundant power supply. Arc fixation was developed
in Norway, where the possibilities in the way of hydro-electric power
give the best setting to be found anywhere in the world. Efforts to
introduce it elsewhere have resulted unsatisfactorily, and arc fixation
has made relatively little headway, as may be deduced from Table 66
and Figure 18. The reason is two-fold. So far, its use of power has
proved uneconomical, and its product unsatisfactory. The former of
these two objections depends for its force on the demand for power,
but the latter is more decisive. The immediate end product is nitric
acid, which is both difficult to transport and limited as to use. To be
put in shape for agricultural use it must be neutralized in the form
of a nitrate salt. Limestone is the only cheap neutralizing agent.
This gives a salt, calcium nitrate, which absorbs moisture, cakes,
and is thus unsuited to the American agricultural practice of machine
drilling. An experimental plant near Seattle, Wash., aims to overcome
this difficulty by turning out its arc product in the form of sodium
nitrate, but the project is of no commercial significance as it stands.

_Ammonia Fixation._--Nitrogen is no more disposed to combine of its
own accord with hydrogen to give ammonia than with oxygen to give
nitric acid. In the case of the Haber process, the only synthetic
ammonia process that has stood the test of industrial application, the
native indisposition to combine is overcome by subjecting a properly
proportioned mixture of the two gases to heat and pressure in the
presence of a catalyzer. This process was instituted in Germany shortly
before the outbreak of the war, and as shown in Figure 16 and Table
66 has developed steadily since then. Little seems to be known as to
the efficiency of the German Haber practice. Apparently, careful
manipulation is necessary to obtain results. This means a skilled
attention, which is incompatible with mechanical volume production and
is thus unsuited to American practice. What aims to be an adaptation
to American conditions was worked out by the General Chemical Co., and
a plant with a rated capacity of 60,000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia
per day was projected at Sheffield, Ala., at the instance of the
Government. The plant was completed, but before it could be tuned up
for actual production the war ended.

_Cyanide Fixation._--Nitrogen, in passing through a red-hot mixture of
finely divided soda ash, coke, and iron, reacts with the sodium and
carbon to give sodium cyanide. This principle of fixation is being
extensively experimented with, but has not been developed commercially,
except in a small plant with a rated daily capacity of 10 tons of
sodium cyanide at Saltville, Va.

_Cyanamid Fixation._--Hot calcium carbide will absorb nitrogen,
forming a compound of calcium, carbon, and nitrogen, according to
the formula Ca CN₂, known as cyanamid. The cyanamid process, based
on this reaction, has been extensively developed, far more so than
any other of the various processes, as will be seen by referring to
Figure 16 and Table 66. Offhand, it looks to be the most adaptable
and consequently the most promising of the lot commercially. In this
connection, however, it is interesting to examine the several charts
of its growth in the warring countries given in Figure 16. In none of
these is the showing indicative of a strong, healthy development. Worst
of all is the case of Germany, with the contrast offered in the Haber
and cyanamid charts. Until the war, cyanamid manufacture was unable to
obtain a competitive foothold in the United States, although a small
plant has been in operation at Niagara Falls in Canada for some years.
The problem it has faced is similar to that already chronicled for
arc fixation, in that it draws heavily on power in the preparation
of the necessary carbide, and the cost of power in this country
has been prohibitive. Under the stress of the wartime demand for
nitrogen, however, the Government contracted for the erection of three
plants--one at Muscle Shoals, Ala., one near Toledo, Ohio, and one near
Cincinnati, Ohio, with a total rated capacity amounting to 220,000 tons
of ammonium nitrate per year. The work on all three was well under way,
but none of the plants had reached the producing stage when the signing
of the armistice brought the nitrate activities of the War Department
to an end.

_Nitride Fixation._--The only process of any prominence aiming to fix
nitrogen in the nitride form is one developed by the Aluminum Company
of America. This has for its working principle the fact that a mixture
of alumina and carbon, highly heated, will absorb nitrogen by reacting
to give aluminum nitride. The nitride when heated with caustic soda
gives its end product in the form of pure ammonia. The outstanding
difficulty encountered in applying this process commercially seems to
be that of providing a furnace capable of standing the temperature
requirements. At all events the process has not succeeded in making
good industrially.

_Bacterial Fixation._--The artificial attempts at fixation have been
directed almost wholly toward employing chemical principles. In view
of the difficulties experienced and the uncertain value of the results
as a whole, it is interesting and perhaps highly significant to
reflect that after all, as indicated in Figure 15, inorganic chemical
principles seemingly have little to do with developing the natural
supply, probably because of the activities of nitrifying bacteria.
Little attention has been given to the possibilities in this direction.
This is only natural so far as commercially actuated research is
concerned, since it does not lead in the definite direction of patent
rights; but the failure to institute an adequate investigation
governmentally can be attributed only to lack of comprehension with
reference to the scope of the nitrogen issue as brought out under
“General Aspects of Control” on pages 425 to 433. The subject has
received just enough attention to show that bacterial fixation
represents a tremendous field of grossly neglected possibilities.

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS AND CHANGES IN PRACTICE

The whole matter of fixation must be regarded as in process of
development. True, it was instituted some fifteen or twenty years ago
and has grown to represent the largest producing source of chemical
nitrogen, with operations in practically all the important industrial
countries in the world and with responsible financial backing. But
no one can examine the charts in Figure 16 without recognizing the
premature, mushroom quality of the upgrowth, induced primarily in
response to the political conditions leading to and through the war.
This is especially true for the American situation. When the war broke
out, fixation here was confessedly still in the dependent stage of
its development, unable in every effort it had made to stand alone
industrially. In the main, the developments that have transpired
subsequently have followed along pre-existing lines. In so far as they
have done so, little actual economic significance is to be attached to
them. For the rest, the new developments, all that can be said at this
juncture is that they are disappointingly meager.

Just one wartime achievement, the oxidation of ammonia, stands
out as affording a worth that is unmistakably clear. The nitrogen
situation, it will be recalled, has two aspects, the military and the
agricultural. The military focus is on nitric acid, and the readiest
means of insuring a supply; the agricultural focus is on ammonium
compounds or their equivalent in neutral nitrogen salts and the most
economical means of supply. Here, then, is a parting of the ways to
expediency, and it is at this juncture that with military influences
to the fore the nitrogen developments of the past few years were
led off on an uneconomical tangent of military control. The Bureau
of Mines, however, taking up the work of others, has perfected a
simple, effective means for oxidizing ammonia to nitric acid. This,
beyond question, is the most important contribution of the day. Its
significance may perhaps best be brought out graphically in the
accompanying sketch.

[Illustration]

Ammonia oxidation, it will be observed from the foregoing sketch, gives
a means of supplying the military requirement from the direct line
of agricultural efficiency. From the strictly military viewpoint, it
has the objection of being a roundabout procedure. The dotted line of
direct military procedure, however, has no peace-time function, and
consequently cannot be maintained in time of peace in trim for war, but
must instead be built up expressly to meet wartime exigencies. We have
had an illustration of what this means in the way of time and money,
and this one ought to suffice. The agricultural channel, once built up
on a basis of economic efficiency, is open at all times. At the most,
all that is required is to keep an eye to the emergency needs in the
way of oxidation equipment, a relatively simple matter. Thus, instead
of the precarious procedure of trusting to luck which characterized our
pre-war attitude toward nitrogen on the one hand, or of attempting the
impossible in the way of maintaining a military program of industrial
procedure in time of peace on the other, all that is needed is a
constructive program devoted expressly to the interests of economic
efficiency.

THE NITROGEN OUTLOOK

There is no import duty on nitrogen, nor is there likely to be any,
for nitrogen is an important cog in the mechanism of food supply, and
the peacetime emphasis, reversing the wartime order, is primarily on
cheapness and only secondarily on the point of origin. Accordingly,
looking ahead, the American market conditions, once world trade is
fully restored, are due to reflect the world conditions. As indicated
in Figure 18, the sudden ending of the war, with its calling off of
the military requirement which had been building up steadily since
even before the outbreak of hostilities in 1914, left the world with
a producing capacity 30 to 40 per cent. above normal. To what extent
this apparent overproduction, amounting to some half million tons of
nitrogen, will prove real is impossible to foretell; not all of it
certainly, for under the stimulus of a food shortage the curve of
normal consumption will doubtless bend upward. On the other hand,
however, there is the producing capacity of the plants not yet in
operation to be taken into consideration. Whatever may be the capacity
of agriculture to absorb from the surplus, it cannot be expected to
take up the full amount immediately or without special inducement.
The inference follows that price and production will come down, to
stimulate and co-ordinate with the increase in demand. Where the
meeting point will be between the upcurve of demand and the downcurve
of production it is impossible to predict. It is of interest, however,
to figure in review on how the three types of industrial source, the
natural, the by-product, and the fixation types, are equipped for the
very evident strife of competition implied in the situation.

With the development of fixation, there have been a lot of unfounded
statements to the effect that the day of Chile nitrate is passing.
Whenever a synthetic development comes to the fore, a peculiar fallacy
of reasoning is indulged in which ignores the fact of inherent natural
worth, disregards the inescapable cost of its duplication, and regards
the synthetic achievement as giving open sesame to the natural
treasure. By way of substantiation in the case of nitrogen, the cost
of producing Chile nitrate is high, amounting to around $30 per ton.
This, however, is largely contributed to by the unsystematized crudity
of the operations, by the high export tax, and by overcapitalization.
But these, it will be observed, are variable factors, susceptible of
indefinite modification in keeping with the need. Chile nitrate has
never made any pretense of competing against by-product nitrogen,
with its advantages in the way of low incidental producing costs and
proximity to the market. The discrepancy between the by-product supply
and the total demand for nitrogen has all along comprised the field
of opportunity opening to Chile nitrate. In this its only noteworthy
competitor is the fixation industry.

The fixation sources are impossible of analysis on a definite basis
of cost. Too many variable factors and uncertainties are involved.
Repeated attempts have been made, but all they have served to bring
out is that under certain conditions, as for instance of power supply,
and for certain express purposes, one form of project has an apparent
margin of advantage over another, and vice versa for other conditions;
but that at best the cost of production, if not actually prohibitive,
is dangerously close to the normal pre-war price of fixed nitrogen.
Back of it all is the fact that fixation has to deal with the problem
of overcoming the native chemical inertia of nitrogen, and the problem
has not yet been solved at all convincingly. Always the solution
advanced has called for some special measure of relief from industrial
competition, whether natural, as in the case of the Scandinavian
power supply, or political, as in the case of the American and German
projects.

Fixation has been widely heralded of recent years as due not only to
emancipate the world from its dependence upon the Chilean source, but
to reduce materially the cost of nitrogenous fertilizer, hence the
cost of food production, to the marked betterment of living conditions
as well. In its promise of political and economic betterment in one,
it has claimed the attention of all. However, the claim of special
economic advantage coming from an industry barely, if at all, able to
meet conditions even as they are, has been overdrawn.

This does not aim to imply that there is nothing but failure ahead
for fixation in the test of competition. It has its possibilities of
development into something commercially and economically as well as
politically worth while, but the existing hothouse order of upgrowth
is unquestionably due for a lot of training down, and much that is
worthless is as certainly due to go. The American developments have
a particularly inauspicious economic setting in the prevailing scale
of costs. The only saving alternative for them would seem to be in
one form or another of federal provision for their continued support
on some such basis as that on which they were projected, and this is
unlikely, for there is no apparent reason. True, lowered nitrogen costs
tend to make for a lowering in the cost of foodstuffs, but so, for that
matter, would a lowering in the cost of agricultural implements, and
any arguments that apply in the case of nitrogen apply as equally for
potash, for phosphate, for agricultural implements, for coal--in fact
for industry in general.

With reference to by-product nitrogen the situation is very different.
In general, the by-product sources are of an order such that they
were not materially affected one way or the other by the war, and
consequently are not due to be materially affected in the process
of readjustment, except in the case of coke-oven ammonia, where the
temporary slump in the steel industry will result in a temporary
slump of probably 15 to 20 per cent. from the 1918 output. Of
special significance in connection with what lies on beyond for the
by-production of nitrogen is its relationship to the progress of
industrial co-ordination. The whole current trend of industrialism,
as represented in integration, volume production, and the like, is
actuated in the interests of co-ordination and the overcoming of
lost motion; and nitrogen comes in for an important share in these
developments.

With reference to the organic group of compounds, the outlook for
the future is as uncertain as are the actual conditions of today.
The centralized development of meat packing, of animal-rendering
establishments, and of cotton ginning gave rise in their time to
highly important recoveries of nitrogenous waste; but with the forward
progress of developments this usage in turn is giving way to a more
advanced order. Cottonseed as a fertilizer is giving place to a
cottonseed-products industry; tankage as a fertilizer is giving place
to the artificial compounding of animal food; horses, an important
contributor of agricultural nitrogen in times past, are yielding much
of their place in the sun to the automotive engine. Meanwhile, with
the factor of dilution to be overcome, our sewage disposal is employed
to pollute streams and destroy the fish supply instead of being put to
useful ends. So it goes. Developments are on foot that lead in both
directions, and there is no telling how the balance is due to shift.
Probably the best guess is that relatively at least it will be downward
rather than upward.

The outlook for by-product ammonia is more definite. Ammonia is the
end point of material refinement; so here the nitrogen developments
hold all they get, rather than go on to lose out again in a further
refinement of usage, as in the case of the organic group. The output
has increased consistently and rapidly, owing to the transition
from beehive to by-product coking operations, to the progress of
centralization and co-ordination; in other words, with reference to
coke manufacture. Even now, less than half of the coal coked is treated
in the retort oven; but the beehive oven is out of the line of progress
and is due to be entirely displaced. Also, the industry is still
expanding as the process of transition, with its separate potentiality
for doubling the present output of coal-product ammonia, goes forward.

So far, the recovery of by-products in connection with the use of coal
has been confined in the one direction of coke making, along with the
analogous procedure of gas manufacture. But the development which
has thus started in the coke industry will not stop there. The loss
of motion resulting from lack of co-ordination in the use of coal is
just as great in other directions as in that of coke making, and the
advantages of integral usage may confidently be expected to assert
themselves. Already projects of the kind are coming under serious
contemplation in proposals such as those for furnishing gas to cities,
for employing by-product operations located at the mine in support of
the waning natural-gas supply, and for integrated heat, light, and
power projects operating on coal with by-product recovery. Meanwhile,
the motor-fuel situation is suggestive of interesting developments
ahead. There is every reason to believe that the petroleum resources
can not continue to meet the growing demand, in fact, that the occasion
for support is already at hand. Whatever the nature of these supporting
developments, whether they take the form of a shale-oil industry or
what, it seems certain they will usher in an important source of
by-product nitrogen.

Figure 17 summarizes the American situation with reference to chemical
nitrogen, as does Figure 18 in less detail that for the world. Organic
nitrogen is omitted, partly because of the lack of information, partly
because the issues more directly involved in the situation as it stands
are those of chemical nitrogen.

SUMMARY

Nitrogen, itself, is an inert gas of no particular use, but nitrogenous
compounds are necessary to agriculture, to refrigeration, to munitions
manufacture, and to the applications of chemistry in general. In the
native gaseous state, it makes up about four-fifths of the atmosphere,
and combined it occurs as nitrate minerals, as organic compounds, and
in carboniferous deposits. Atmospheric nitrogen is of use only after
it has been artificially compounded or fixed, a proposition which the
natural inertness of nitrogen renders difficult and expensive. The
only mineral deposits of consequence are those comprising the nitrate
fields of northern Chile. The organic resources include all manner of
animal and vegetable refuse. Coal-tar ammonia from retort-coke and gas
manufacture, along with some shale-oil ammonia, makes up practically
the whole supply derived from the carboniferous sources. This range of
associations, including animal, vegetable, mineral, and atmospheric
sources, transgresses all established rules of resource occurrence,
and consequently all regularly constituted research. As a result the
nitrogen resources and their needs for attention have never been
comprehensively investigated. This became strikingly apparent when the
war, threatening swift disaster in the guise of a nitrogen shortage,
showed us up to be quite devoid of any systematic nitrogen program and
precipitated an hysterical effort to devise a makeshift one instead.
The atmosphere was found to provide the only independent source of
supply available on an emergency rating; so, following the lead of the
European countries, several plants for the fixation of atmospheric
nitrogen were projected governmentally.

Industrially, the nitrogen sources may be classified as natural,
by-product, and fixation. The natural supply is almost wholly in the
form of sodium nitrate from the Chile nitrate deposits. These are
controlled and operated by British, Chilean, German, and American
capital. The American imports are largely handled by three companies,
whose system of control is effected through the medium of shipping and
warehouse facilities.

The by-product sources include nearly all of the organic nitrogen
used, and the nitrogen from coal and oil shale as well. The supply is
governed as to magnitude by the progress of industrial co-ordination
through the medium of centralization in the preparing of animal,
vegetable, and coal products. Thus the development and marketing
of the by-product supply tends naturally to gather to industrial
combinations. These, however, are natural developments, not
developments artificially created in the interest of price control. The
price of by-product nitrogen is controlled not by trade combinations,
but by the price of the product from other sources, which is to say,
by the price of Chile nitrate. Beyond that, the advantages accruing in
the way of low-producing costs do not go wholly to commercial profit
but to the saving of costs with reference to the major production, as
for instance in the case of gas-works ammonia, which makes its chief
contribution toward lowering the price of gas to the consumer. The
rapid development of fixation is attributable largely to political
influences, activated by conditions leading to and through the war.
There are a number of projects for fixing nitrogen, but only three
have any genuine measure of industrial achievement to their credit,
are fixation in Norway, Haber synthetic ammonia fixation in Germany,
and cyanamid fixation in a number of places. Three of the four large
American plants are of the last-named order; the other is a synthetic
ammonia proposition. All four were contracted for by the Government,
and so far as fixation can be said to have gained an industrial
foothold in the United States it is wholly in response to the dictates
of political control.

Probably rather less than half of the nitrogen consumed is organically
associated, and rather more than half of it chemically combined.
Practically all of the organic nitrogen and around one-fourth of the
chemical nitrogen is of domestic by-product derivation. So far, the
balance has been supplied from Chile nitrate, supplemented by small
imports of guano, animal refuse, by-product ammonia, and cyanamid from
abroad.

There is no apparent likelihood of this adjustment being materially
affected as an immediate outcome of developments with reference to
fixation. These have shown themselves to be of the utmost political
significance as affording an unlimited, independent source of nitrogen
supply. Their genuine economic significance at the present stage
of enforced expansion, however, is questionable. In this country,
especially, the scale of costs gives an unpromising setting. The
by-product sources growing out of centralized industrial co-ordination
are in line with the trend of modern industrialism and may be looked
to as assuring a steady increase in yield, especially if the process
of industrial evolution in the direction of co-ordinated economic
efficiency is adequately cultivated instead of being interfered with.
In this same connection the most significant accomplishment recorded
for nitrogen, lies in the working out of a means for the oxidation
of by-product ammonia, thus rendering the growing by-product supply
available for the full range of nitrogen uses.

With reference to the economic and political aspects of the outlook
ahead, all else is obscured and lost to view in the pressing need for
a constructive program worked out on a comprehensive basis, in keeping
with the comprehensiveness of the resources themselves, with which to
supplant the uneconomical makeshift program brought into being by the
war. The program called for is one calculated to bring out, and bring
out co-ordinately, the best there is in bacterial as well as chemical
fixation, in the industrial by-product sources of organic and chemical
nitrogen, and in the province of sanitation.

CHAPTER XXVIII

PYRITE AND SULPHUR

BY A. G. WHITE

USES OF PYRITE AND SULPHUR

Pyrite and sulphur are closely related in their most essential uses,
and one material can in many cases be substituted for the other. The
largest and most important use of these minerals is in the manufacture
of sulphuric acid, which is an essential material required for a very
wide variety of purposes, including the production of acid phosphate
for fertilizer, the manufacture of modern high-power explosives, the
refining of petroleum, pickling of iron and steel, and for a vast
number of chemical industries. The competition between pyrite and
sulphur for this purpose has gone through several stages. With the
large-scale development of Italian deposits sulphur was largely used
for acid manufacture. As the prices of sulphur were increased it became
cheaper to use pyrite, which in many localities then displaced sulphur,
for this purpose. With the rapid expansion of the American production,
and particularly with the tremendous increase in the capacity of
sulphuric acid plants for war purposes, sulphur has again been very
largely used for the manufacture of acid. The prospects since the close
of the war are that, due to the tremendous capacity of the sulphur
mines of the United States, sulphur may continue to compete with pyrite
in this use.

Probably the second most important use of these materials is in the
manufacture of sulphite wood pulp. In Europe pyrite is largely used
for this purpose, while in the United States and Canada sulphur is the
principal material used. For every ton of sulphite pulp manufactured,
under the best practice, about 250 pounds of sulphur is required. In
the United States and Canada about 175,000 tons of sulphur is used
annually for this purpose, representing about 50 per cent. of the total
sulphur consumption of these countries. There are also a number of
other important purposes where sulphur is used rather than pyrite, the
most important of which are in the manufacture of agricultural sprays
and insecticides, and in the hardening of rubber. Sulphur is a primary
ingredient of black powder, and considerable quantities are still used
for that purpose. While most of the explosives used in modern warfare
require the use of sulphuric acid in their manufacture, they do not
use sulphur in its elemental form. There are many other minor chemical
uses.

=Substitutes for Sulphur and Pyrite.=--Because of the large deposits
of sulphur now available, and of the extent and wide distribution of
pyrite deposits, and of the cheapness of both these materials, there
are no adequate commercial substitutes for them. The increase of
by-product acid, from the copper and zinc smelters and possibly the
nickel smelters of Sudbury, might be considered as the most important
factors in replacing pyrite and sulphur. As a general thing, the
factors of cost and transportation are the governing ones rather than
any present or probable scarcity of materials.

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF PYRITE

While pyrite is a very widely distributed mineral, there are relatively
few deposits which are of sufficient importance to enter into the
world’s commerce. This is generally due to the relatively small value
of its sulphur content per ton, usually from 40 to 45 per cent. of
recoverable sulphur; which means that it takes almost 2¹⁄₂ tons of
pyrite to be equivalent to the ton of sulphur which competes with it
for many uses. Consequently pyrite seldom moves far, unless it is so
situated as to take advantage of cheap ballast rates where little other
freight is available for ships, or unless it carries important copper
or gold values, which can be recovered after the sulphur content has
been utilized. Many known deposits, such as those in Mexico and the
Western United States, remain undeveloped because of their distance
from market. In countries such as Russia, France, Italy, Germany,
Sweden, Japan, and the Eastern United States production is absorbed
by the local market. Spain and Portugal, the most important source
of world supply, are favorably located to ship to near-by European
countries or to secure cheap ballast rates to the United States, and in
addition much of the ore carries several per cent. of copper.

Norway is second in export, with a high-grade pyrite carrying copper
values, which is shipped to Sweden or across the Baltic to near-by
countries. Canada ships considerable pyrite to the near-by markets of
the United States, the Quebec product having copper values, while the
product of Ontario takes advantage of boat shipments on the Great Lakes.

=Spain and Portugal.=--The deposits of Spain and Portugal are the
largest and most important in the world, furnishing approximately
two-thirds of the world supply. The district is essentially a unit,
and the principal deposits occur in a zone extending from Rio Tinto,
Spain, to San Domingo, Portugal. The combined annual production of iron
and copper pyrites for the two countries is normally almost 4 million
metric tons, 90 per cent. of which is furnished by Spain and 10 per
cent. by Portugal. About two-thirds of the total output carries copper
values, which may be recovered before the pyrite is roasted for its
sulphur value or after. When copper is to be recovered at the mine
the ore is leached by spreading it out in beds exposed to the weather
and frequently stirring it and wetting it down. The copper goes into
solution and is precipitated on scrap iron, forming cement copper. The
process takes about 3 years and the pyrite residue is shipped as washed
ore. The ore is compact and finely crystalline and carries from 48 to
51 per cent. sulphur. Conservative estimates of ore reserves for the
district give it from 300 to 400 million tons, or enough to last for
one hundred years at the present rate of production. Consequently this
district is destined to long remain the chief pyrite-producing center
of the world.

The Rio Tinto Co. is the principal producer, contributing about
one-third of the total output of the whole district (Spain-Portugal).
It is owned by British and French capital. Mining is largely by
open-pit methods, and the company employs 25,000 men. The ore carries
about 2 per cent. copper, making this company the largest European
producer of that metal. The reserves are estimated as 250 to 300
million tons, representing the major part of the whole district. The
Rio Tinto Co. furnishes about 60 per cent. of the 1,000,000 tons of
Spanish pyrite normally imported by the United States.

The second principal producer is the Tharsis Sulphur and Copper Mines
(British), with about one-eighth of the total production. British
capital is predominant in the district as a whole, with the balance
French and Spanish. Huelva, Spain, is the principal point of export,
located from 30 to 40 miles from the mines. Under normal conditions
the pyrite moves at cheap ballast rates, and has been sold at from $6
to $7 per long ton (12 to 16 cents per unit of sulphur), delivered in
United States ports. Normally this Spain-Portugal district exported
one-quarter of its output to the United States, one-eighth to England,
one-eighth to Holland, one-eighth to Germany, and most of the balance
to France and Belgium.

=Norway and Sweden.=--Norway produces from 400 to 500 thousand tons
of pyrite per year (about 8 per cent. of the world’s total), and her
output is steadily increasing. The ore usually carries from 1 to 3 per
cent. copper and from 42 to 49 per cent. sulphur; and is free from
arsenic. Seven-eighths of the output is exported to Sweden, Germany,
England and Russia. When Sweden’s import of sulphur (about 40,000 tons)
was cut off during the war, she changed the equipment of her cellulose
plants to burn pyrite instead of sulphur and took about one-half of
the Norwegian output, since her own production of pyrite (about 30,000
tons) was of minor importance.

The Norwegian deposits are widely distributed from south of Bergen to
the extreme northern end of the peninsula. The ore is generally massive
cupriferous pyrite, occurring in flat lenses in chlorite schists in
areas of regional metamorphism. About 250,000 tons comes from the
Trondhjem district, where the Lokken mines of the Orkla Mine Co. are
the largest producers.

The northern district is second in importance, with about 150,000 tons
annual production, chiefly from the Sulitjelma mine at the Swedish
frontier, near the Polar Circle. In the eastern district the Fodal
Copper & Sulphur Co. has a production of from 75,000 to 100,000 tons.
Norway has sufficient known reserves to last for thirty years at the
present rate of production and probably for much longer. The largest
reserves are in the Trondhjem district. Sweden is also reported to have
large reserves, although there has been little development so far.

The commercial control of the mines is principally English and
Norwegian. It was reported that mines with large reserves near Narvik
were owned by German interests, but were purchased by Swedish interests
during the war.

=France.=--For many years France has produced about 300,000 tons
of pyrite per annum, or about 5 per cent. of the world output. The
principal deposits are at Sain-Bel, near Lyons, in the Department
of Rhône. The product is high in sulphur. The known reserves are
probably from ten to twelve million tons. The output is used for home
consumption, and in the past was supplemented by the import of Spanish
pyrite, and Sicilian and United States sulphur.

=Italy.=--In addition to her large sulphur production Italy has
produced a considerable quantity of pyrite, which has been used locally
in the manufacture of sulphuric acid. Pyrite production was about
300,000 tons before the war and increased to 400,000 tons in 1916, so
that Italy produces about 6 per cent. of the world output. The pyrite
contains about 45 per cent. of sulphur and a small part of it carries
copper values. The principal production comes from a district near
Florence, although a number of smaller mines are widely scattered.

=Russia.=--Russia has large pyrite deposits located in a belt parallel
to the eastern slope of the Ural Mountains. The Kyshtim and Sissert
districts furnish the principal output. Reports indicate a good grade
of pyrite with high sulphur content. The production has been in the
neighborhood of 150,000 tons, or about 2 per cent. of the world total.
Production had been steadily increasing up to the time of Russia’s
economic collapse, but has been limited, due to the remote location
of the deposits from the chief centres of consumption at Petrograd,
Moscow, and Odessa. It is to be expected that Russia, after she regains
her balance, will continue to import pyrite to a considerable extent,
as she has done in the past.

=Germany, Austria and Hungary.=--The pre-war German production was from
200,000 to 250,000 tons of pyrite per annum, or about 4 per cent. of
the world output. About two-thirds of the output comes from deposits
near Meggen. The pyrite is estimated to run about 43 per cent. sulphur.
It is reported that the pyrite output was largely increased during
the war, as Germany had been importing from 800,000 to 1,000,000 tons
of pyrite. She continued to import some Norwegian pyrite, which is
especially desirable because of its recoverable copper content. Germany
secures a considerable amount of sulphuric acid as a by-product from
zinc smelters, which helped to make up the deficiency in her sulphur
resources.

Hungary normally produces about 100,000 tons of pyrite per annum,
chiefly from the deposits of Schemnitz.

=Cyprus.=--An important deposit of cupriferous pyrite is under
development in an old copper-mining region on the northwest coast of
Cyprus. Several million tons of ore are reported, containing a high
sulphur content and high copper values. It is being developed on a
large scale by the Cyprus Mines Corporation, representing United States
capital, and may be expected to become an important factor in pyrite
export.

=The United States.=--The pre-war production of the United States was
about 350,000 long tons, or 6 per cent. of the world’s production,
compared to an import of about 1,000,000 tons. About 40 per cent.
of the total was produced in Virginia and largely sold for use in
acid-phosphate plants from Maryland to Georgia; about 25 per cent.
was produced in California and used for local acid manufacture in the
vicinity of San Francisco; about 15 per cent. was produced in New York
State; and the balance was scattered, coming as a by-product from coal
mines in Ohio, Illinois, and Indiana, and from the zinc-mining region
of southern Wisconsin. During the war, production was increased by
about 50 per cent., but with no discoveries which promise to greatly
increase the permanent production of the country. On the whole the
deposits are not of very high quality, averaging about 40 per cent.
sulphur content. Very large reserves of pyrrhotite are located in
western Virginia and eastern Tennessee, but have not been very
extensively utilized. Large reserves of pyrite exist in Colorado,
Arizona, Utah and other western states, but are too far from the
acid plants located in the East and South to compete. On the whole,
the scanty development of pyrite in the United States is due to the
competition of high-grade Spanish pyrite coming in to the Atlantic
ports at cheap ballast rates; to the import of Canadian pyrite either
to near-by points in New England or to the Great Lakes ports; to the
large production of cheap sulphur from Louisiana and Texas, which
has monopolized the sulphite pulp trade; and to the recovery of
by-product acid from copper and zinc smelters. The great increase in
the production of sulphur during and since the war is very likely
still further to curtail the market for pyrite. The production of
pyrite has been in the hands of American companies, several of the
larger operations being controlled by concerns either in the acid or
fertilizer business.

=Canada.=--The production of pyrite in Canada has increased rapidly,
particularly during the war, to about 300,000 tons. This is due to an
increased export to the United States, principally to sulphuric-acid
plants. The principal producing areas in Canada are: (1) The district
in Quebec, not far north of the Vermont border, where there are two
operating mines and a number of promising prospects. There are large
ore reserves and the ore carries considerable copper. The principal
mines are controlled by American capital. (2) The Goudreau district,
located some 40 miles north of Sault Ste. Marie, has large ore
reserves, but of rather low grade. Thus far an American company is the
principal producer. (3) The North Pine district near Graham, Ontario,
and a considerable distance west of Port Arthur, has been a large
producer of good-grade pyrite. The principal producer was a subsidiary
company of the General Chemical Co.

There is a large reserve of pyrrhotite, estimated at about 50,000,000
tons, much of which will average over 25 per cent. sulphur, in
connection with the Sudbury nickel deposits. At present it is not
commercially important. There are considerable deposits of pyrites
in various parts of British Columbia, but these are unimportant
commercially because of their distance from any available market.
The larger part of the Canadian product is controlled by American
interests, chiefly the American Chemical Co., whose headquarters are
in New York City. A large part of the Canadian output is imported to
the United States through Chicago, Cleveland, and Buffalo; and by rail
through Vermont, Boston and to New York City.

=Cuba.=--An important pyrite property is being developed about twenty
miles from Cienfuegos, Province of Santa Clara, Cuba. It is reported
as containing several million tons of good-grade ore, which will
average at least 40 per cent. sulphur and may contain a recoverable
copper content. The property is being developed by United States
capital, interests connected with the Davison Chemical Corporation,
of Baltimore, Md., who are one of the largest producers of sulphuric
acid on the Atlantic Coast. This property promises to be an important
near-by source of pyrite for the United States.

=Mexico.=--Important pyrite deposits are known to exist in Mexico, but
they are of no present commercial importance because of inaccessibility
and high freight rates, and unsettled political conditions. A large
deposit is reported about 30 miles inland in the State of Guerrero,
containing several million tons of high-grade pyrite of approximately
48 per cent. sulphur content and free from arsenic.

There is no prospect that Mexico will be of any immediate importance in
the world pyrite situation.

=Japan.=--Japan has a small pyrite production of from 75,000 to 100,000
tons per year, or about 1¹⁄₂ per cent. of the world output. Much of
it carries copper values. The production comes from several scattered
localities. The state has reserved the ownership of the original
mineral rights, and the operators to whom they have been leased appear
to be entirely Japanese. Japan consumes her pyrite for local purposes,
and exports most of her sulphur.

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF SULPHUR

=Italy and Sicily.=--Italy had practically a monopoly of the world’s
sulphur supply until 1904, when large-scale production began in the
United States. The importance of sulphur as a world mineral began with
the use of gunpowder in the fourteenth century. Considerable export
trade was early developed and has been of increasing importance since
1830. Ninety per cent. of the Italian production has come from the
Island of Sicily.

The sulphur-bearing district of Sicily is a central belt running across
the island, extending about 100 miles east and west and 50 miles north
and south. The richer deposits are scattered as irregular lenses or
basin-like bodies, in this extensive area. The deposits of commercial
value are of sedimentary type, occurring as stratified beds or sheets
in limestone, associated with gypsum and bituminous marl. There are
generally three or four sulphur-bearing layers, separated by a few feet
of barren rock. The average thickness of the sulphur beds is from 10 to
15 feet, although in a few places they run as high as several hundred
feet. The sulphur occurs as incrustations, pockets, or thin bands
intimately associated with the limestone. The average sulphur content
of the ore mined is from 20 to 25 per cent., with a range from 8 to 50
per cent.; and in a few places it reaches up to 90 per cent. Estimates
as to the reserves of ore vary greatly, but seem to indicate that there
is from 40 to 60 million tons of ore still unmined, which will average
about 23 per cent. of sulphur content.

Mining has been mostly by hand and the ore brought out on the backs of
men. A few mines had modern hoisting machinery and trams. The shortage
of labor during the war has increased the introduction of modern
appliances in some of the newer mines. With increasing depth the cost
of mining has increased to the point where American sulphur can compete
in European markets.

The methods of extracting the sulphur from the ore have also been
extremely crude and wasteful, but in the last few years better types
of ovens have been installed, giving a much higher recovery through
improved distillation and the use of superheated steam for melting the
sulphur.

The sulphur industry of Sicily furnishes a notable example of an
attempted commercial control which developed into a governmental
control of the industry. The recent history of the industry falls into
three periods. The first extends from 1875 to 1895 and is characterized
by a rapid increase in production, from 200,000 to 400,000 tons a year,
with a corresponding decrease in selling price from $25 a ton to as low
as $12 a ton. It was a period of overproduction, due to the ease with
which shallow mining could be carried on and to the abundant supply of
cheap labor available. These conditions resulted in the development
of a great number of small mines, whose competition reduced prices.
The second period, from 1896 to 1906, begins with the formation of
the Anglo-Sicilian Sulphur Co., financed by English capital, which
entered into a five-year agreement with the principal producers, which
was later extended for an additional five years. It was primarily a
marketing organization, formed by the union of Italian and English
interests to control production, stabilize the industry, and maintain
prices. It eventually controlled from 75 to 85 per cent. of the
industry. All sulphur was purchased at about $16 per ton f.o.b. ship
and the selling price remained practically stable during the ten-year
period, at an average of $18 to $19 per ton. In spite of efforts to
restrict production, the annual output reached 550,000 tons during
most of this period. At the same time the higher prices maintained for
sulphur had stimulated the use of pyrite as a substitute. In order
to maintain prices under these conditions the excess production had
to be purchased and stored, so that in 1906 a stock of over 500,000
tons of sulphur had been accumulated in Sicily. Toward the end of
this period large-scale production began in the United States (1904).
In 1903 the United States produced less than 10,000 tons of sulphur
and was Italy’s best customer, buying over 170,000 tons in that year.
Within three years the United States was producing more than enough
to supply its own needs and was accumulating a large reserve stock.
The sudden loss of the American market and the threat of competition
in other markets brought on a crisis in the Sicilian industry, which
was intensified by the large number (30,000) of people employed in the
industry. At the termination of the agreement with the Anglo-Sicilian
company (July 31, 1906) steps were taken by the Italian government to
control the situation. The third period, from 1906 to the present,
is one of government intervention and control of the industry. All
the producers were compelled to join a company called the “Consorzia
Obbligatoria per l’Industria Solfiefera Siciliana,” organized under
a law passed in the Italian Parliament. The organization was managed
by a commission appointed by the government, and had complete control
over exports and prices. All sulphur had to be sold at fixed price to
this organization. A minimum interest was guaranteed on the capital
invested; local freight rates on sulphur for export were reduced;
sulphur stocks accumulated by the Anglo-Sicilian company were taken
over; and a campaign of price-cutting was started in the American
market, which resulted in a decrease of several dollars a ton in the
selling price of sulphur. A market agreement was soon reached and
prices recovered. A number of the smaller mines closed down and a law
was passed controlling and restricting the granting of new concessions.
Production declined to 350,000 tons in 1913. At the opening of the war
the principal United States producer was preparing to enter into more
active competition with Italian sulphur, particularly in the French
markets. As a result of the war, Italian production dropped to only
180,000 tons in 1917, largely due to labor shortage; about half of
the surplus stocks were used up, leaving only 160,000 tons on hand at
the end of 1917; and prices increased so that refined sulphur sold at
about $80 per ton and inferior grades at $55 per ton, f.o.b. Sicilian
ports. The increasing cost of producing sulphur, due to deeper mining
and increased labor costs, will make it difficult to compete in the
European markets with the greatly expanded production of the cheaper
American article.

Sulphur has been produced in several districts in the Italian
peninsula, particularly Romagna, Marches, Campania and Calabria. The
yield from these districts has been decreasing in recent years and has
generally been only from 25,000 to 30,000 tons. The sulphur content of
the ores ranges from 20 to 30 per cent. The deposits are of limited
extent and are being mined at greater depths. The production has been
largely used for local agricultural purposes, in preparations for use
against vine diseases.

=The United States.=--Until 1904, the production of sulphur in the
United States was considerably less than 10,000 tons per year and the
bulk of our requirements had to be met by import from Sicily. From 1904
to 1914 the United States produced enough for its own use and at the
end of this period was supplying Canada, had begun to actively enter
the French and German market, and in addition had accumulated a reserve
stock, in the hands of the producers, of approximately one million long
tons. Figures recently made public in connection with litigation over
patent rights show that half of this stock was accumulated in a single
year, 1912, when production reached 790,000 long tons, of which only
300,000 tons was marketed and the balance of 490,000 tons went into
storage. The United States production has exceeded that of Italy since
1912, although the sales have been less, because sulphur was being
withdrawn from stocks in Italy while stocks in the United States were
being increased. The net effect of the war was a four-fold increase in
the amount of sulphur sold in the United States, without any reduction
in stocks; while in Italy production fell off 50 per cent. and stocks
on hand were reduced by the same percentage.

From 98 to 99 per cent. of the United States production has come from
the Gulf Coast region of the states of Louisiana and Texas. A number
of other localities in West Texas, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, and
Nevada have surface deposits, usually of limited extent, which have
been worked on a small scale, but have declined in importance with the
development of the better-grade and more accessible deposits of the
Gulf Coastal region.

The occurrence of sulphur in the Gulf Coast region is in connection
with a peculiar formation known as “Saline Domes” or “Mounds.” Over
twenty of these domes have been located, scattered in an area 200
miles long, extending through western Louisiana and eastern Texas, and
generally within 50 miles of the Gulf of Mexico. Commercial deposits
of petroleum, sulphur, and salt have been developed in connection with
these domes, but so far not more than one of the minerals has been
developed to commercial degree in a single dome. Sulphur was discovered
when drilling was being carried on for oil. So far, three domes have
been developed for sulphur, namely that owned by the Union Sulphur
Co. at Sulphur, La. (1903), that owned by the Freeport Sulphur Co. at
Freeport, Texas (1912), and that of the Texas-Gulf Sulphur Co. near
Matagordo, Texas (1919). Two other domes are under exploration and a
number of others may possibly contain sulphur.

The sulphur occurs at a depth of 300 to 1,200 feet and is associated
with limestone and underlain by gypsum. The surface area of the
producing domes varies from 200 to 1,500 acres. Exploration is done
by drilling at a cost of $200,000 to $300,000, and the cost of a
complete plant is several million dollars. The sulphur cannot be mined
by shafts, due to the quicksands and the poisonous gases encountered.
The deposit at Sulphur, Louisiana, remained unworked for almost 40
years after its discovery before a satisfactory process was developed
to mine it. This is known as the “Frasch Process” and consists of the
sinking of wells to the sulphur deposit, each well being lined with a
10 to 12 in. pipe. Smaller pipes are placed inside, so that superheated
water can be brought in contact with the sulphur ore, which is melted
and forced to the surface by compressed air. The sulphur on cooling
is ready for market and is over 99 per cent. pure. Each of the three
plants in operation is equipped with a boiler capacity of over 20,000
h.p. for superheating the water, and requires about a million and a
quarter barrels of fuel oil per year. The origin of these domes is
believed to be due to deep-seated igneous intrusions, resulting in
the alteration of gypsum and the crystallization of salt and sulphur,
which has caused an upbowing of the strata. Because of the nature of
the formation and the irregularity of the deposits it is impossible to
accurately estimate the reserves of sulphur.

With the addition of two new plants since 1912, the United States now
has a sulphur-producing capacity of about 1¹⁄₄ million tons per year,
or four times the normal sales before the war. If an outlet is to be
found for this excess sulphur, it must compete with pyrite in the
domestic market or with Sicilian sulphur in the European markets. In
the latter part of 1919 prices of $14 to $15 per ton f.o.b. mines were
quoted, which indicated that an effort was being made to secure part of
the acid trade which formerly used pyrite.

There is no element of political control in the United States sulphur
industry, beyond the temporary measures taken during the war in
licensing export and allocation of consumption. The commercial control
is entirely in the hands of American companies. The Union Sulphur
Co. has been endeavoring to prevent the use of the improved “Frasch
Process” by the other companies which are competing with it. If the
claim of infringement of patent rights should be sustained, it would
give the Union company control of the situation similar to that which
it had before the development of the two newer companies, and might
result in the restriction of output and maintenance of prices.

=Japan.=--Japan takes third rank in the production of sulphur, although
it is of minor importance, compared to either the United States or
Italy. The production of sulphur in Japan has slowly increased from
15,000 long tons in 1900 to 60,000 tons in 1913, or about 7 per cent.
of the world output. The domestic consumption is very small and about
90 per cent. of the output was exported, chiefly to Australia, the west
coast of the United States and Canada, and to China and India. During
the war the output increased to a maximum of about 100,000 tons, but
in 1918 production was considerably curtailed by the great advance in
freight rates to Australia, which had been purchasing about one-half of
the Japanese output.

The sulphur occurs in surface deposits of limited extent and seldom
reaches 100 feet in thickness. The deposits are generally of the
solfataric type and occur in the numerous areas of volcanic activity.
The majority of the productive areas are nearly circular in outline,
and indicate that they were formed by deposition in crater lakes. In
some cases they are stratified and overlain by fine brown clayey or
tufaceous material derived partly from the surrounding rocks and partly
from the sulphur itself. Other deposits of minor importance may have
been produced by impregnation. The ore mined runs from 50 to 60 per
cent. sulphur. Deposits below 40 per cent. sulphur are seldom worked.

Approximately two-thirds of the production has come from the
southwestern section of the Island of Hokkaido. Four mines average
about 10,000 tons production each per year, and the remainder of the
production comes from 10 to 12 smaller operations, ranging from the
vicinity of Mount Daiton, in Taiwan (Formosa), to the Kurile Islands.

There is no accurate estimate of ore reserves available. One of the
most important mines was estimated as containing several million tons
of 50 per cent. ore. The reserves are probably sufficient to maintain
present production for many years. The lack of shipping facilities has
handicapped production, and there seems little likelihood that the
relative importance of Japan in the sulphur industry will increase to
any great extent.

The sulphur mines are all operated by Japanese. The state reserves
the right of original ownership of all minerals, except a few placer
deposits. Right of working is granted to Japanese companies or
individuals according to priority of application. The mining law,
however, acknowledges the rights of any corporation organized by aliens
under Japanese law.

=Great Britain.=--Great Britain has an estimated annual by-product
recovery of from 30,000 to 40,000 tons of elemental sulphur. The
process of recovery is known as the Chance-Claus process, and is
applied in connection with the Le Blanc soda process. It is based upon
the decomposition of calcium sulphate in vat waste by means of carbon
dioxide, and the recovery of sulphur from the sulphuretted hydrogen gas
thus generated.

=Other Countries.=--The production of sulphur outside of the United
States, Italy and Japan is of minor importance.

Northern _Chile_ has a small production of sulphur from the volcanoes
of Tacora and Chupiquina. The reserves are estimated as quite large,
but the high elevation (14,000 to 20,000 ft.) and poor transportation
have restricted production to local uses in the vineyard districts of
Chile. The production as reported had gradually increased to about
6,000 tons in 1913 and is reported to have doubled since then.

_Spain_ produces about 10,000 tons of sulphur annually, from low-grade
deposits located in the neighborhood of Almeria. The larger figures
often reported are in terms of low-grade ore mined.

_Austria_ is credited with a production of from 10 to 15 thousand tons
of crude sulphur ore, probably representing only 2 or 3 thousand tons
of actual sulphur.

The largest sulphur mine in _Mexico_ is located at Cerritos, 25 miles
south of Guadalcazar, San Luis Potosi. Fifteen years ago it was
purchased by an American company, the Virginia-Carolina Chemical Co.
It was later leased to German interests. The small output of a few
thousand tons was shipped to Germany before the war. There are a number
of deposits in San Luis Potosi in addition to the one at Cerritos.

It has been reported several times that a British company was about
to operate the sulphur deposits of the Mexican volcano, Popocatepetl,
near Mexico City. Statements regarding the deposits in the volcano are
conflicting, but investigations indicate that their magnitude has been
much exaggerated. Many other deposits occur in connection with local
volcanic areas, but so far are of little economic value because of
inaccessibility.

There are a number of deposits of sulphur in the Aleutian Islands
(_Alaska_), probably containing considerable sulphur, but partially
covered by glaciers and difficult of access. It is doubtful whether
they could be developed in the face of the competition of the cheap
sulphur from the coastal plain district of the United States.

CHANGES IN PRACTICE

No very far-reaching changes in practice are likely to occur in the
near future. The exhaustion of the surface sulphur deposits in Italy
and the necessity for deep mining is making necessary improvement and
installation of more modern methods there. Improved methods in the
refining of sulphur are also being installed whereby the losses under
the old _calcarone_ method will be largely eliminated. The consumption
of sulphur for sulphite wood pulp can be considerably reduced by the
general utilization of the improved practice which is already used
by the best plants. In localities where pyrite is available this
material may be used in the pulp industry to replace sulphur. In case
competition develops between the three large sulphur companies in
the United States, and the price of sulphur is considerably reduced,
it may result in the use of this material to a larger extent in the
sulphuric-acid industry. The sulphur burners can be installed much
more quickly and cheaply than the furnaces required to roast pyrite,
and after once being installed the amount of labor and care required
in their operation is less. The increased recovery of sulphuric acid
as a by-product from copper and zinc smelters will probably represent
an increasing factor in competition with acid made either from pyrite
or sulphur. The further increase of this source in the United States
is handicapped by the location of many of the copper smelters in the
west, at long distances from the market for sulphuric acid, which is
largely in the eastern and southern states. New processes are being
experimented with, for the production of elementary sulphur from these
sulphur fumes. If these are successful on a large scale, material
from this source may supply any future markets located in the west,
and might compete with the Japanese sulphur which has formerly been
imported in our Pacific Coast States.

POLITICAL CONTROL OF SULPHUR AND PYRITE

The political control of the important sulphur deposits of the world
primarily corresponds to the countries in which they are located. In
the case of the United States, the deposits are controlled by private
companies. As a strictly war measure, control was exercised over the
allocation and distribution of the output. In Italy the government
had assumed control of the output and marketing of sulphur. This was
largely brought about by the competition of American sulphur and
the consequent depression of the Italian industry. In 1906 what was
known as the Consorzia Obbligatoria was organized under a law passed
by the Italian Parliament, which provided that this company should
be administered by a royal commissioner appointed by the Italian
government. Under this law producers were obliged to sell their
output to this company, which had control of prices and exports. In
1910 restrictions on the granting of new concessions were made. The
arguments recently presented for the continuance of government control
were the increasing foreign competition, the large war increase in
United States production, the minor increase of Japanese production and
the possibilities of developments in northern Africa. The intent of
this governmental control of the industry is to combine and regulate
the efforts of individual producers in order to effectively meet future
competition.

COMMERCIAL CONTROL OF SULPHUR AND PYRITE

Before 1906 the Italian deposits were largely controlled by the
Anglo-Sicilian Sulphur Co., representing English capital, but since
that time, when the Italian government undertook to control the
industry, the commercial control has been primarily Italian.

In the United States the commercial control of sulphur output is in the
hands of three companies, one of which started producing just about the
time of the outbreak of the European war and another whose production
was just beginning in 1919. So far as is known, there is no combination
among these three interests. The Union Sulphur Co., which was the first
and principal producer, controls certain patents covering the “Frasch
Process.” During the war period an agreement was entered into by which
alleged infringement of patents was not pushed. Since the close of the
war it remains to be seen to what extent the patent rights involved may
affect the production of the other two companies, the Freeport and the
Texas Gulf, which in general use a similar process.

The production of sulphur in Japan is commercially controlled by
Japanese interests.

An American company, the Virginia-Carolina Chemical Co., owns a
sulphur deposit in Mexico, which was leased, before the war, to German
interests. Several other deposits in Mexico and South America were
reported as controlled by German interests, but thus far the production
from all these sources has been relatively of minor importance and
there is no immediate prospect of any great change.

The significant factor of commercial control in the pyrite situation is
the large investment of British capital in the Spanish deposits and to
a less extent the investment of French capital. United States capital
controls the principal pyrite developments in Canada, Cuba, Mexico and
Cyprus. English, French and Swedish capital is invested in Norway.

POSITION OF THE PRINCIPAL POWERS

The _United States_ is the most favorably situated of any nation in its
supply of sulphur. In the years preceding the European war it produced
about one-half the world’s supply. Since that time its production has
increased several fold and it is now the dominating factor in the world
situation.

The relative position of _Italy_, which was formerly of equal
importance with the United States, is declining. Her cost of production
is increasing, and American sulphur will enter into keen competition
with the European markets. The resources of _Japan_ are comparatively
small and the larger part of her production has been exported. The
post-war conditions will probably curtail the markets for Japanese
sulphur, and there is no likelihood of any increase in Japan’s
position. England, France and Germany must primarily rely upon other
countries for their supply of both pyrite and sulphur. _England_
secures a part of her sulphur supply from a by-product source known as
the Chance-Claus process, which produces from 30 to 40 thousand tons
annually. In addition she secures large amounts of pyrite from Spain.
_France_ produces some local pyrite, but imports large quantities
of this material from Spain; and before the outbreak of the war
was securing increasing amounts of sulphur from the United States.
_Germany_ and _Austria_ have some resources in pyrite and probably had
considerable stocks of sulphur at the opening of the war. It has been
stated that in order to secure her needs of these materials Germany was
forced to use expensive processes, to reduce the sulphur content of
gypsum, to expand her pyrite production, and to increase the output of
smelter acid. Under normal conditions she will probably have to return
to imports of pyrite from Norway and Sweden, or sulphur from the United
States and Italy.

CHAPTER XXIX

GOLD

BY JOHN E. ORCHARD

USES OF GOLD

The physical properties of gold and the difficulties connected
with obtaining it have made gold through all the ages one of the
most precious of the metals. Because of its luster, its color, and
its indestructibility, it was shaped by primitive man into rings,
bracelets, and other ornaments. These same properties, together with
its divisibility, early led to the use of gold as a trading counter,
and in all but the most primitive societies it has been regarded as a
measure of value and a medium of exchange. The earliest known reference
to gold is a reference to its use in trade, and is contained in an
edict of Menes of Egypt (perhaps 3800 B. C.) fixing the ratio of the
value of gold to silver at 2¹⁄₂ to 1.

As a medium of exchange gold is used in a variety of forms. The
primitive trader accepted and gave ornaments of gold in exchange
for commodities. In mining camps, gold dust and nuggets have been
the circulating medium. In a settled community under a government
possessing the confidence of the governed, gold coined into counters of
convenient denominations by the government is accepted without question
in all transactions. For the settlement of balances in international
trade, gold bullion is used, its value being determined by weight.
Today practically all nations are on a gold standard, and even those on
a silver standard in domestic trade have adopted the gold standard for
foreign trade.

But gold, though it has many excellent qualities, is one of the
heaviest of metals, and carrying it on the person is inconvenient,
especially in amounts sufficient for large transactions. Also, through
constant handling, gold wears away and coins deteriorate in value.
Accordingly a large part of the coins or the gold bullion is kept in
the national treasury or in the vaults of a bank, and some form of
paper currency is used as the circulating medium. Upon this reserve of
gold, seen only by a few employees of the government or bank, who have
no ownership in it, is built an intricate system of credits and trade.

It is true that little gold is in actual circulation and that for
domestic trade mediums of exchange secured only in part by gold are
being used in increasing amounts. Even international exchange is
no longer on the gold standard, but this situation is undoubtedly
temporary and with the improvement in financial conditions in Europe
gold will be restored to its position as foundation of trade and
finance, national and international. The circulating medium, whatever
its nature, must be freely convertible, and credit, to remain sound,
must be founded upon an adequate gold reserve.

It has been officially estimated that between the years 1492 and 1894
the world’s production of gold equaled about $8,000,000,000. Of this
amount a little less than $4,000,000,000 was held as gold reserve in
1894, the remainder having been lost or absorbed in the arts or in
the manufacture of jewelry. Since 1894 the consumption of gold in
the arts has been between $50,000,000 and $100,000,000 annually, or
for the 27 years about $2,100,000,000 out of a total production of
$9,000,000,000--almost 25 per cent.[158]

[158] JENNINGS, HENNEN: “The Gold Industry and Gold Standard,” 1919.

GEOLOGICAL OCCURRENCE

Gold is widely distributed, both geographically and geologically. It
is found in about 60 countries in all parts of the world and occurs in
rocks of all ages, from Archean to Quaternary, often in association
with other metals, as silver, copper, tellurium, lead, and iron.

Gold deposits may be broadly classified as lodes and placers. Lode
deposits are also known as vein or quartz deposits; and in them the
gold is found with silica or quartz in irregular masses, strings,
scales, plates, and crystals, or more often in microscopic particles in
the sulphide minerals or the gangue. Much the same methods are used for
extracting the ore as are used in mining silver, lead, or zinc.

Placer or alluvial deposits are sedimentary beds of gravel or sand in
which the particles of gold, washed from the mother lode, have been
concentrated by the action of water. Most of the placer deposits lie in
the open, along the bed of a river, but some are covered by a sheet of
lava or other non-productive rock. The gold occurs as scales, grains,
slugs or nuggets. A number of large nuggets have been found, the
largest being the Australian “Welcome Stranger,” weighing 2,520 ounces
and valued at about $42,000. Usually, however, the particles of gold
are minute.

Placer deposits are worked by one of the following methods, depending
on the nature and richness of the alluvium: sluice mining, hydraulic
mining, dredging, or drift mining.

During the early years of what has been called the modern era of gold
mining, beginning with the discovery of gold in California in 1848,
most of the world’s annual production came from placer deposits.
De Launay estimates that from 1848 to 1875 placers contributed 87
per cent. In more recent years, with the exhaustion of the easily
discovered and the easily worked placer mines, the proportion has
decreased and at present it is probably not more than 10 per cent.
Today the great gold mines of the world are lode mines. The world’s
deepest gold mine has attained a vertical depth of 5,900 feet.

After making all allowances for further discoveries, students of the
subject are of the opinion that the world’s gold production has already
reached its zenith and that a decline may be expected.[159]

[159] The above discussion of the geological occurrence of gold is
based mainly on “The Gold Industry and Gold Standard” and other
articles by HENNEN JENNINGS, consulting engineer, U. S. Bureau of
Mines.

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION

Commercially important mines are found in every continent, and there
are few regions on the earth’s surface that do not contain deposits
profitably worked now or formerly. The distribution of gold has played
an important part in the settlement of new lands, notably California,
western Canada, Alaska, Mexico, Australia, and South Africa, and will
undoubtedly greatly influence the future movements of peoples. Yet
although gold is distributed thus widely, $323,950,000, or over 75 per
cent. of the total amount of gold produced in 1917, came from four
countries, Transvaal, United States, Australia and Russia.

The outputs of the chief producing countries are given in Table 67 and
Figure 19.

NORTH AMERICA

=United States.=--Although at present surpassed by the Transvaal,
the United States formerly led the world as a producer of gold. It
is estimated that this country since 1792 has contributed about
$3,913,000,000 to the gold supply of the world, a little less than 25
per cent. of the total produced, and an output greater than that of any
other nation.[160] The United States first became an important producer
in 1850, following the discovery of gold in California. Previous to
that time some gold was mined in the Appalachian states, the total
probably reaching $50,000,000.

[160] Report of the committee appointed by the Secretary of the
Interior to study the gold situation.

In 1915 the output of the United States was $101,035,000, the highest
mark so far reached. Since that year there has been an annual drop of
about $8,000,000 in output. The yield in 1918 was $68,646,700 and in
1919, $58,488,800.

During the past four years, eight states, California, Colorado, Alaska,
South Dakota, Nevada, Arizona, Montana, and Utah, have produced more
than 90 per cent. of the gold mined in the United States.

TABLE 67.--GOLD PRODUCTION OF THE PRINCIPAL PRODUCING COUNTRIES,
1880-1917[161]

----+------------+-----------+-----------+----------------+----------+
| United | | Transvaal | Russia- | Rhodesia |
Year| States |Australasia| [162] | Siberia | [162] |
----+------------+-----------+-----------+----------------+----------+
1880|$36,000,000 |$28,765,000| $1,993,800|$28,551,028 | ...|
1881| 34,700,000 | 30,690,000| 1,993,800| 24,371,343 | ...|
1882| 32,500,000 | 31,955,017| 1,993,800| 23,867,935 | ...|
1883| 30,000,000 | 27,150,000| 717,000| 20,119,000 | ...|
1884| 30,800,000 | 28,284,000| 830,000| 21,874,000 | ...|
1885| 31,801,000 | 27,439,000| 1,384,000| 25.338,000 | ...|
1886| 34,869,000 | 26,425,000| 1,438,000| 20,518,000 | ...|
1887| 33,136,000 | 27,327,600| 1,919,600| 20,092,000 | ...|
1888| 33,167,000 | 28,560,660| 4,500,000| 21,302,000 | ...|
1889| 32,967,000 | 33,086,700| 7,788,372| 23,905,600 | ...|
1890| 32,845,000 | 29,808,000| 10,438,356| 25,484,000 | ...|
1891| 33,175,000 | 31,399,000| 14,885,639| 24,162,500 | ...|
1892| 33,015,000 | 34,159,000| 23,220,108| 24,806,200 | ...|
1893| 35,955,000 | 35,688,600| 28,293,831| 27,808,200 | ...|
1894| 39,500,000 | 41,760,800| 39,696,330| 24,133,400 | ...|
1895| 46,610,000 | 44,798,300| 43,893,300| 28,894,400 | ...|
1896| 53,088,000 | 45,181,900| 43,779,669| 21,535,800 | ...|
1897| 57,363,000 | 52,665,700| 57,633,861| 23,245,700 | ...|
1898| 64,463,000 | 64,860,800| 79,213,953| 25,463,400 | 444,617|
1899| 71,053,400 | 79,321,600| 71,384,561| 22,167,100 | 1,129,773|
1900| 79,171,000 | 73,498,900| 6,124,226| 20,145,500 | 1,158,815|
1901| 78,666,700 | 76,880,200| 5,333,994| 22,850,900 | 2,974,943|
1902| 80,000,000 | 81,578,800| 34,901,140| 22,533,400 | 3,366,561|
1903| 73,591,700 | 89,210,100| 61,454,439| 24,632,200 | 4,065,489|
1904| 80,464,700 | 87,767,300| 78,004,559| 24,803,200 | 4,794,208|
1905| 88,180,700 | 85,926,500|101,489,199| 22,291,600 | 7,337,211|
1906| 94,373,800 | 82,391,400|119,618,507| 19,496,500 |10,082,747|
1907| 90,435,700 | 75,677,700|133,361,943| 26,684,300 |11,199,181|
1908| 94,560,000 | 73,327,300|145,862,971| 28,052,200 |13,022,460|
1909| 99,673,400 | 71,007,900|150,799,880| 32,381,300 |13,223,955|
1910| 96,269,100 | 65,470,600|155,597,202| 35,579,600 |13,590,658|
1911| 96,890,000 | 60,184,200|170,566,159| 32,151,600 |13,823,733|
1912| 93,451,500 | 54,509,400|188,293,100| 22,199,000 |14,226,900|
1913| 88,884,400 | 53,113,200|181,885,300| 26,508,700 |14,274,700|
1914| 94,531,800 | 47,569,023|173,559,940| 28,586,392 |17 663,686|
1915|101,035,700 | 49,397,797|188,033,156| 26,322,745 |18,915,324|
1916| 92,315,363 | 38,213,328|192,182,900| 22,300,000 |19,232,200|
1917| 84,456,600 | 35,275,000|186,254,256| 18,000,000[164]|14,988,600|
----+------------+-----------+-----------+----------------+----------+

----+---------------+----------+----------+------------
| | | British |
Year| Mexico | Canada | India | World[163]
----+---------------+----------+----------+------------
1880| $989,160 | $815,089| ...|$106,436,800
1881| 858,909 | 1,094,926| ...| 103,023,100
1882| 936,223 | 1,094,926| ...| 101,996,600
1883| 951,000 | 954,000| ...| 95,392,000
1884| 1,183,000 | 954,000| ...| 101,729,000
1885| 867,000 | 1,116,000| $135,000| 108 435,000
1886| 614,000 | 1,330,442| 421,600| 106,163,000
1887| 824,000 | 1,178,637| 320,000| 105,774,900
1888| 974,000 | 1,111,959| 685,720| 110,196,000
1889| 700,000 | 1,295,000| 1,502,600| 123,489,200
1890| 767,000 | 1,666,000| 2,000,000| 118,848,700
1891| 1,000,000 | 930,666| 2,495,000| 130,650,000
1892| 1,129,200 | 907,600| 3,318,300| 146,651,500
1893| 1,305,300 | 927,200| 3,813,600| 157,494,800
1894| 4,500,000[164]| 1,042,100| 3,882,900| 181,175,600
1895| 6,000,000[164]| 1,910,900| 4,656,200| 198,763,600
1896| 8,331,700[164]| 2,810,200| 6,130,500| 202,251,600
1897| 7,500,000[164]| 6,089,500| 7,247,200| 236,083,700
1898| 8,500,000[164]|13,838,700| 7,781,500| 286,879,700
1899| 8,500,000[164]|21,324,300| 8,658,800| 306,724,100
1900| 9,000,000[164]|27,880,500| 9,435,500| 254,576,300
1901|10,284,800 |24,128,500| 9,395,900| 260,992,900
1902|10,153,100 |21,336,700| 9,588,100| 296,737,600
1903|10,677,500 |18,834,500|11,428,900| 327,702,700
1904|12,605,300 |16,462,500|11,722,900| 347,377,200
1905|16,107,100 |14,610,400|11,950,200| 380,288,700
1906|18,534,700 |12,023,900|12,087,700| 402,503,000
1907|18,681,100 | 8,382,800|10,383,600| 412,966,600
1908|22,371,200 | 9,842,100|10,598,500| 442,476,900
1909|23,842,900 | 9,382,200|10,358,600| 454,059,100
1910|24,910,600 |10,205,800|10,718,400| 455,239,100
1911|24,880,100 | 9,762,100|11,054,100| 461,939,700
1912|24,500,000 |12,648,800|11,055,700| 466,136,100
1913|19,308,800 |16,598,900|12,178,000| 459,941,100
1914| 4,788,175 |15,983,004|11,378,400| 439,078,260
1915| 6,559,275 |18,977,901|11,522,457| 468,724,918
1916| 7,690,700 |19,235,000|11,206,500| 454,176,500
1917| 9,000,000[164]|15,449,426|10,756,800| 423,590,200
----+---------------+---------------------+------------

[161] Compiled from reports of the Director of the Mint, 1880-1917.

[162] Previous to 1898 production of Rhodesia and Mozambique included
in Transvaal returns.

[163] Total production of world, 1492-1917, $16,916,735,394.

[164] Estimated.

[Illustration: FIG 19.--Production of gold in chief producing
countries, 1880-1917, based on reports of the Director of the Mint.]

With the discovery of gold in a mill race at Coloma, Eldorado County,
_California_, by J. A. Marshall in 1848, the history of modern gold
production began. The great rush to California followed and the state
became the leading gold-producing region of the world. The output for
1860 amounted to $45,320,000, as compared with a total output of only
$1,000,000 for the remaining states. For many years the gold production
of California has been declining, the total yield in 1917 amounting to
only $20,000,000, a decrease of almost $2,000,000 from the output of
1916. About three-fifths of the output comes from lode mines and the
remainder from placers.

For a number of years _Colorado_ was the leading gold-producing state,
principally because of the output from Cripple Creek, Teller County,
which was from 1893 to 1908 the leading gold camp in the United States.
Recently the output has fallen below that of California. Over half of
the yield of the state in 1916 came from Teller County.

The earliest discovery of gold in _Alaska_ was probably about 1849
along the shores of Cook Inlet. In 1879 the gold-quartz veins near
Sitka were discovered, and a year later the placers of Juneau. The
discovery of the gold placers in the valley of the Yukon was made in
1886 and of those in the Klondike in 1896. Most of the Alaskan output
is obtained from placer deposits, the richest being in the Seward
Peninsula near Nome and in the Yukon basin. The largest producing lode
mines have been those near Juneau; of these the Treadwell was for long
the greatest gold mine in the world, but it is now inactive. During the
past few years the working of large low-grade disseminated deposits of
the Treadwell type near Juneau has been undertaken on a scale hitherto
undreamed of, but thus far these ventures (Alaska Gold and Alaska
Juneau mines) have not been financially successful.

The gold-producing area of _South Dakota_ is confined to an area of
less than 100 square miles, lying in the Black Hills. The gravels of
Whitewood and Deadwood gulches were first washed in 1875, and in 1876
the famous Homestake lodes were discovered. At present about 94 per
cent. of the total output of the state is controlled by one company,
the Homestake Mining Co., the largest producing company in the United
States.

Following the exhaustion of the famous Comstock lode, demarcated in
1851, _Nevada_ was of little importance as a gold-producing state until
the discovery of the rich deposits of Tonopah in 1900. At present
practically all the gold obtained in the state comes from the vein
deposits of Tonopah and Goldfield. Divide is a newly developed camp
between these two.

There are three main auriferous areas in _Arizona_: the vicinity of
Bisbee and Tombstone, Cochise County; the Oatman district, Mohave
County; and the Verde district, Yavapai County. Arizona was one of the
few states to show a larger output in 1917 than in 1916. The United
Eastern mine, a new property opened in 1913 in the Oatman district of
Mohave County, produced heavily and was responsible for the increase.
The gold output of Cochise and Yavapai counties is obtained largely
from copper ore.

During the sixties and seventies, _Montana_ was second only to
California in its yield of placer gold. The most famous placers were
those of Bannack and Alder Gulch and later Helena. Much of the present
output is obtained as a by-product from copper ores.

Few mines in _Utah_ are worked exclusively for their gold content, the
greater part of the yield of the state being derived from copper and
lead ores.

Gold is also mined in _Idaho_, _New Mexico_, _Oregon_, and
_Washington_. Small amounts were produced in 1917 in a number of
the Appalachian states. Before the discovery of gold in California,
practically all of the gold coined in the United States mint came
from the mines of _Virginia_, _Maryland_, _Alabama_, _Georgia_, and
the _Carolinas_, but since the Civil War their output has not been
important. The gold production of the _Philippine Islands_ in 1917
amounted to $1,404,000.

=Canada.=--The total gold yield of Canada in 1900 amounted to
$28,000,000, but with the exhaustion of the placer deposits it
declined to $8,382,000 in 1907. With the development of vein deposits,
production increased steadily from this low point, and reached
$19,235,000 in 1916, and $15,272,992 in 1917, placing Canada sixth in
the list of gold producers. Three provinces, Ontario, British Columbia,
and the Yukon Territory, yield most of the gold, the remaining
provinces producing less than 1 per cent. of the total.

More than one-half of the Canadian production comes from the Porcupine
district in Temiskaming, _Ontario_, developed in 1912. Other producing
districts, though of minor importance, are Kirkland Lake and Munro
Township, also in Temiskaming, and Long Lake, near Naughton, Sudbury
district.[165]

[165] “Production of Copper, Gold, Lead, Nickel, Silver, Zinc, and
Other Metals in Canada, 1916.” Canadian Department of Mines, Mines
Branch, 1917.

At one time most of the gold output of _British Columbia_ was derived
from placers, chiefly from those in the Atlin and Cariboo districts,
but less than 5 per cent. came from that source in 1917. The main lode
mining districts are West Kootenay and Yale, in the southern part of
the province.[166] Gold production in 1917 amounted to about half of
the total for 1916.

[166] “Production of Copper, Gold, Lead, Nickel, Silver, Zinc, and
Other Metals in Canada, 1917.” Canadian Department of Mines, Mines
Branch, 1919.

Gold has been known in the _Yukon Territory_ since 1869 and the
deposits have been actively worked since 1881. The greater part of the
placers of Forty-mile River and all of Sixty-mile River are within
Canadian jurisdiction. In 1897 came the discovery of the Klondike. Gold
production reached its height in Yukon Territory in 1900, when the
output was 1,077,649 fine ounces, valued at $22,000,000. Practically
all of the 1917 production was derived from placer deposits.

Gold was mined in _Quebec_ as early as 1823, but Canada was of little
importance as a gold-producing region prior to the discovery of the
British Columbia placers in 1857. Gold deposits of little economic
value are still worked in _Quebec_, _New Brunswick_, _Nova Scotia_,
and _Newfoundland_. Prospecting and development work in _Manitoba_,
_Saskatchewan_, and _Alberta_ indicate that these provinces may become
important producers of gold.

=Mexico.=--For many years Mexico ranked fourth among the gold-producing
countries of the world, being surpassed only by the Transvaal, the
United States, and Australasia. Revolutions and bandit warfare have
seriously interfered with mining operations since 1911, and the output
of gold in 1917 was little more than one-third of the normal annual
yield. With the establishment of a stable government, able to protect
foreign investments, Mexico will no doubt regain its former position.

A large part of the gold output of Mexico is obtained as a by-product
from lead, silver, zinc, and copper ores. The only true gold-mining
district is the El Oro district of the states of _Mexico_ and
_Michoacan_. The chief producing mines are the Esperanza, El Oro,
Mexico Mines of El Oro, and Dos Estrellas. In 1906 the Esperanza was
considered, in respect to both actual output and profits earned,
the most productive gold mine in the world. Since then it has been
surpassed by mines of the United States and the Transvaal. Another
famous gold mine of Mexico, the Dolores, situated in western
_Chihuahua_, yields ore whose silver content is almost equal in value
to the gold. _Lower California_, _Sonora_, _Durango_, _Hidalgo_, _San
Luis Potosi_, _Guanajuato_, and _Chiapas_ are all gold-producing states.

=Central America.=--At the time of the discovery of America, the
Spanish were attracted to the region now included in the states of
Central America by reports of fabulously rich mines and of the wealth
of the Indians. A number of expeditions were sent out in search of the
gold and some rich mines were discovered and worked. Gold is still
produced in Central America, but the total amount is small, being
less than 1 per cent. of the world total in 1913. _Honduras_ is the
richest of the states in production and _Nicaragua_ ranks second, the
principal centers of the gold-mining industry being in the Departments
of Matagalpa and Chontales, and in the district of Cabo Gracias and
Prinzapolka.[167]

[167] U. S. Commerce Reports, Supplement 34_a_, 1915, p. 4.

SOUTH AMERICA

South America was also an important source of gold during the years
following the discovery of America. The early conquerors obtained
gold by plundering the temples, churches, and even the graves of the
natives. Following the conquest, the Spaniards by means of their slaves
systematically searched much of the continent for gold deposits. About
15 per cent. ($2,266,000,000) of all the gold produced between 1492 and
1917 came from South America.

Today South America is of little importance as a gold producer, the
combined yield of all the countries for 1913 being about 2.5 per cent.
of the world total. The great bulk of the South American production
has so far been alluvial gold. With the establishment of more stable
governments and the improvement of transportation facilities it is
likely that the production of South America will increase.

According to Maclaren[168] the gold fields of South America are
disposed in three somewhat sharply separated areas. The chief area is
that extending the length of the Andes from the Isthmus of Panama to
central _Chile_ and including the deposits of Colombia. The second area
is contained in a well-marked petrographic and metallographic province
extending across the rearland of the Guianas and including also the
mines of _Venezuela_ and northern _Brazil_. The third area is contained
in the province of Minas Geraes, Brazil. Some gold is obtained from
_Chile_, _Argentina_, _Bolivia_, _Peru_, _Ecuador_, and _Uruguay_.
The chief gold-bearing areas of _Colombia_ are Choco, the Department
of Antioquia, and the district lying between the Cauca and Magdalena
rivers. Fairly rich deposits have also been found in Colombia near the
Ecuadorian border.[169]

[168] MACLAREN, J. MALCOLM: “Gold: Its Geological Occurrence and
Geographical Distribution, 1908,” p. 619.

[169] U. S. Commerce Reports, Supplement 42_b_, 1915, p. 12.

The principal mines of _Brazil_ are the St. John del Rey mine, and the
mines owned by the Ouro Preto Gold Mines of Brazil, Ltd., both in the
State of Minas Geraes. The former mine is said to be the deepest in the
world.

EUROPE

Although Europe in the past has played an important part in the
production of gold, very little is mined at the present time. Previous
to the discovery of America, much of the gold in use came from the Alps
and from _Hungary_. Deposits were also worked in _England_, _Ireland_,
_Wales_, _Spain_, and _Germany_.

The only gold mines in Europe of any present economic importance are
in the former empire of _Austria-Hungary_, _France_, and the Urals
of _Russia_. In the south of France gold has been produced along the
streams flowing from the Pyrenees, and also in the eastern provinces.
At present only three mines are in operation, which in 1911 produced
2,554 kilograms of gold. The Hungarian deposits are very old, as they
were worked by the Romans 2,000 years ago. Most of the producing mines
of today are in Transylvania. Russia is credited with producing 5.8
per cent. of the world total in 1913. A small part of this production
came from the Urals of European Russia, chiefly as a by-product from
other ores, but the greater part was obtained in Siberia. The Siberian
deposits are discussed below, under Asia.

ASIA

Since the decline in the Mexican production, Russia ranks fourth among
the gold-producing countries. Most of the output comes from _Siberia_,
which has long been a source of gold, the mines of the Altai Mountains
being considered among the oldest in the world. The production of gold
in Siberia from 1830 to date has been estimated by Russian authorities
at approximately $1,000,000,000.

Maclaren[170] has divided the auriferous areas of the country into
two distinct regions, the eastern and western. About four-fifths of
the country’s production is derived from the former region, which
extends in one fairly narrow auriferous belt from Lake Baikal to the
southwestern shores of the Sea of Okhotsk.

[170] MACLAREN, J. MALCOLM: “Gold: Its Geological Occurrence and
Geographical Distribution,” p. 210.

A number of dredges have been operated in the Ural district. The most
promising property is the Riderlinsky, east of Omsk. In the southern
Urals, most of the mines produce copper, pyrite, or zinc, the gold
by-product making the profits. The Ridder mine, in the Altai Mountains,
is the best-known lode mine in Siberia.

Placers are located along the Manchurian frontier on the Onon and Amur
rivers. They are among the most important in Siberia and have produced
over $100,000,000 in gold. The deposits of Irkutsk along the Lena River
are the most important deposits so far exploited in Siberia and are
probably the richest placers ever discovered. The district produces
about one-third of the Siberian output. The placers are at present
about worked out as drift mines, but will continue to produce with the
installation of dredges.

Many engineers believe that Siberia is the richest remaining potential
source of gold in the world. It has been estimated that the country
will produce in the future, say in the next 30 or 40 years, about
$6,000,000,000. The unsettled political conditions have greatly
interfered with mining. Many of the mines were taken over by the
Bolshevists, and although it is unlikely that any attempt at systematic
mining will be made, they will probably be robbed of the richer exposed
ore before they can be recovered by the owners.

_India_ has long been regarded as a land of riches. Philologists have
proved, to their own satisfaction, that Ophir, the source of the stores
of gold of Solomon, was located there. In the deserts of northern
India lived the gold-digging ants, described by the Greek historians
and later writers and as yet unexplained. Present facts do not bear out
legend and tradition. In 1913 India contributed only 2.6 per cent. of
the world’s total production of gold, an amount hardly proportionate
to the extent of the country. The land offers to the prospector an
extremely uninviting field. It has been carefully prospected and
its deposits have been worked assiduously for at least twenty-five
centuries by a people possessing great patience and considerable mining
skill.[171] The principal modern producing gold mines of India are in
the Kolar field, where the main reef carries five large mines along its
strike.

[171] MACLAREN, J. MALCOLM: “Gold: Its Geological Occurrence and
Geographical Distribution,” p. 238-240.

_Japan_ was one of the chief contributors to the stream of gold that
poured into Europe during the sixteenth century. Portuguese and Dutch
traders came to the islands to exchange European products for the gold
mined by thousands of natives. The Japanese finally revolted against
this domination of their trade and expelled the last of the Portuguese
in 1624. A few Dutch were permitted to remain and to trade through
certain ports, but under most humiliating conditions. Between the years
1601 and 1764, it is estimated that about 3,763,572 ounces of gold
was exported from Japan. At the present the annual gold production of
Japan, including Formosa, is about $6,000,000.

Most of the gold-quartz veins of Japan have been worked for many
generations and only the poorer sulphide zones remain.

The Island of Formosa, which was acquired by Japan in 1895, had been
represented by early European travelers as a storehouse of untold
riches. Not until 1890 were the sites of the old workings rediscovered,
the discovery of flakes of gold during the construction of a railway
precipitating a rush of Chinese miners to the island.[172]

[172] “Mining in Japan, Past and Present,” the Bureau of Mines,
Department of Agriculture and Commerce, Japan, 1909, pp. 17 and 64.

The total output of gold in _Chosen_ (_Korea_) in 1914 approximated
$5,000,000, but at present the output is declining because of the
abnormal rise in the price of chemicals and materials necessary for
mining. The yield for 1918 will probably not exceed $3,500,000, 60 per
cent. of which will be obtained from three mines operated by foreign
capital. The chief gold-quartz mines of Chosen are included in the
American concession at Unsan in North Pyong-an Province, northwestern
Korea. From these mines is derived about half of the annual gold
production of Chosen. Korea also contains a large number of placer
deposits, mostly small, that have been extensively mined by Koreans.
The placer deposits of the Unsan district have not yet been worked, but
those of the Chiksan district are being exploited by the Japanese.[173]

[173] U. S. Commerce Reports, February 26, 1914.

The small, scattered gold deposits of _China_, both vein and placer,
are worked almost exclusively by the Chinese, as none has been
discovered of sufficient richness to attract foreign capital. On the
Island of Hainan, southeast of the mainland, the Chinese government is
operating mines.

Exploration work carried on in China up to the present does not
indicate that the country will ever become an important producer
of gold. Even in the provinces contributing most of the present
output--Manchuria, Yunnan, and Szechuen--the gold industry gives little
promise of growth. During the years 1911, 1912, and 1913, 700 streams
were examined in the last two provinces and gold was found in 430, but
in no case in sufficient quantity to pay for working.

There have been many rumors concerning the gold deposits of the vast
and unexplored territory of Tibet since the very earliest expeditions
to that country but the field is still closed to modern enterprise
and even to careful scientific examination. Despite previous reports,
it has been stated by the geologist accompanying a British expedition
about 10 years ago that the mineral value of Tibet was not easily
apparent. Near the frontier of the State of Bhutan there are many
colonies of gold washers. The Tibetan gold is found in nuggets as
well as in spangles and dust, but the Tibetans are said to be careful
to leave the nuggets intact, or to replace them if disturbed, under
the belief that they are living and are the parents of the spangles
and dust, or the roots from which new gold grows, which latter would
disappear were the lumps removed.[174]

[174] U. S. Commerce Reports, February 26, 1914.

_Siam_, _Burma_, _Indo-China_, and the _Federated Malay States_ at
present contribute only a small part of the gold production of Asia.
Exploration and prospecting are proceeding actively and the results
to date are favorable. Future developments may substantiate the
statements of the ancient writers and cartographers that there was
much gold in this region. Gold and other minerals are known to exist
in _Afghanistan_, but with the exception of a gold mine near Kandahar,
in charge of a European, the mineral resources are almost entirely
undeveloped.

AFRICA

Since 1905 _South Africa_, including Transvaal, Cape Colony, and Natal,
has been the leading gold producer of the world, a position that
would have been attained several years earlier had not the Boer War
interfered. In 1917, gold valued at $186,255,000, or nearly half of the
world’s output, was produced, the greater part being derived from the
Witwatersrand, or Rand, near Johannesburg, Transvaal. Production in
1918 fell to $174,068,000.

Gold was first discovered in the _Transvaal_ in 1870, but production
was not important previous to the discovery of gold on the farm
Langlaagte, Witwatersrand, in 1885. The mines are spread along a belt
extending some 62 miles from Randfontein on the west to Holfontein
on the east. This belt contains the largest deposit of gold that has
ever been found in one place, and its gold content probably equals
that of all the other known gold fields of the world combined. The ore
is not exceptionally high grade, but can be economically treated in
large quantities. The deposit, it has been estimated, may represent
$3,000,000,000 to $4,000,000,000 from about 40 square miles, of which
about half had been extracted by 1916.

Gold occurs both in vein and placer deposits in _Natal_ and _Cape
Colony_, but the output is small.

_Rhodesia_, in seventh place in 1913, has developed rapidly in recent
years as a producer of gold and now outranks Mexico. According to
Portuguese records, gold was mined in Rhodesia as early as 1788.
The discovery in 1866 of ancient ruins and of ancient gold mines at
Zimbabwe gave rise to the hypothesis that Rhodesia was the Ophir of
the Scriptures. Although numerous attempts were made to open the gold
fields, no measure of success was obtained until 1891, and only during
the present century has the true character of the Rhodesian gold-quartz
veins been recognized. The settlement of the country and the
development of the mines is the result of the efforts of Cecil Rhodes
and the Charter Company.

The gold is widely distributed and most of the mines are small. The
future of the country as a gold producer would seem to depend upon the
operation of the lower-grade ore bodies by large companies. The Shamva
mine is a conspicuous example.

_West Africa_, especially the Gold Coast, is the only region of Africa,
other than the Transvaal and Rhodesia, producing gold in important
quantities. The output of the British West Africa colonies in 1917
amounted to about $7,500,000. The unhealthful climate of the region
will probably prevent for some years any extensive mining operations by
white men.

Gold mines are also worked in _Abyssinia_, _Belgian Congo_, _Egypt_,
_French East Africa_, the former _German East Africa_, _Madagascar_,
and the _Sudan_, but the total annual production from all these
countries is little more than $2,000,000. The rock carvings and the
hieroglyphics of ancient Egypt indicate that northern Africa and the
region along the Nile River were important sources of the gold of the
ancient world.

AUSTRALASIA

For many years Australasia was a close rival of the United States as
a gold producer, frequently outranking this country. Since 1903 there
has been a rapid decline, and Australasian production in 1917 was less
than one-half the production of the United States. However, Australasia
still ranks third and produced 11.3 per cent. of the world’s output in
1913 and about 8.3 per cent. in 1917.

=Australia.=--Gold was discovered in Australia in 1839 and perhaps
even as early as 1823. Fearing the unsettling effect of gold-seeking
on the progress of the colony, the government authorities kept these
early discoveries a secret for a number of years. In 1851, however, a
miner recently returned from California, discovered gold near Bathurst,
in New South Wales, and a rush similar to the Californian rush
began. Discoveries in other parts of the country followed. The vein
deposits of Australia occur in two distinct areas, well separated both
geographically and geologically. The first includes the gold fields
of the west and northwest and the other lies along the great Eastern
Cordillera of Australia and stretches northward from Tasmania through
Victoria, New South Wales, and Queensland.

For many years _Victoria_, the smallest of the states, was the largest
producer of gold, and up to 1908 had produced about half of the total
output of the commonwealth. Among the earlier returns were some of the
largest nuggets known. With the discovery in 1892 of the sensational
field of Coolgardie, in Western Australia, a state previously believed
to be without mineral wealth, Victoria dropped to second place.
Kalgoorlie is the chief town and center of the gold-mining area in
Western Australia.

_Queensland_ ranks next to Victoria. A disastrous rush occurred in
1858, and 15,000 to 20,000 men were left starving on the banks of the
Fitzroy River. The men were rescued by steamers sent by the governments
of New South Wales and Victoria. A few years later alluvial gold was
found near Peak Down, Clermont, to the present day the principal placer
region of Queensland. Charters Towers, the present leading field of the
state, was discovered in 1872. The Mount Morgan mine is an isolated
mine lying not far from the scene of the ill-fated rush of 1858. It is
by far the most productive mine of Queensland, both in gold and copper.
_New South Wales_, although the first Australian state to yield gold
in any important quantity, now ranks fourth. _Tasmania_ and _South
Australia_ produce only a small amount of gold.

=New Zealand.=--In 1852, the year following the rich discoveries in
Australia, gold dust and gold enclosed in quartz were found in New
Zealand, about 40 miles from Auckland, but this discovery proved to be
of little importance. Ten years later the rich placers of Gabriel’s
Gully were discovered, a discovery which attracted a rush from the
Australian fields. The gold fields of New Zealand may be divided
into three well-defined and well-separated areas: the Huaraki gold
field, which contains valuable vein deposits but no placers; the West
Coast area, in which the vein and alluvial occurrences are of equal
importance; and the Otago area, in which the auriferous alluvial
gravels are important and the few known quartz veins have little
economic value.

Some gold is produced in other parts of Australasia, notably in the
_British_ and _Dutch East Indies_, and in _British New Guinea_.
Deposits of little importance are reported in _New Caledonia_, the
_Fiji Islands_, and in the former _German New Guinea_.

PROBABLE CHANGES IN KNOWN GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION IN THE NEAR FUTURE

Specific predictions regarding changes in the geographical distribution
of the sources of the world’s gold seem valueless. During the last
few years the gold production of the principal fields has decreased.
Aside from any decline due to the war and the attending scarcity of
labor and high mining costs, it seems probable that the gold output
of the world has reached its zenith and that further decline is to be
expected unless new ore bodies are added to known reserves or unless
some revolutionary method of extracting gold from the low-grade ores is
discovered.

Although the leading fields, South Africa, the United States,
and Australia, seem to have reached or passed their period of
greatest output, there are a number of fields in unsettled and
unexplored regions of the world which may be expected to show
increased production. The possibilities of Siberia have already been
mentioned, and it is the opinion of many engineers that this region
will eventually rival South Africa. South America has produced an
enormous quantity of gold, chiefly alluvial, and is expected to yield
an increased output in the future. The future of South Africa is
problematical.

During the last half century the greatly increased gold production has
been due largely to the exploitation of the low-grade properties, this
being made possible by improvements in mining and metallurgy. It seems,
however, that this development has reached a point where excessive
labor costs prevent the use of ores of a still lower grade.

In general, therefore, the gold output of the world may be expected
to remain static or to decline, at least until the level of prices is
so changed that it is considered profitable to expend capital in the
prospecting and developing of regions hitherto unexplored.

POLITICAL CONTROL

The political control may be summarized as follows:

Percentage of
Country 1913 production
British Empire 62.9
United States 19.3
Russia and Siberia 5.8
Japan 1.8
France 1.4
Belgium 0.2
Central Power 0.55
Mexico 4.2
Other Countries 3.7

_Great Britain_ controlled politically 62.9 per cent. of the 1913
production, through state sovereignty over the Transvaal, Australia,
Rhodesia, Canada, and India. Other British possessions contributing
small amounts to the world output are British Honduras, British Guiana,
British West Africa, British New Guinea, New Zealand, British East
Indies, Egypt, and the British Isles. All gold produced in the British
Empire must be sent to England.

The _United States_ controlled politically 19.3 per cent. of the 1913
output, practically all of which came from continental United States.
The Philippine Islands and Porto Rico produced small amounts.

_Russia_ is one of the principal contributors to the world’s gold
supply, producing 5.8 per cent. of the 1913 output. Most of this 5.8
per cent. came from the mines of Siberia, and the political control
of that region is still unsettled. _Mexico_, with an output equal
to 4.2 per cent. of the world total, was the largest producer among
the neutral powers during the war. _France_ controlled 1.4 per cent.
of the world total, a third coming from the mines in France and the
remainder from the French colonies in South America and Africa. _Japan_
controlled 1.8 per cent., 1 per cent. coming from the Japanese islands
and Formosa, and the remainder from Korea. The rest of the 1913
production, amounting to about 4 per cent., was widely scattered, and
was controlled by a number of nations of South America, Europe and Asia.

It should be pointed out that although Great Britain and the United
States control politically the important producing fields of the
present, all of which seem to have reached their maximum output, the
control of the fields expected to be important producers in the future
is in different hands.

During the war, particularly during its later months, most of the
belligerent nations and some of the neutrals placed restrictions on
the exportation of gold, either as bullion or in manufactured form. In
normal times gold is allowed to flow freely between nations, as needed
to settle international trade balances.

COMMERCIAL CONTROL

The commercial control of the gold resources of the world is shown in
Table 68 and in Figure 20. In examining the table and the diagram the
reader should remember that the figures and percentages are at best
only estimates. Most gold mines are owned by companies whose shares
are bearer’s shares; these are bought and sold in the stock markets of
many financial centers. Today the control may be in the hands of one
group, tomorrow in the hands of another. Because of this ever-changing
ownership, it is difficult to determine the nationality of the
commercial control, particularly when there is any attempt to conceal
the nationality of the capital invested. Table and diagram, however,
are believed to be approximately correct. The information upon which
they are based was obtained from mining manuals, the reports of mining
companies, the reports of consular agents in the various countries, and
by personal interviews with mining engineers.

[Illustration: FIG. 20.--Political and commercial control of the gold
production of the world.]

Table 68 may be summarized as follows:

COMMERCIAL CONTROL OF GOLD RESOURCES

Percentage of
Country 1917 production
British Empire 63.0
United States 23.0
France 5.6
Russia 2.1
Japan 1.7
China 0.84
Belgium 0.5
Brazil 0.07
Germany 0.81
Mexico 0.21
Unclassified 1.9

It is interesting to note that political control and commercial control
are closely identical in the case of the British Empire and the United
States. French control is much more important commercially than
politically. In other countries, little domestic capital is available,
and political control is much greater than commercial control.

Commercial control, if different from political control, joins in a
test of strength with it in periods of emergency or unrest, with the
result that the stronger subdues the weaker. As regards governments
that are strong and stable enough, the recent war has demonstrated
that the elimination of foreign capital invested in a country is easy.
The United States and Great Britain, in particular, have taken over a
great number of companies formerly owned by German interests. Where the
government is not so strong, however, the commercial control, backed
in many instances by the more vigorous home governments from which the
invested capital comes, wins the day, and political events are thus
determined, even to the extent of overturning the weaker government.
Thus the overturning of the Boer government and the birth of British
South Africa was the result of the clash between British commercial
control and Boer political control.

The question of the control of gold stocks is discussed in the report
of the gold committee of the Department of the Interior.[175] The
control of stocks in 1916 is shown graphically in Figure 21 and is
discussed more in detail in the section following, “Position of Leading
Commercial Nations.”

[175] Report of the committee appointed by the Secretary of the
Interior to study the gold situation.

The gold mines of the _United States_ are controlled mainly by American
capital. A few of the mines are predominantly British, and shares in
other mining companies are undoubtedly held in London, but the total
production controlled by Great Britain is small. It has been estimated
that in recent years 95 per cent. of the annual output was controlled
by Americans and the remainder by British.

Over half of the gold mined in _Canada_ comes from the Province of
Ontario, chiefly from the Porcupine district. In 1917 and 1918, the
Hollinger mine, owned by the Hollinger Gold Mines, Ltd., was the main
producer. It is one of the greatest gold mines in the world, having
paid over $9,000,000 in dividends up to the end of 1918. The control of
the company is held in the United States. Another mine of importance in
the Porcupine district is the McIntyre, owned by the McIntyre Porcupine
Mines, Ltd., also American. In the Province of British Columbia, the
greatest producing camp is Rossland, operated by the Consolidated
Mining & Smelting Co., controlled by United States and Canadian
capital. It has been estimated that about two-thirds of the gold mines
of Canada are controlled by United States capital and the remaining
one-third by British capital, including Canadian.

TABLE 68.--FINANCIAL CONTROL OF THE GOLD PRODUCTION OF THE WORLD, 1917

(Percentages are only approximate)

-----------+------------+-------------------------------------
| | 1917 Production controlled
| | financially by...
| Production +-----------+------------+-----------+
| 1917 | United | United | |
Country |(in dollars)| States | Kingdom | France |
-----------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+
North | | | | |
America: | | | | |
United | | | | |
States | $83,750,700|$79,563,165| $4,187,535| ...|
Canada | 15,200,000| 10,000,000| 5,200,000| ...|
| | | | |
Mexico | 9,000,000| 2,700,000| 3,600,000| $900,000|
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
Central | | | | |
America | 3,122,000| 750,000| 750,000| ...|
| | | | |
South | | | | |
America: | | | | |
Argentina| 4,600| ...| ...| ...|
Bolivia | 115,000| ...| ...| ...|
Chile | 200,000| 200,000| ...| ...|
Brazil | 2,958,000| ...| 2,662,200| ...|
Colombia | 6,200,000| 620,000| 3,000,000| 900,000|
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
Guiana: | | | | |
British| 600,000| ...| 600,000| ...|
Dutch | 400,000| ...| 125,000| 125,000|
French | 1,500,000| ...| ...| 1,500,000|
Peru | 1,300,000| 1,300,000| ...| ...|
Other S. | | | | |
America | 1,357,000| ...| ...| ...|
| | | | |
Europe: | | | | |
Austria- | 2,179,000| | | |
Hungary | [176]| ...| ...| ...|
France | 700,000| ...| ...| 700,000|
Germany | 135,600| ...| ...| ...|
| [176]| | | |
Great | | | | |
Britain | 5,000| ...| 5,000| ...|
Italy | 2,000| ...| ...| ...|
Russia | | | | |
and | | | | |
Siberia | 18,000,000| ...| 9,000,000| ...|
| | | | |
Serbia | 328,000| ...| ...| ...|
| [176]| | | |
Sweden | 10,000| ...| ...| ...|
Turkey | [176]500| ...| ...| ...|
| | | | |
Asia: | | | | |
China | $3,600,000| ...| ...| ...|
| | | | |
Chosen | | | | |
(Korea) | 4,444,000| $2,500,000| ...| ...|
Dutch | | | | |
East | | | | |
Indies | 2,818,000| ...| $2,100,000| ...|
Federated| | | | |
Malay | | | | |
States | 342,300| ...| 342,300| ...|
French | | | | |
Indo- | | | | |
China | 50,000| ...| ...| $50,000|
Japan and| | | | |
Formosa | 5,595,200| ...| ...| ...|
India and| | | | |
British | | | | |
Indies | 10,756,800| ...| 10,756,800| ...|
Australa-| | | | |
sia | 35,945,500| ...| 35,945,500| ...|
| | | | |
Africa: | | | | |
Belgian | | | | |
Congo | 2,000,000| 500,000| ...| ...|
Egypt and| | | | |
Sudan | 150,000| ...| 150,000| ...|
German | | | | |
East | 253,200| | | |
Africa | [176]| ...| ...| ...|
Madagas- | | | | |
car | 1,000,000| ...| ...| 1,000,000|
Rhodesia | 14,988,600| ...| 14,988,600| ...|
Transvaal| 186,254,256| ...| 167,629,256| 18,625,000|
| | | | |
West | | | | |
Africa | | | | |
(British)| 7,435,488| ...| 7,435,488| ...|
| | | | |
Undis- | | | | |
tributed | 2,785,656| ...| ...| ...|
-----------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+
Total | | | | |
(1917) |$422,590,100|$98,133,165|$268,477,679|$23,800,000|
Total (in- | | | | |
cluding | | | | |
1913 | | | | |
figures) |$425,486,400| | | |
-----------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+
Per cent. | | | | |
of world | | | | |
production | 100 | 23 | 63 | 5.6 |
-----------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+

----------------------------------------------------------------
1917 Production controlled
financially by...
+----------+----------+----------+----------+--------+
| | | | | |
Country | Belgium | Japan | China | Russia | Brazil |
-----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+--------+
North | | | | | |
America: | | | | | |
United | | | | | |
States | ...| ...| ...| ...| ...|
Canada | ...| ...| ...| ...| ...|
| | | | | |
Mexico | ...| ...| ...| ...| ...|
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
Central | | | | | |
America | ...| ...| ...| ...| ...|
| | | | | |
South | | | | | |
America: | | | | | |
Argentina| ...| ...| ...| ...| ...|
Bolivia | ...| ...| ...| ...| ...|
Chile | ...| ...| ...| ...| ...|
Brazil | ...| ...| ...| ...|$295,800|
Colombia | $620,000| ...| ...| ...| ...|
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
Guiana: | | | | | |
British| ...| ...| ...| ...| ...|
Dutch | ...| ...| ...| ...| ...|
French | ...| ...| ...| ...| ...|
Peru | ...| ...| ...| ...| ...|
Other S. | | | | | |
America | ...| ...| ...| ...| ...|
| | | | | |
Europe: | | | | | |
Austria- | | | | | |
Hungary | ...| ...| ...| ...| ...|
France | ...| ...| ...| ...| ...|
Germany | ...| ...| ...| ...| ...|
| | | | | |
Great | | | | | |
Britain | ...| ...| ...| ...| ...|
Italy | ...| ...| ...| ...| ...|
Russia | | | | | |
and | | | | | |
Siberia | ...| ...| ...|$9,000,000| ...|
| | | | | |
Serbia | ...| ...| ...| ...| ...|
| | | | | |
Sweden | ...| ...| ...| ...| ...|
Turkey | ...| ...| ...| ...| ...|
| | | | | |
Asia: | | | | | |
China | ...| ...|$3,600,000| ...| ...|
| | | | | |
Chosen | | | | | |
(Korea) | ...|$1,944,000| ...| ...| ...|
Dutch | | | | | |
East | | | | | |
Indies | ...| ...| ...| ...| ...|
Federated| | | | | |
Malay | | | | | |
States | ...| ...| ...| ...| ...|
French | | | | | |
Indo- | | | | | |
China | ...| ...| ...| ...| ...|
Japan and| | | | | |
Formosa | ...| 5,595,200| ...| ...| ...|
India and| | | | | |
British | | | | | |
Indies | ...| ...| ...| ...| ...|
Australa-| | | | | |
sia | ...| ...| ...| ...| ...|
| | | | | |
Africa: | | | | | |
Belgian | | | | | |
Congo | 1,500,000| ...| ...| ...| ...|
Egypt and| | | | | |
Sudan | ...| ...| ...| ...| ...|
German | | | | | |
East | | | | | |
Africa | ...| ...| ...| ...| ...|
Madagas- | | | | | |
car | ...| ...| ...| ...| ...|
Rhodesia | ...| ...| ...| ...| ...|
Transvaal| ...| ...| ...| ...| ...|
| | | | |
West | | | | | |
Africa | | | | | |
(British)| ...| ...| ...| ...| ...|
| | | | | |
Undis- | | | | | |
tributed | ...| ...| ...| ...| ...|
-----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+--------+
Total | | | | | |
(1917) |$2,120,000|$7,539,200|$3,600,000|$9,000,000|$295,800|
Total (in- | | | | | |
cluding | | | | | |
1913 | | | | | |
figures) | | | | | |
-----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+--------+
Per cent. | | | | | |
of world | | | | | |
production | 0.5 | 1.7 | 0.84 | 2.1 | 0.07 |
-----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+--------+

-------------------------------------------------------+
1917 Production controlled |
financially by... |
+------------+----------+---------+---------+
| | | | Un- |
Country |Total Allies| Germany | Mexico |classified|
-----------+------------+----------+--------+----------+
North | | | | |
America: | | | | |
United | | | | |
States | $83,750,700| ...| ...| ...|
Canada | 15,200,000| ...| ...| ...|
| | | | |
Mexico | 7,200,000| $900,000|$900,000| ...|
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
Central | | | | |
America | 1,500,000| ...| ...|$1,622,000|
| | | | |
South | | | | |
America: | | | | |
Argentina| ...| ...| ...| 4,600|
Bolivia | ...| ...| ...| 115,000|
Chile | 200,000| ...| ...| ...|
Brazil | 2,958,000| ...| ...| ...|
Colombia | 5,140,000| ...| ...| 1,060,000|
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
Guiana: | | | | |
British| 600,000| ...| ...| ...|
Dutch | 250,000| ...| ...| 150,000|
French | 1,500,000| ...| ...| ...|
Peru | 1,300,000| ...| ...| ...|
Other S. | | | | |
America | ...| ...| ...| 1,357,000|
| | | | |
Europe: | | | | |
Austria- | | 2,179,000| | |
Hungary | ...| [176]| ...| ...|
France | 700,000| ...| ...| ...|
Germany | ...| 135,600| ...| ...|
| | [176]| | |
Great | | | | |
Britain | 5,000| ...| ...| ...|
Italy | ...| ...| ...| 2,000|
Russia | | | | |
and | | | | |
Siberia | 18,000,000| ...| ...| ...|
| | | | |
Serbia | ...| ...| ...| 328,000|
| | | | [176]|
Sweden | ...| ...| ...| 10,000|
Turkey | ...| ...| ...| [176]500|
| | | | |
Asia: | | | | |
China | $3,600,000| ...| ...| ...|
| | | | |
Chosen | | | | |
(Korea) | 4,444,000| ...| ...| ...|
Dutch | | | | |
East | | | | |
Indies | 2,100,000| ...| ...| $718,000|
Federated| | | | |
Malay | | | | |
States | 342,300| ...| ...| ...|
French | | | | |
Indo- | | | | |
China | 50,000| ...| ...| ...|
Japan and| | | | |
Formosa | 5,595,200| ...| ...| ...|
India and| | | | |
British | | | | |
Indies | 10,756,800| ...| ...| ...|
Australa-| | | | |
sia | 35,945,500| ...| ...| ...|
| | | | |
Africa: | | | | |
Belgian | | | | |
Congo | 2,000,000| ...| ...| ...|
Egypt and| | | | |
Sudan | 150,000| ...| ...| ...|
German | | | | |
East | | 253,200| | |
Africa | | [176]| ...| ...|
Madagas- | | | | |
car | 1,000,000| ...| ...| ...|
Rhodesia | 14,988,600| ...| ...| ...|
Transvaal| 186,254,256| ...| ...| ...|
| | | | |
West | | | | |
Africa | | | | |
(British)| 7,435,488| ...| ...| ...|
| | | | |
Undis- | | | | |
tributed | ...| ...| ...| 2,785,656|
-----------+------------+----------+--------+----------+
Total | | | | |
(1917) |$412,965,844|$3,467,800|$900,000|$8,152,756|
Total (in- | | | | |
cluding | | | | |
1913 | | | | |
figures) | | | | |
-----------+------------+----------+--------+----------+
Per cent. | | | | |
of world | | | | |
production | 96.81 | 0.81 | 0.21 | 1.9 |
-----------+------------+----------+--------+----------+

[176] Production in 1913. Later figures not available.

The gold mines of _Mexico_ are owned by British, American and French
capital in the order named. The principal mining companies of the El
Oro district, the leading gold district of the republic, are El Oro
Mining & Railway Co., Ltd., Esperanza, Ltd., and the Dos Estrellas
Mining Co. British capital controls El Oro Mining & Railway Co., Ltd.,
and 51 per cent. of the shares of Esperanza, Ltd., the remaining 49 per
cent. being controlled by Americans. The French have been acquiring
control of mining properties in El Oro district in recent years. They
now own Dos Estrellas Mining Co., and the Mexico Mines of El Oro, Ltd.
Both companies were previously controlled in London. The Dolores mine,
in the western part of the State of Chihuahua, one of the famous gold
mines of Mexico, is owned by the Mines Company of America, an American
corporation.

[Illustration: FIG. 21.--Stocks of gold in banks, public treasuries and
in circulation in principal countries of the world in 1916.]

In the State of Durango, the gold mines, most of which also produce
silver, are owned by the American Smelting & Refining Co. (American),
the Bacis Gold & Silver Mines Co. (British), and the Inde Gold
Mining Co. (American). Most of the gold-silver mines of the State
of Guanajuato have been developed by American capital. The State of
Sinaloa is becoming a gold-producing region; the Palmarito mines of
the Mocorito district and the Minas de Tajo at Rosario are owned by
American interests. Gold is found in the copper ores of Sonora. Most
of the mines of the district are controlled by Americans.

The mines of Chihuahua, Hidalgo, and Zacatecas are primarily silver
mines but their ores carry some gold. In Chihuahua, American capital is
probably predominant, with British ranking second. During recent years,
German interests, through the American Metal Co. and its subsidiaries,
have been acquiring control of properties in Chihuahua and in other
parts of Mexico. German capital is also invested in Zacatecas, the main
company being controlled by A. Goerz & Co., Ltd. The mines of the State
of Hidalgo, the leading silver-producing district of Mexico, are owned
by American, British and Mexican capital.

The gold mines of _Central America_[177] are of some importance at
present, and production may increase somewhat in the future. The mines
are owned for the most part by American and British capital, in the
order named. Subsidiaries of the United Fruit Co., and the Tonopah
Mining Co., both American, operate properties in Costa Rica and
Nicaragua.

[177] “Investments in Latin America and the British West Indies,”
Special Agent Series No. 169, Bureau of Foreign and Domestic
Commerce, U. S. Department of Commerce, 1918.

In _Colombia_, the leading gold-producing country of South America,
most of the large companies are British, the most important being the
Pato Mines, the Nechi Mines, and the Frontino and Bolivia Mines. A
Belgian company, the Platinum & Gold Concessions of Colombia, Ltd., and
a French company, the San Antonio Gold Mines Co., Ltd., have recently
acquired gold-mining concessions. American capital is also invested in
the industry.

The two most important mining companies of _Brazil_, the St. John del
Rey Mining Co., Ltd., and the Ouro Preto Gold Mines of Brazil, Ltd.,
are under British management. Some French capital is interested in the
latter property. Most of the mines of _French Guiana_ are controlled by
French companies. In the remaining South American countries gold mining
is of comparatively little importance. Production is controlled largely
by British and American capital.

The foreign capital invested in the mines of _Siberia_ and _Russia_ is
mainly British, though Germany is known to have been much interested
in the industry. Some Russian capital, especially that furnished by
the large Russian banks, was invested in Siberian mining properties.
The mining laws of the old Russian Empire provided that mineral
properties could be held both by foreign and Russian companies under
concessions or leases granted by the crown or under leases from Russian
estates. In many cases foreign capitalists formed holding companies to
acquire a controlling interest in a Russian company in whose name the
property was held and operated. Most of these holding companies had
their main offices in London and most of the directors were British
citizens. Control was apparently British. The shares of the companies
were bearers’ shares, however, and were traded in extensively on the
Petrograd exchange.

The most important gold-mining district of Siberia is in the Province
of Irkutsk, on the Lena River. A Russian company, the Lenskoie Gold
Industrial Co., has been operating the principal properties of this
district since 1863. The directors of the company are Russian Jews.
A British company, the Lena Goldfields, Ltd., held 70 per cent. of
the shares of the Lenskoie Co., but in 1917 completed the sale of
51,000 shares of stock to a Petrograd group including the Imperial
Foreign Corporation, Ltd., and the Russian and English Bank. The Lena
Goldfields, Ltd., now owns less than 10 per cent. of the Lenskoie stock.

A pyrite-copper mine yielding enough gold as a by-product to make the
profit is located in the government of Perm, southern district of the
Ural Mountains, and is owned by the Kyshtim Mining Works, a Russian
company controlled by the Kyshtim Corporation, Ltd., of London. The
company holds a large concession, including forests, farms, and mineral
land. The control of the Kyshtim Corporation is apparently British.

The Tanalyk Corporation is controlled by practically the same interests
as those controlling the Kyshtim Corporation and was organized to
acquire entire control of the South Urals Mining & Smelting Co. The
property of the company, situated in the County of Orsk, Orenburg
government, southern Urals, is only a prospect and has not been fully
developed. It includes a total area of 28,350 acres of timber and
mineral land. The ore contains copper, gold, and silver, the copper
content being the most valuable. During 1917, the shares held in
the Kyshtim Mining Works and the South Urals Mining & Smelting Co.
were vested in the Canadian Development Corporation, Ltd., a company
registered in Canada, probably for the purpose of escaping the high
British income taxes. The transfer involved no change of control, as
the two British holding companies, the Kyshtim Corporation and the
Tanalyk Corporation, Ltd., control the Canadian company.

The Kolchan placer property, in the Okhotsk mining province of Eastern
Siberia, has been leased, for a royalty based on the gross output
of gold, by the Orsk Goldfields, Ltd., a British company, from the
Russo-Asiatic Bank. The Orsk Goldfields, Ltd., originally controlled a
gold-mining property in the Province of Orenburg, southern Urals, but
abandoned the lease and option.

A great deal of gold is produced in Siberia as a by-product of copper,
lead, and zinc mines. The control of these mines is much the same
as the control of the above-mentioned gold properties--British with
Russian shareholders, chiefly representative of Russian banks.

Japanese control is being expanded, especially in eastern Siberia.
It was reported in the Japanese press, in November, 1918, that the
Japanese special financial mission was planning the establishment of
a Japan-Russian partnership enterprise similar to the Japan-China
Industrial Association for the purpose of obtaining from the Russian
authorities rights in the Siberian mining and forest areas and of
exploiting the natural resources of Siberia. It was proposed that
among the investors in the partnership should be included Russian
capitalists, the South Manchurian Railway, the East Asia Development
Co., the Japan-China Mercantile Association, and capitalists of the
Entente countries.

Practically all of the output of _India_ comes from the mines of the
Kolar reef of Mysore. There are six large producing companies, as
follows: Champion Reefs Mining Co., of India, Ltd.; Gold Fields of
Mysore and General Exploration, Ltd.; Mysore Gold Mining Co., Ltd.;
Nundydroog Co., Ltd.; Balaghat Gold Mining Co., Ltd.; and Ooregum Gold
Mining Co. of India, Ltd. The companies are all British and are owned
by closely connected interests. Other operating companies in India are
the Hutti (Nizam’s) Gold Mines, Ltd., of Hyderabad, southern India; and
the Northern Anantapur Gold Mines, Ltd., and Jibutil (Anantapur) Gold
Mines, Ltd., Madras Presidency, all being British companies.

In _Japan_ the state reserves to itself the right of original
ownership in all ores, and grants to individuals or companies the
right to work the deposits. Under the law of 1890, a foreigner was
disqualified from working a mine and was not permitted to become a
member of a mining establishment, so that the right of working mines
was exclusively reserved for Japanese subjects. By an amendment of
the mining regulations in 1900, business establishments organized by
Japanese or foreigners or by both are now permitted to work mines,
provided such establishments are placed under Japanese laws. A bill was
recently introduced into the Japanese Parliament proposing to grant the
privilege of mining and property rights to foreigners. Japanese capital
has almost complete control of the gold mines of the empire.

The principal gold mines are owned by the following companies:
Tanak Chobei (Formosa), Mitsubishi & Co. (Sado), Shimadzu Tadashige
(Satsuma), Fujita & Co. (Rikuchu and Formosa), Kimura Kintaro
(Formosa), and Ushio Gold Mine Co. (Satsuma).

The most valuable of the mineral concessions of _Chosen_ (Korea),
including gold, are in the hands of foreign companies, the majority
of which are American. The Oriental Consolidated Mining Co., an
American company, controls the Unsan mines in North Pyong-an Province,
northwestern Korea, the most important gold-producing property of the
country. The concession includes 600 square miles on the Anju River and
has about 21 years to run, with the option of renewal for 15 years.
The operating company pays $15,000 annually to the Korean government.
Ore reserves were estimated on July 1, 1916, at 852,000 tons, valued at
$4,823,000.

The Chiksan mines, in South Choonchong Province, are also managed by
American capital. The Suan mines, in Whanghai Province, were originally
controlled by a British company but have been leased to an American
company. An Italian company owns mines in North Pyong-an Province, and
a British company is operating in North Choonchong Province. A German
company owned mines, not in full working order, in North Pyong-an
Province, but the properties have doubtless been seized by the Japanese
government. Japanese and Korean miners own and operate the smaller
mines of the country, the output of which has decreased greatly during
recent years.

Although the gold output of _China_ in 1917 amounted to $3,600,000,
the deposits are small and widely scattered and are owned and operated
almost exclusively by the native miners. Some of the larger mines have
been financed by the governments of the provinces. In some provinces
the owners of mining property are not permitted to seek investments
of foreign capital unless they are unable to finance the property
within the province. Prospecting has been carried on in many parts
of the country in recent years, but no deposits have been discovered
sufficiently promising to attract foreign investors. In view of their
activity in developing the other natural resources of China, it is
probable that the Japanese will attempt to control the industry should
any important deposits be discovered.

In the _Transvaal_ all minerals belong to the government and not to the
owners of the surface of the land. When gold, or any other mineral, is
discovered, a part of the territory (less than half) is reserved for
the owner of the land, another part for the discoverer of the mineral,
and the remainder is open to location. At present the ownership of
mineral lands is being retained by the government. The right to exploit
the mineral wealth is granted on a lease to the highest bidder, the
bids being based upon a percentage of profits, graded according to
working costs and grade of ore. A tax of 10 per cent. on profits,
allowing for amortization of capital, is levied on all gold-mining
properties.

Before the war, practically all the gold mines of the Witwatersrand
were controlled by British and German capital. The first American
company entered the field in 1917 and some French capital has also
been invested. The German position was strong, as the German companies
controlled half, and perhaps more, of the capital invested in gold
mines. The report of the South African Custodian of Enemy Property
issued early in 1918 showed that no less than 26,000 enemy shareholders
in gold, coal, and other mining concerns in the Union owned stock to
the aggregate nominal value of $37,500,000. As gold is by far the most
important mineral of the Transvaal, it is probable that the greater
part of this German capital was invested in gold mines. The enemy firms
were wound up or went into voluntary liquidation, and enemy shares in
mining corporations to the face value of $24,000,000 were taken charge
of by the Custodian of Enemy Property.[178]

[178] “Engineering and Mining Journal,” May 11, 1918, p. 888.

The control of the gold mines of the Transvaal is centered in the
following six companies: Central Mining & Investment Corporation,
the Consolidated Mines Selection Co., Johannesburg Consolidated
Investment Co., the Consolidated Goldfields of South Africa, the Union
Corporation (formerly Ed Goerz & Co.), and the General Mining & Finance
Corporation. The last two companies were absolutely German before the
war. The Central Mining & Investment Corporation controls probably 50
per cent. of the output of the district. American capital is interested
in the Consolidated Mines Selection Co. Another American company, the
Anglo-American Corporation of South Africa, Ltd., was registered at
Pretoria on September 25, 1917, with an issued capital of £1,000,000.
The immediate object of the corporation is to participate in tendering
for leases of certain Far East Rand gold-mining areas.[179]

[179] U. S. Commerce Reports, December 15, 1917, p. 1033.

It has been reported that French capital controls about 10 per cent. of
the annual output. For many years the majority of the mining engineers
in the Transvaal were Americans.

The Germans had not only acquired a considerable control through the
investment of capital in mining properties, but they also exercised
control through their trade in mine supplies. Orenstein-Arthur
Koppel Co. had established an important trade in rails, mine trucks,
and similar supplies, and continued to do business even after the
beginning of the war. Soon after the sinking of the Lusitania, a mob
destroyed the offices of the company in Johannesburg and burned a stock
of much-needed supplies. At the outbreak of the war it was feared
that there might be serious obstacles in the way of the gold-mining
industry continuing a normal course, because of the possible difficulty
in obtaining enough of the cyanide, mercury, and zinc used in gold
extraction, much of which had been previously supplied by Germany. The
necessary materials were obtained from other sources, however.

_Rhodesia_ is controlled by the British South African Co., organized
by Cecil John Rhodes, for whom the colony was named. The company is
entirely British; it is the government, levies the taxes, administers
the laws, and controls the mining industry. Companies and individuals
are permitted to locate mining claims much the same as they are in
California. The Goldfields Rhodesian Development Co., which has
large Rhodesian mining interests, is an offshoot of the Consolidated
Goldfields of South Africa. It is safe to say that the gold mines
of Rhodesia are owned and worked entirely by British capital. A
percentage tax is levied on the output of the gold mines.

In _Australia_, before the war, much the same conditions existed as in
South Africa. The large gold-mining companies were seemingly British;
their headquarters were either in Australia or in London and their
directors and managers were British. It is certain, however, that a
considerable amount of German capital was invested in the companies.
Among the important producing companies are the Associated Gold Mines
of Western Australia, Great Boulder Proprietary Mines, Ltd., Golden
Horseshoe Estates Co., Ltd., Ivanhoe Gold Corporation, Ltd., all of
Western Australia; the Mount Morgan Gold Mining Co., of Queensland; the
Mount Boppy Gold Mining Co., and the Mount Lyell Mining & Railway Co.,
Ltd., of Tasmania.

Through the vigorous action of the Australian prime minister, William
M. Hughes, German capital was expelled early in the war from all
the industries of the commonwealth, including gold, lead, and zinc
mines, smelters and refineries, and buying organizations. In January,
1916, to safeguard the financial position of the commonwealth, the
prime minister issued decrees providing that no new flotations of
companies or increases in the capital of existing companies would be
allowed without the consent of the treasurer of the commonwealth;
that companies incorporated in Australia would have three months to
discontinue the holding of their shares by persons of enemy nationality
or origin, whether naturalized or not; and that in the future no
transfers of shares to persons of enemy nationality or origin would be
permitted.[180]

[180] U. S. Commerce Reports, February 21, 1916, p. 733.

The remaining countries of the world are of little importance as gold
producers; hence a discussion of the commercial control of their
mines would be of little value. In most of them the mining properties
are owned and operated by domestic capital, the former Empire of
Austria-Hungary being one exception to this general statement. Prior to
the war, British capital controlled gold mines in Transylvania.

The ownership of smelters and reduction plants has little influence
upon the commercial control of the gold industry. Most of the large
gold-mining companies have their own refineries at the mines, and
smelter control is therefore identical with mine control. Some gold is
produced as a by-product in the smelting of lead, silver, and copper,
particularly in the United States, where the smelters are controlled
almost entirely by American capital. Further discussion of the
commercial control of smelters and refineries will be found in Chapters
XIV, XV, and XXX.

The control of secret processes and patents is of less importance in
the commercial control of the gold-mining industry than that of any
other mineral. The industry is peculiar in that the price of gold is
always fixed and there is no competition for a market. Control of
an improved method of extracting or refining gold might enable one
company to reduce mining and refining costs and thus insure a larger
profit, but giving the improved process to a second company would not
necessarily reduce the profits of the company that had discovered it.

POSITION OF LEADING COMMERCIAL NATIONS

The _United States_ controlled politically through state sovereignty
19.3 per cent. of the gold production in 1913, ranking next to Great
Britain. Commercial control was somewhat greater, amounting to
approximately 23 per cent. of the 1917 production. The mines of the
United States are owned almost exclusively by Americans, and American
capital is invested in many foreign fields. Over half, perhaps as
much as two-thirds, of the mines of Canada are owned by United States
corporations. The largest of the Korean companies are owned or managed
by American capital. Two American companies were established recently
in the Transvaal. Probably 30 to 40 per cent. of the gold produced in
Mexico in normal times comes from the United States owned mines. The
production of Central and South America, although at present relatively
unimportant, is largely controlled by Americans.

Although outranked in production by Great Britain, the United States
controls by far the largest stocks of gold coin and bullion of any
nation. In 1916 there was in the banks, the national treasuries, and in
circulation in the United States $2,299,454,000, or almost twice the
amount possessed by any other nation. In 1918 this amount had increased
to $3,050,000,000. The monetary reserve probably exceeds the total
gold output of the United States since the recording of statistics of
production began.

In view of the fact that the national debt of the United States is
low as compared with the debts of the other principal nations, the
financial system of this country is on a relatively sound basis. When
the time comes to redeem the outstanding bonds and other forms of
indebtedness that have accrued during the war, the United States will
undoubtedly be in a more favorable position than any of the other
belligerents.

The stocks of gold in the chief gold-producing countries in 1916 are
shown diagrammatically in Figure 21.

_Great Britain_ is the leading gold-producing nation of the world.
The British Empire controlled politically 62.9 per cent. of the 1913
production, and British commercial control approximated 63 per cent.
An insignificant amount of gold is produced in the British Isles, but
the empire includes such important gold producers as South Africa,
Australia, Rhodesia, India, and Canada. British capital also controls
gold mines in Siberia, in Mexico, in South America, and in the United
States.

Despite the large political and commercial control exercised by the
British, the gold stocks of the British Empire have been much smaller
than those of the United States and in 1916 were surpassed by those of
France.

The lands under French control produce little gold, the output in 1913
being only 1.4 per cent. of the world’s total production. Less than
0.5 per cent. came from _France_ itself and the remainder was obtained
from French Guiana and Madagascar. French capital has not stopped at
national boundaries, however, and has been invested in many of the
principal fields, as is shown by the fact that commercial control
amounted to 5.6 per cent. of the 1917 production. In Mexico at least
10 per cent. of the capital controlling gold mines is French, and
the amount is steadily increasing. In South America--particularly in
Colombia, and Dutch and French Guiana--some of the large companies are
French, but most of the gold controlled commercially by the French
comes from the Transvaal. It has been estimated that French interests
control about 10 per cent. of the production of South Africa since
German control has been eliminated. The gold reserve of France was
large before the war and ranked second to that of the United States in
1916. It is now (1920) reduced to very small proportions.

Although _Russia_, with Siberia, is one of the most promising potential
sources of the future gold supply and produced 5.8 per cent. of the
total in 1913, Russian capital seemingly controls only a small part
of the gold production of the world. The British are most active in
Siberia, and French interests are known to have acquired property
there. So far as is known, Russian capitalists control no gold deposits
in foreign countries. In 1916 the gold reserve in Russian banks,
treasuries, and in circulation amounted to $1,058,000,000, but it is
not known what has become of this stock since the Bolshevists have been
in control. At present the total is probably much smaller.

_Japan_ controls only a small part of the gold output of the world,
either politically or commercially. Some gold is obtained from Japan
and Formosa, all of which is probably under Japanese financial control.
The output of Korea, claimed by the Japanese as a part of their empire
since 1910 and at present attempting to secure its independence, is
controlled by Americans and other nationalities. The smaller mines
are owned by Japanese, but the larger concessions were granted to
foreigners by the old Korean government prior to 1910. Gold stocks of
Japan were estimated at $143,128,000 in 1916. By December 26, 1918,
they had increased to $225,820,000. In addition Japanese had on deposit
in London, New York, and Paris a total of about $550,000,000.

The gold production controlled, either politically or commercially, by
_Germany_ and the countries of the former empire of _Austria-Hungary_
is relatively insignificant, amounting in both cases to less than 1 per
cent. Germany has produced annually in its European territory a little
over $100,000, and its only colony yielding an appreciable amount was
German East Africa, lost during the war. The mines of Austria-Hungary
have been important in the past, but they are now very old and in 1913
produced only 0.5 per cent. of the world’s total production. It is
understood that one of the largest operating companies in Transylvania
before the war was British.

SUMMARY

The principal and most essential uses of gold are as a measure of value
and a medium of exchange. Gold is also used in dentistry, and in the
arts for jewelry, gilding, and other forms of ornamentation. In an
emergency other materials can be substituted for the latter uses, but
any considerable substitution for the principal uses would involve
radical changes in our monetary and financial system.

Gold is found in rocks of all geological ages from Archean to
Quaternary, and also in minute quantities in ocean water. Only the more
concentrated deposits can be worked profitably. It is believed that
the production from the present main deposits has reached its zenith,
but further important discoveries will probably be made in the Arctic
regions, in the tropics, or in other regions hitherto unexplored by
man. Siberia, South America, and perhaps China are the most promising
regions, as the more settled lands have been already thoroughly
prospected.

Gold is widely distributed geographically. It is found in all parts
of the world and commercially important mines are worked in every
continent. Over 75 per cent. of the total annual output of the world
comes from four countries, the Transvaal, the United States, Australia,
and Russia. Other important producers are Rhodesia, Mexico, Canada,
India, West Africa, and New Zealand. Little gold is produced in Europe
or in South America. The deposits of the former continent, at one
time important, are becoming exhausted. With improved transportation
facilities and with further exploration work, the production of South
America is expected to increase materially.

Great Britain controls politically over 60 per cent. of the annual gold
production of the world, through state sovereignty over South Africa,
Australasia, Rhodesia, Canada, and India. The United States ranks
second, controlling about 20 per cent. Russia controls about 6 per
cent. and Mexico 4 per cent. The remaining 10 per cent. is controlled
by many countries, among them being Japan, France, Belgium, and the
Central Powers.

The extent of British political and commercial control is almost
identical, British interests controlling over 60 per cent. of the
production and owning in addition to the mines in the empire, property
in Siberia, South and Central America, Mexico, and the United States.
United States interests control financially about 23 per cent. of the
world’s production. The Korean deposits are predominantly American
owned. United States capital is also invested in Canada, Mexico,
Central and South America, and recently in the Transvaal. Although the
gold controlled politically by France is of little importance, French
interests control commercially about 5.6 per cent. of the total annual
production, owning mines in the Transvaal, in Mexico, and in Central
and South America.

Before the war, German interests had extensive holdings in South Africa
and Australia.

CHAPTER XXX

SILVER

BY F. W. PAINE

USES OF SILVER

The chief and essential use of silver is as money. This form of
consumption takes place mainly in India and China, where silver serves
as a basis for the settlement of foreign exchange balances. In China,
silver is the money standard of the country. In India a gold standard
is used, but from time immemorial the natives have hoarded silver and
invested their savings in silver coins and ornaments rather than making
use of banks, bonds or other securities. Silver is used for subsidiary
coinage in all countries, but such coins in Europe and the United
States can normally be replaced to a considerable extent by paper, as
they circulate at more than their intrinsic value. In Mexico, Peru, and
other silver-producing countries silver money is extensively used.

A large amount of silver is used in the arts. To a small degree such
consumption is for photographic or chemical work but mainly for the
production of jewelry and luxurious household wares. The use of silver
jewelry in India is intimately related to silver hoards, the bank
balance of the natives. Such hoards are now mainly coin, however,
because coin has become of more stable value than ornaments since India
adopted the gold standard. Before 1914 it was estimated by the Director
of the United States Mint that two-thirds of the new silver annually
produced went into the arts. In 1912, however, coinage absorbed over
half of the 224,310,000 ounces produced by the world. During the war
the payment by the Allies for goods purchased in the Orient diverted
enormous stores of silver to India and China. In Europe greater amounts
of silver coin were needed under war conditions. Moreover, the large
issues of paper money make corresponding increases in the number of
silver coins desirable. In 1915 only 20 per cent. of the world’s silver
was used in the arts; in 1916, 15 per cent. was so used, the balance
being coined.

The importance of silver for essential uses during the war is best
indicated by the fact that old dead stocks of silver coin, United
States dollars in the Treasury, Manila dollars, etc., had to be called
into service. A stage not reached was the melting down of silver plate
and ornaments. This stage was reached in Germany in the case of gold
and probably of silver, just as the United States had begun to adopt
such a program to obtain platinum. During 1916 our exports of silver
exceeded $210,000,000, surpassing by $58,000,000 the total copper
exports for the same period.

As long as the centuries-old customs of India and China fail to change,
silver must be considered as ranking with gold as an essential money
metal of intranational and international trade.

The large use of silver in the arts, in the period 1900 to 1914, a use
naturally considered as entirely a luxury, leads to emphasis upon the
non-essential character of silver consumption as a whole. When the
European war broke out, prices for silver, in common with most metals
and other commodities, declined. But silver did not increase in price a
few months later, as did base metals. It was not until the end of 1915
that silver sold as high as before the war, and during the early part
of the war it sold so low that producers felt discouraged and regarded
silver as, in the main, an article of luxury.

On the other side is the fact that coinage of silver in Europe
increased tremendously in 1914 and 1915, although it did not seem to
offset fully the curtailment in manufacture of silverware and jewelry.
This need for coinage continued during the war at an accelerated rate,
just as did the demands for munitions and men. The “silver bullet” was
important in Europe, but still more essential in bringing supplies
from the Far East to the battle fronts. This fact is confirmed by the
advance in the price of silver to substantially twice the pre-war
quotation, and had a price not then been fixed the advance would
probably have been greater. The normal annual silver production of
the world is around 159,000,000 ounces, whereas the actual demand for
silver during 1918 exceeded 500,000,000 ounces.

All silver used in the arts by no means represents consumption in
luxuries. Silver enters the essential chemical and photographic
industries to a considerable degree. At least one-third of the silver
consumed in the arts before the war represented jewelry used in India,
and this use is much more a form of investment by the natives than it
is in Europe and the United States.

The United States Treasury Department has been much concerned over the
declining output of gold. Priorities during the war were granted to the
gold industry to place it in the position of a preferred war industry.
Silver cannot be considered as being in a different position, although
silver producers received priorities more as producers of base metals
and gold than of silver alone.

The credit and finance of the world is greatly helped by maximum gold
production, but of little less importance is a large supply of silver,
for although gold has become the general standard of money, silver is
still, as throughout man’s history, one of the two precious or money
metals. It is at least a crutch to aid gold.

In many parts of the world silver ranks equal with or as more important
than gold for a money standard. Elsewhere, in countries where paper
currency is freely accepted by sellers, it is not an essential money
metal, _e.g._, in the United States. However, silver with gold helps to
support the credit and standing of paper money in Europe today, and in
countries with less elaborate financial systems it directly replaces
and so conserves gold.

Silver then is considered to be an essential metal of the world’s
finance, trade, and industry. It belongs with the group of vital
mineral raw materials and can not be classed with diamonds or other
non-essential mineral products.

The unlimited mining and production of silver cannot be considered as
an end in itself, as Spain found out in the days of the conquerors. But
the present silver production is not in excess of the real needs. In
fact there may be expected to be a great shortage of capital because of
the great destructive effects of the world war. Silver production adds
to the stock of money, increases confidence in financial conditions
and furnishes, with and subsidiary to gold, a basis for credit. In the
immediate future a maximum silver production may be of as great or
greater importance to the world than ever before.

GEOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION

About one-half of the silver output of the world is obtained as a
by-product in the winning of other metals, notably lead and copper.
Such production comes from deposits of all geologic ages. The silver
obtained from high-grade silver ores associated with minor amounts of
gold or base metals is now derived chiefly from Tertiary deposits.
Pre-Cambrian deposits are of some importance, _e.g._ Cobalt, Ontario;
but the Tertiary is the great source of silver ores.

The Mexican mines, which are by far the most important as producers of
silver ores, are associated with Tertiary volcanic rocks. A similar
association occurs to the south, in Central America, Peru, and Bolivia.
The deposits of the United States, Nevada, Colorado, Utah, and Montana,
occur under similar conditions. This is also true of the chief
worked-out deposits of recent silver-mining history--the Comstock Lode.

A great deal of silver has been mined in Europe in the past, chiefly
from rich silver deposits which are now largely exhausted. Geologic
conditions here are obscure, because the mining was completed so long
ago.

In the future, Mexico and the Rocky Mountain-Andes Cordillera will be
the chief region for the mining of rich silver ores. The pre-Cambrian
areas of Canada may continue to be of some importance.

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION

A generalized table of normal outputs is as follows:

TABLE 69.--PRESENT NORMAL OUTPUT OF SILVER

----------------------------+----------+---------------+-------------
Country |By-product|Straight silver|
| silver | deposits | Notes
----------------------------+----------+---------------+-------------
Western Hemisphere: | | |
Mexico and Central America|12,000,000| 60,000,000 |Tertiary
Peru and Bolivia |10,000,000| 5,000,000 |Tertiary
Chile | 2,000,000| ...|Miscellaneous
United States | ...| 23,000,000 |Tertiary
United States lead ores |24,000,000| ...|Miscellaneous
United States copper ores |23,000,000| ...|Miscellaneous
Canada | ... | 21,000,000 |Pre-Cambrian
Canada | 4,000,000| ...|Miscellaneous
+----------+---------------+
Total Western Hemisphere|75,000,000| 109,000,000 |
Eastern Hemisphere: | | |
Spain | ...| 4,500,000 |
Austria and Turkey | ...| 3,000,000 |
India | 5,000,000| ...|Burma
Australia |16,000,000| ...|Broken Hill
Japan | 7,000,000| ...|
Miscellaneous | 2,000,000| 1,500,000 |
+----------+---------------+
Total Eastern Hemisphere|30,000,000| 9,000,000 |
----------------------------+----------+---------------+-------------

SUMMARY

Total output, Percentage of
ounces total output
Rich silver mines 118,000,000 53
By-product silver 105,000,000 47
----------- ---
Total 223,000,000 100

Mexico, the great center for rich silver mines, is now producing less
than one-half of its normal output, due to the unsettled political
and social conditions. In 1907 the Mexican production declined to
31,000,000 ounces, a loss of over 50 per cent. Consequently in 1917 the
world’s silver output was only 170,000,000 ounces; and of this amount
more than one-half was derived as a by-product in refining other metals.

A striking feature of the distribution of silver deposits is the large
number of great producing areas in Mexico and the western United
States. An argentiferous metallographic province is thus indicated; and
is well shown in the following table:

TABLE 70.--GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF SILVER DEPOSITS, BY REGIONS

-----------------------+---------------------+-------------+----------
|Proportion from Rocky| Normal |Percentage
| Mountain-Andes | output | of world
Region | region | (ounces) | total
-----------------------+---------------------+-------------+----------
1. Rocky Mountain-Andes| | |
Region: | | |
United States |99 per cent. of total| 70,000,000 |
Mexico | All | 70,000,000 |
Central America | All | 2,000,000 |
Peru and Bolivia | All | 15,000,000 |
Chile | All | 2,000,000 |
Canada |16 per cent. of total| 4,000,000 |
| +-------------+
Total | ... | 163,000,000 | 73
2. Cobalt, Ontario | ... | 21,000,000 | 9.45
3. India and Australia | | |
(2 mines) | ... | 21,000,000 | 9.45
4. Japan | ... | 7,000,000 | 3.1
5. Miscellaneous | ... | 11,000,000 | 5.0
| +-------------+----------
Total for world | ... | 223,000,000 | 100.00
-----------------------+---------------------+-------------+----------

The relative geologic age of silver deposits is exhibited in the
tabulation below:

----------------------------------+-------------+----------+----------
| Probable | Future |
|future output|percentage| Present
| (ounces) |of total |proportion
----------------------------------+-------------+----------+----------
Tertiary | 170,000,000 | 76 | 73.0
Japanese copper (largely Tertiary)| 5,000,000 | 2 | 3.1
India and Australia (age of | | |
deposits not stated) | 25,000,000 | 11 | 9.45
Pre-Cambrian | 15,000,000 | 7 | 9.45
Unknown | 10,000,000 | 4 | 5.0
+-------------+----------+----------
Total | 225,000,000 | 100 | 100.0
----------------------------------+-------------+----------+----------

Examination of the above data shows that by far the greater part of
the world’s silver occurs in the great petrographic and metallographic
province which forms a bordering zone around the Pacific Ocean, and is
most productive in the western Cordilleras of North and South America.

CHANGES IN KNOWN GEO GRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION IN THE NEAR FUTURE

Decreases may occur in Cobalt (Ontario) and in Japan; in Cobalt because
of exhaustion of ore, in Japan because of lower output of copper and
lead if prices of these metals fall. The Rocky Mountain-Andes output
should be maintained relatively at the proportion shown above--Mexico
being back to normal in this assumption. This Rocky Mountain-Andes
production is all, or substantially all, associated with Tertiary
igneous rocks.

The above figures allow in part for the increase in Indian output from
the new Burma mines.

CHANGES IN PRACTICE

It is doubtful if silver production will be materially increased in
the next few years by improvement in metallurgy, milling, or mining
methods. Silver production is perhaps unique in that a great part of
the output, produced as a by-product, comes on the market at a rate
determined more by the volume of lead and copper production than by
current quotations for silver. Also rich silver mines when discovered
can be operated at a large profit per ounce. However, high prices for
silver will stimulate that part of the production which comes from
silver mines proper.

The world’s production increased over one-third during the period of
1904 to 1913. At the same time prices had declined even below the
1893-1894 figures. The increased output was due to production from the
United States and from Canada.

Independent of price, the Cobalt discovery poured silver on the market.
Independent of price, the increased lead and copper of the United
States poured by-product silver on the market.

It seems clear that discoveries of new silver deposits or enlarged
and improved base-metal mining operations are the factors that will
influence silver output. Changes in methods of silver recovery and even
changed silver prices have no tremendous effect. Even the big drop in
silver prices in the early nineties was accompanied by no decrease in
silver production. Instead there was an increase.

POLITICAL CONTROL

The silver output of the world is divided among the various political
groups as shown in Table 71:

TABLE 71.--PRODUCTION OF SILVER IN 1917 AND 1913

------------------------------+----------------+-----------+----------
| 1917 | 1913 | 1913
| production |production |percentage
Country | (ounces) | (ounces) | of total
------------------------------+----------------+-----------+----------
United States | 71,740,000 | 66,801,000| 30.0
British Empire (chiefly Canada| | |
and Australia) | 34,001,000 | 50,429,000| 22.6
France | 235,000 | 521,000| 0.2
Italy | 450,000 | 424,000| 0.2
+----------------+-----------+----------
|106,426,000 |118,175,000| 53.0
Japan | 6,922,000 | 4,716,000| 2.1
Peru | 11,000,000 | 8,351,000| 3.7
Central America | 2,369,000 | 2,135,000| 1.0
Bolivia | 2,434,000 | 2,410,000| 1.1
Russia, Greece, etc. | 1,000,000 | 1,000,000| 0.4
Mexico | 31,214,000 | 70,704,000| 31.7
Chile | 1,673,000 | 2,000,000| 0.9
Spain | 4,500,000 | 4,232,000| 1.9
Germany, Austria | 1,500,000 plus| 7,195,000| 3.2
Turkey | | 1,509,000| 0.7
Miscellaneous | 1,700,000 | 700,000| 0.3
+----------------+-----------+----------
Total |170,038,000 |223,126,000| 100.00
------------------------------+----------------+-----------+----------

COMMERCIAL CONTROL

=Through Ownership of Mines.=--The production of silver in the
United States is all controlled by United States capital. One-third
is controlled by lead-mining interests, one-third by copper-mining
interests, and the remaining third by silver miners. Moreover,
United States capital owns Mexican mining property normally capable
of producing over half of that country’s output. Central American
production and the by-product silver of Peru are similarly controlled.
About one-quarter of the Canadian production comes from properties
owned in the United States. In all, the capital of the United States
controls over half of the yearly output of silver throughout the world.

Most of the Canadian and all of the Australian, Indian, and African
silver is controlled by British capital, as is one-quarter of the
Mexican production and some from Bolivia, Peru, and Chile. In all,
Great Britain controls a third of the world’s output.

Germany probably controls close to 10 per cent. of the world’s silver
production. A part of this is produced locally, but the main German
control is in Mexico, the mines owned by Mexicans being taken as, in
the main, German properties.

Mines owned by Japanese, Spanish, French, or Chilean capital are
responsible for substantially all the remaining 5 per cent. of the
world’s silver output.

FINANCIAL CONTROL THROUGH OWNERSHIP OF MINES

Capital 1913 output,
percentage controlled
United States 52
British 33
German 10
Japanese 2
Spanish 2
French, etc. 1
---
100

=Through Ownership of Reduction Plants.=--As would be expected from
the geographic location of the silver deposits, the United States and
Mexico are the centers of silver smelting and refining. Important
silver-smelting interests are as follows

Company Situation of smelters

The American Smelting & Refining Co. United States and Mexico
The United States S., R. & M. Co. United States and Mexico
The International Smelting Co. United States
Anaconda Copper Mining Co. United States
Consolidated Mining & Smelting Co. Canada
Compañia Metalurgica Mexicana. Mexico
Compañia Metalurgica de Torreon. Mexico
Compañia Minera de Peñoles. Mexico

Through ownership of reduction plants, the United States exercises
control over a somewhat larger share of the world’s silver than it
does through mine ownership. Much of the Canadian and Mexican as well
as most of the South and Central American silver production enters the
United States either as refined bullion or as ore and base bullion.

It is estimated that control through reduction plants is about as
follows:

United States, ⁴⁄₇; Mexico, ¹⁄₇; Canada, ¹⁄₁₄; Europe and Asia, ³⁄₁₄.

As regards silver, this type of control is not at all powerful.
Silver-bearing materials can bear a high transportation charge as
soon as the first process of freeing from gangue has been completed.
Consequently, ownership of mines, rather than of reduction plants, is
the vital factor of control over silver resources, so far as production
is concerned.

=Through Trade Combinations.=--The world’s output of silver is
controlled by the London market. To a small extent this may be due to a
trade combination; to a large extent it is due to the relations of the
London market with consumers.

Four firms form the London silver market. Silver prices are fixed daily
in London, and this “fixed” quotation controls the price of the metal
in every important financial center throughout the world.

There are three refineries in London that handle practically the whole
of the silver bullion that comes on the London market. No silver can
be bought or sold in London unless assayed by one of the four official
assayers to the Mint, Bank of England, etc. Silver treated by the
London refineries and certain bars from European government refineries
are exceptions to this rule.

The London refineries produce silver of the fineness ⁹⁹⁶⁄₁₀₀₀ to suit
the Indian market. Other silver current in the London market has a
fineness of ⁹⁹⁹⁄₁₀₀₀.

In the words of Benjamin White: “The care taken to safeguard the
reputation of the London silver market, the high standing of the firms
that comprise it, and the confidence built up by the methods and
practices adopted to protect the interests of buyer and seller alike,
provide a strong guarantee that in the future, as well as in the past,
silver will find its business center in London.”

=Through Relations with Consumers--England’s Control of Silver.=--As
already indicated, India and China are the great consumers of silver.
For the five years preceding 1914, fully 40 per cent. of the world’s
silver output was shipped from London to those two countries, which,
with a combined population of over 700,000,000, represent the buying
side of the world’s silver market, just as North America represents the
selling side.

Since 1914 the capacity of these countries to absorb silver has
steadily increased and in 1918 it was mainly a question of where the
silver could be obtained. Current production was inadequate to meet the
demands, and old stocks of the precious metal were of necessity put on
the market.

The world’s silver business consists in getting the metal from the
Americas to the East. Why send it via London, exposing the precious
metal to greater marine hazards and losing interest while in transit?
The main reason is that the chief trade of China and India with western
nations is with England, and the great banking houses that finance this
trade are in London. These banks purchase silver in London to adjust
exchange balances. Funds to purchase such silver usually originate in
London, whether from bills on London, loans from London banks or in
other ways. In addition, London has been the center of the world’s
finance and foreign trade, and also the center from which the mail
steamers, the swiftest and cheapest routes to the principal consumers
of silver, have radiated.

When the submarine became a menace the United States shipped silver
direct from San Francisco to India and China. A large part of the
United States production was thus diverted from London, and in 1918
exports of silver from London were far below normal. However, the
officials of the American Smelting & Refining Co., refiners of over
one-third of the world’s silver output, say that they do not expect
these conditions to continue. The established business of the London
silver trade, and, of more importance, the relationship between
commercial London and the silver-consuming countries, will no doubt
quickly re-establish the normal status of London--importer of American
silver, exporter of the silver needed in the Far East.

The American refiner or silver producer is glad to have a steady and
broad market for his silver, such as is furnished by the four London
firms. Smelting interests and mines are able to dispose of their
product through London; otherwise they would have to deal with brokers
or banks in the Far East. The London firms keep in close touch with the
big bullion dealers of Bombay, Calcutta, and other cities, which are
the centers from which silver is distributed throughout India. Silver
for the Indian imperial coinage, however, is purchased in London by the
government.

=Through the Pittman Act in the United States.=--The above silver trade
flow-sheet has recently (1920) been materially changed by the program
of the Government of the United States to purchase domestic silver at
$1 an ounce. If the world price for silver remains below this figure,
all American silver will be absorbed by the Government for about four
years, or until the 207,000,000 ounces specified in the Pittman Act are
bought. If silver, however, should rise above $1 the flow to market as
sketched above would be resumed.

=Position of China and Japan.=--Chinese foreign exchange rates depend
to a large extent on the price of silver. All importers or exporters
dealing with China must deal in the silver market. Although copper
“cash” is the basis of Chinese currency, silver is the standard legal
tender for transactions involving large amounts, and weights of silver
are used as units. Fineness and weight of Chinese coins are manipulated
so that coins issued by the silver-producing states, _e.g._, Mexican
dollars (two varieties), British dollars, Spanish dollars, etc., are
prized by the Chinese because they are uniform in value.

Japan produces considerable silver, a great deal coming from her
electrolytic copper refineries. Gold is the money standard and silver
is not used extensively in the arts. Consequently Japan produces more
than enough silver to satisfy local consumption. The government is
alive to the importance of silver in connection with all dealings with
China. In 1918, Japanese banks bought up Chinese silver supplies,
paying prices in excess of all other traders. It is believed that
American silver has been flowing into Japan via China and that Japan
seeks to control the Chinese silver market. A large silver reserve is
being built up in Japan. On account of the international importance of
the whole Chinese problem, Japanese activity in silver should be noted.

SUMMARY

Silver is used both for money and in the arts, the former use being
the more important and more essential. In some countries, especially
those producing silver in large amounts, it is the money standard,
either alone or with gold. In other countries on a gold standard,
silver is used for subsidiary coinage. In India and China it is used
for the settlement of foreign trade exchange balances. Normally about
two-thirds of the silver produced annually is used in the arts, mainly
for the manufacture of jewelry and luxurious household wares, though
some is consumed in the photographic, chemical, and other essential
industries. During the war more silver went into coinage and less
into the arts than formerly, as the large issues of paper money made
corresponding increases in the number of silver coins desirable.
Large amounts have been exported to the Far East. The war has shown
that silver should still be considered an essential metal of the
world’s finance and trade, despite the increasing amounts consumed in
non-essential uses.

About one-half of the silver output of the world is obtained as a
secondary product in the mining of other metals, notably lead and
copper, from deposits of all geologic ages. The high-grade silver ores
are derived chiefly from Tertiary deposits, and it is probable that in
the future Mexico and the Rocky Mountain-Andes region will be the chief
sources of ores of this type.

Of the total world silver production over 80 per cent. comes from
the mines of the Western Hemisphere. For many years Mexico was the
leading silver-producing country of the world, but the unsettled
political conditions have so interfered with mining operations that the
production for 1917 was less than a half of that for 1911 or 1912. The
United States, a close second to Mexico in pre-revolutionary years, now
occupies the leading position. Canada and Central and South American
countries also produce important quantities of silver. In the Eastern
Hemisphere, Australia is the leading silver producer. Smaller amounts
are contributed by Spain, Austria, Turkey, India, and Japan.

Changes in practice of silver recovery and even silver prices have
little influence on silver production. It will be stimulated rather
by discoveries of new silver deposits or by enlarged and improved
base-metal milling operations.

The principal silver deposits of the world are controlled politically
by the United States, Mexico, and Great Britain, the three nations
controlling about 85 per cent. of the total production in 1913. United
States capital controls the entire silver output of the United States,
and mines producing half of the Mexican output, one-fourth of the
Canadian output, and much of that of the Central and South American
countries, in all something over one-half of the world’s normal silver
production. Great Britain controls probably one-third of the world
production, chiefly in Canada, Australia, India, Africa, and Mexico.
German capital owns probably one-tenth, located partly in Germany but
mainly in Mexico. The remaining silver deposits of the world are owned
by Japanese, Spanish, and French capital. Ownership of reduction plants
is not a powerful form of control in the case of silver. The United
States owns about four-sevenths of the total smelting and refining
capacity of the world, the remaining three-sevenths being controlled
largely by German, British, and Mexican capital.

Although the greater part of the silver produced each year comes from
North and South America, the world’s silver market is located in London
because of the close relations between English business interests and
India and China, the chief consumers of the metal.

The United States Government, however, will (1920) purchase all
American silver offered at $1 per ounce, up to 207,000,000 ounces.

CHAPTER XXXI

PLATINUM

BY JAMES. M. HILL

USES OF PLATINUM

In past discussion of the uses of platinum some confusion has resulted
from the lack of appreciation that all commercial platinum is not the
pure metal. The pure metal is required for chemical work of all sorts,
but for other uses the iridium alloys are used. Electrical platinum
contains 15 to 50 per cent. iridium, but averages 25 per cent., and
jeweler’s platinum carries about 10 per cent. iridium. Palladium,
another of the platinum group metals, is also of importance, chiefly
in the form of palladium-gold alloys, which can be used to replace
platinum in the dental and jewelry industries. Rhodium, one of the
rarer elements of crude platinum, has a limited use in electrical
pyrometers. Osmium and ruthenium, the remaining members of the platinum
group, appear to have little use, though osmium, when properly used,
can be employed as a substitute of iridium to harden platinum alloys.

The essential uses of platinum metals are in the chemical and
electrical industries, and probably the dental industry should be
classed as essential. Pure platinum is required in the chemical
industry for catalysers in the manufacture of sulphuric acid (about
75,000 ounces now in use in the United States) and in the manufacture
of nitric acid from ammonia. For the sulphuric-acid industry, platinum
chloride is the primary material containing platinum. Asbestos or
anhydrous magnesium sulphate soaked in platinum chloride, and then
baked to drive off the chlorine, forms what is known as “contact
mass,” which is charged into the chambers of contact acid plants. Very
fine-mesh platinum gauze is used for the catalyser in nitric-acid
plants. Some gauze used for this purpose has a reinforcing edge of
platinum-iridium wire. Pure platinum utensils of various kinds,
including crucibles, dishes, tongs, and triangles, are required in
every chemical laboratory. It is possible to substitute palladium-gold
alloys, or even gold, nickel, nichrome, and silica, for some utensils,
but no substitutes have yet been found which will entirely replace
platinum chemical ware.

Platinum-iridium alloys have been used extensively by the electrical
industry, but substitutes are constantly being developed. Tungsten,
molybdenum, and nickel-chrome alloys are the principal substitutes
used so far, but their use has not done away with the necessity of
platinum in the industry. The principal use of platinum-iridium alloys
in electrical work is in contact points, and the proportion of iridium
necessary in the alloys is directly dependent on the intensity of
the current passing through the contacts and the speed at which the
contacts move. Probably the largest consumption of platinum alloy is in
the manufacture of telephone and telegraph equipment, including sending
and receiving instruments, switch boards and relays. There is also a
large consumption of platinum for contacts in magnetos used for various
kinds of internal-combustion engines. Automobile makers are, however,
developing starting systems that do not require platinum, so we can
hope for a lessening future demand from that quarter.

Platinum has an important use in dentistry, though in emergencies
palladium-gold alloys have been used as substitutes. Seemingly,
however, the substitutes are not entirely satisfactory, and it may be
necessary to go back to platinum for certain dental uses. The chief
uses are for pins for crown work, pins for fastening artificial teeth
to plates, and foil for making molds of cavities in which to bake
porcelain fillings. For the time being, the palladium-gold substitutes
can be used and perhaps they will be developed so that the use of pure
platinum in the future may not be necessary.

The non-essential use of platinum metals is in jewelry, and it seems
certain that this misuse of platinum metals must be stopped in order
that industrial development may continue. It is estimated that for a
number of years 50 per cent. of the platinum consumed in the world went
into jewelry. A large part of platinum-mounted jewelry is in private
ownership, and as the value of the metal in a jewel is approximately 35
per cent. of the total cost, it is evident that it would be difficult,
if not impossible, in case of necessity to recover more than a small
proportion of the large quantity of platinum that is in the form of
jewelry.

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION

The relative importance of the platinum-producing countries of the
world can best be judged by the past output, which is shown in the
following table,[181] and graphically in the chart.

[181] HILL, J. M.: “Platinum and Allied Metals,” U. S. Geol. Survey,
“Mineral Resources, 1916,” Pt. 1, 1917, p. 3.

The platinum field of Russia is in the Ural Mountains, north of
Ekaterinburg. In Colombia, South America, the chief production of
platinum has come from the headwater streams of the San Juan River,
which enters the Pacific near Buena Ventura; some platinum is found in
the upper reaches of the Atrato River, which enters the Caribbean Sea
near the east end of Panama. A small amount of platinum and osmiridium
has come from New South Wales and some osmiridium from Tasmania. Some
of the placers in southwestern Oregon and northern California carry
platinum as well as gold. Platinum has recently been determined in
concentrates from several localities in Alaska and Canada, and is known
in some placers in Borneo and India.

TABLE 72.--ESTIMATED WORLD’S PRODUCTION OF CRUDE PLATINUM, 1909-1917

(In troy ounces)

----------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
Country | 1909 | 1910 | 1911 | 1912 | 1913 |
----------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
Borneo and Sumatra | 500| 200| ...| ...| 200|
Canada | 30| 30| 30| 30| 50|
New South Wales and Tasmania| 440| 332| 470| 778| 1,500|
Russia |264,000|275,000|300,000|300,000|250,000|
United States | 672| 390| 628| 721| 483|
+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
Totals |271,642|285,952|313,128|313,529|267,233|
----------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+

----------------------------+-------+-------+------+------
Country | 1914 | 1915 | 1916 | 1917
----------------------------+-------+-------+------+------
Borneo and Sumatra | [182]| [182]| [182]| [182]
Canada | 30| 100| 60| 80
New South Wales and Tasmania| 1,248| 303| 222| [182]
Russia |241,200|124,000|63,000|50,000
United States | 570| 742| 750| 605
+-------+-------+------+------
Totals |260,548|143,145|89,932|82,685
----------------------------+-------+-------+------+------

[182] No basis for estimate.

GEOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION OF PLATINUM

Practically all of the platinum metals produced in the world to date
have been derived from placer deposits, though a little platinum and
palladium have been obtained as a by-product from the electrolytic
refining of copper and nickel matte.

The platinum placers of the world are so definitely related to
intrusive basic igneous rocks, including pyroxenites, peridotites and
dunites, that there is practically no question of the origin of the
metal. In fact, in British Columbia, Spain, and Russia platinum has
been found in place in these types of rocks, and it is reported that
owing to the great value of platinum at present, a project is on foot
to crush and wash certain of the bodies of dunite in Russia.

Platinum is not found in all placers derived from basic rocks, but so
far as known it is rarely found in placers derived from other types
of rocks. Prospecting for platinum placers therefore resolves itself
first into a search for deposits of gravel derived in a large part
from pyroxenite, peridotite, and dunite. Chromite is a characteristic
heavy constituent of platinum sands and in some deposits can be
recovered as a by-product in mining. Olivine is also present in
considerable amounts. Magnetite and ilmenite are ordinarily present in
the concentrates from platinum placers, but are more characteristic of
placers in which gold is the most valuable constituent.

A large amount of prospecting has been done in Russia and Spain, based
on the theory of origin outlined above. Much of this prospecting
has been successful in locating platiniferous placers, but many of
these recent discoveries do not seem to be of commercial worth. It is
not possible to foretell whether placers derived from basic igneous
rocks will be productive. The most that can be told is that certain
placers derived from these rocks hold the greatest promise for the
searcher for platinum. Platinum is such a rare metal and is found
in such small quantities in its mother rock that it is necessary to
have certain physiographic conditions present to predicate commercial
deposits. Most important of these conditions is extremely prolonged or
very rapid weathering of the primary deposits. In the Russian field,
rock-weathering has been in progress for great geologic time; on the
other hand, in Colombia, South America, the period of weathering seems
to have been relatively short, but so rapid that the same result has
been obtained.

Ordinarily, platinum is not found in commercial quantities in gravels
that have not been reconcentrated, and the richer deposits of the world
seem to be the results of repeated reconcentrations of platinum-bearing
material. Crude or placer platinum is not pure metal, but contains,
besides other metals of the platinum group, more or less iron, nickel,
and copper. Russian crude platinum is ordinarily sold on the assumption
that it contains 83 per cent. platinum metals; Colombian crude, 85 per
cent. platinum metals. Some placer platinum, so-called, carries a large
proportion of osmiridium. Thus the Oregon and California crude platinum
carries from 25 to 45 per cent. iridium, and Tasmanian platinum is
really nearly pure osmiridium.

The following analyses of Russian,[183] Colombian,[184] and
American[184] platinum serve to illustrate the wide divergence of metal
content of crude platinum.

TABLE 73.--ANALYSES OF CRUDE PLATINUM FROM VARIOUS PARTS OF THE WORLD

--------------------------------------+--------------------
North America[183] | South America[183]
--------+------+------+------+--------+------+--------+----
| Cali-| Cali-| |British |Colom-|Colom-|Colom-
|fornia|fornia|Oregon|Columbia| bia | bia | bia
--------+------+------+------+--------+------+------+------
Pt. | 85.50| 63.30| 51.45| 72.07 | 86.20| 86.16| 80.00
Ir. | 1.05| 0.70| 0.40| 1.14 | 0.85| 1.09| 1.55
Rh. | 1.00| 1.80| 0.65| 2.57 | 1.40| 2.16| 2.50
Pd. | 0.60| 0.10| 0.15| 0.19 | 0.50| 0.35| 1.00
Os. | ...| ...| ...| ... | ...| 0.97|
Io₃[186]| 1.10| 22.55| 27.30| 10.51 | 0.95| 1.19| 1.40
Au. | 0.80| 0.30| 0.85| ... | 1.00| ...| 1.50
Fe. | 6.75| 6.40| 4.30| 8.59 | 7.80| 8.03| 7.20
Cu. | 1.40| 4.25| 2.15| 3.39 | 0.60| 0.40| 0.65
Sand. | 2.95| ...| 3.00| 1.69 | 0.40| ...| 4.35
--------+------+------+------+--------+------+------+------
|101.15| 99.40|100.25| 100.15 |100.25|100.35|100.15
--------+------+------+------+--------+------+------+------

-----------------------------------------+
Oceania[185] |
--------+------+--------+---------+------+
|Borneo|N. S. W.|Australia|Taguil|
| | |Tasmania?| |
--------+------+--------+---------+------+
Pt. | 82.60| 75.90 | 61.40 | 76.16|
Ir. | 0.66| 1.30 | 1.10 | 2.68|
Rh. | ...| 1.30 | 1.85 | 0.54|
Pd. | ...| Trace | 1.80 | 0.27|
Os. | | | | |
Io₃[186]| 3.80| 9.30 | 26.00 | 1.50|
Au. | 0.20| ... | 1.20 | ...|
Fe. | 10.67| 10.15 | 4.55 | 14.72|
Cu. | 0.13| 0.41 | 1.10 | 3.39|
Sand. | ...| 1.22 | 1.20 | |
--------+------+--------+---------+------+
| 98.06| 99.58 | 100.20 | 99.26|
--------+------+--------+---------+------+

--------+--------------------------------------
| Russia[187]
--------+-----+----------+---------+-----------
| Iso |Kamenonchy|Koswinsky|Kanjakowaky
| | | |
--------+-----+----------+---------+-----------
Pt. |80.10| 82.46 | 83.50 | 60.39
Ir. | 1.38| 1.79 | 2.74 | 6.90
Rh. | 0.30| 0.69 | 0.62 | 0.80
Pd. | 0.30| 0.18 | 0.28 | 0.19
Os. | | | |
Io₃[186]| 4.47| 4.99 | 0.79 | 20.21
Au. | 0.09| 0.27 | 0.07 |
Fe. | 7.68| 9.49 | 11.05 | 11.16
Cu. | 0.63| 0.54 | 1.14 | 0.49
Sand. | | | |
--------+-----+----------+---------+-----------
|94.95| 100.41 | 100.19 | 100.04
--------+-----+----------+---------+-----------

[183] DUPARC, LOUIS: “Le Platine et les gîtes platiniferes de
l’Oural”: Soc. des Eng. Civ. de France. Bull. Jan.-Mar., 1916.

[184] KEMP, J. F.: “The Geological Relation and Distribution of
Platinum and Associated Metals”: U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 193.

[185] Analyses cited by KEMP.

[186] Io₃ is abbreviation used for osmiridium.

[187] Analyses cited by DUPARC.

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF PLATINUM

The relative importance of the platinum-producing countries of the
world can best be judged by the past output, which is shown in the
following table[188] and graphically in Figure 22.

[188] HILL, J. M.: “Platinum and Allied Metals”: U. S. Geol. Survey
“Mineral Resources, 1916,” Pt. I, 1917, p. 3.

TABLE 74.--ESTIMATED WORLD’S PRODUCTION OF CRUDE PLATINUM, 1909-1917

(Troy ounces)

---------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
| 1909 | 1910 | 1911 | 1912 | 1913 |
---------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
Borneo and | | | | | |
Sumatra | 500| 200| ...| ...| 300|
Canada | 30| 30| 30| 30| 50|
Colombia | 6,000| 10,000| 12,000| 12,000| 15,000|
New South Wales| | | | | |
and Tasmania | 440| 332| 470| 778| 1,500|
Russia |264,000|275,000|300,000|300,000|250,000|
United States | 672| 390| 628| 721| 483|
+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
|271,642|285,952|313,128|313,529|267,233|
---------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+

---------------+-------+-------+------+------
| 1914 | 1915 | 1916 | 1917
---------------+-------+-------+------+------
Borneo and | | | |
Sumatra | | | |
Canada | 30| 100| 60| 80
Colombia | 17,500| 18,000|25,000|32,000
New South Wales| | | |
and Tasmania | 1,248| 303| 222|
Russia |241,000|125,000|63,900|50,000
United States | 570| 742| 750| 605
+-------+-------+------+------
|260,548|143,145|89,932|82,685
---------------+-------+-------+------+------

[Illustration: FIG. 22.--Sources of crude platinum produced from 1909
to 1917.]

=Russia.=--Russian placer deposits have supplied approximately 95 per
cent. of the platinum in the world. The principal placer deposits rich
in platinum are in the central Urals, in the Perm government, near
Nishni-Tagilsk, Nishni-Turinsk, and Verkhoturshi. The richer deposits
are on the eastern slope of the mountains, principally on the Iss
and Veeya tributaries of the Tura River of the Obi drainage. Several
important placers are found on the west slope of the mountains on the
headwaters of the Chusovaia and Kama rivers of the Volga drainage.
Near Nishni-Tagilsk platiniferous placers occur both on the Taguil, a
tributary of the Obi, and on the Martian, a headwater stream of the
Volga drainage. In these placers platinum is the predominant metal,
but gold is also found. The greater part of the output in the past has
been by hand-washing, but of recent years much of the ground has been
reworked by dredges, though it is still safe to say that over 75 per
cent. of the output is from hand labor. It is hardly practicable in a
report of this sort to discuss in detail the individual deposits, even
were the information at hand. The best information available can be
summarized as follows: most of the platinum has undoubtedly originated
from the disintegration of dunitic, pyroxenitic, or peridotitic rocks.
The period of weathering has been very long and there have been many
changes in the drainage systems, which have now reached maturity.
The stream grades are low; the inter-stream relief is relatively
slight. The platinum has probably been reconcentrated many times and
is at present won principally from present valley gravels, though the
pay channels do not always follow the present river channels. Some
bench-ground representing old river channels is worked, particularly in
the Nishni-Tagilsk region. The pay gravels ordinarily rest on bed-rock,
though concentration on clay beds forming false bed-rock is fairly
common. The pay dirt ranges from a few inches to as much as 6 feet in
thickness. It has few large boulders, but has considerable clay in many
places. The overburden ranges from 2 to 16 feet in thickness, averaging
8 to 10 feet. It consists of a thick basal portion of practically
barren gravel and sand, or clay and sand lenses interlayered with
gravel, which is overlain by 2 to 3 feet of clay sand and vegetable
matter similar to the “muck” of the Alaskan mines.

In shallow ground, up to 3 feet deep, mining is carried on by open-cut
methods; in the deeper ground shafts and drifting have been employed.
For the deposits in river channels crude hand dredges were and still
are used for raising the gravels. About 35 more or less modern dredges
were engaged in platinum mining prior to the war. Clay is so generally
found in the gravels that specially designed machines have been used to
save the platinum and the newer dredges have special devices to cope
with this problem.

=Colombia.=--The platinum district of Colombia covers the upper waters
of the Atrato and San Juan rivers in the Choco district of northwestern
Colombia. Platinum is known as far north as Bete, on the Atrato, and in
many of the tributaries of the San Juan which enter from the east. Most
of the platinum exported from Colombia has come from the Condoto River,
a headwater stream of the San Juan. It is stated that in this stream
the platinum constitutes about 75 per cent. of the precious metal in
the gravel. On the Atrato the platinum content is lower, ranging from 5
to 15 per cent. Platinum and osmiridium also occur in the streams south
of the San Juan drainage, which enter directly into the Pacific, though
little authentic data concerning them are available.

According to Dr. Tulio Ospina,[189] Director of the School of Mines,
Medellin, Colombia, platinum is found widespread in conglomerates which
cover an extensive area in the Atrato and San Juan basins. The metal
has been reconcentrated in the present stream channels from which the
major output of platinum comes. According to the statements of various
observers, there are places on the interstream areas in which platinum
has been concentrated. These areas are, from all accounts, old stream
channels. The primary platinum deposits evidently are to be looked
for on the west slope of the western ridge of the Andes, though no
literature which gives detailed information on the geology of this
range has been found. Peridotite, dunite, and other basic igneous rocks
are represented in the platiniferous gravels.

[189] Proceedings Second Pan-American Scientific Congress, vol. 8,
1917.

There is almost no information upon which to base an estimate as to the
possible reserves of platinum in Colombia. Little has been published
on the subject that gives good data on the geology of the country, but
from all accounts it seems safe to assume that Colombia holds much
promise and should be more carefully prospected. Over 90 per cent. of
the platinum mined in Colombia is won by natives, mostly women, who
raise the gravel in _calabaches_ and wash the gravels in _bateas_.
The dry season is utilized, for then the low places in the river are
more exposed. There is one dredge in operation in Colombia at present,
though other dredging operations have been tried, which, for various
causes, were not successful.

=Canada.=--A small quantity of platinum is produced each year by the
placer operations on the Tulameen River, in _British Columbia_. The
metal was derived from a mass of peridotite and dunite, which outcrops
west of the main drainage. The gravels of this area are apparently
very deep, but the platinum is found in the upper 8 to 20 feet, in
part concentrated on a false bed-rock. Recent information indicates
the possibility of dredging a considerable acreage of gravels on the
Tulameen in the vicinity of Princeton. Reports were current during 1917
of discoveries of platiniferous placers further north in the Canadian
Rockies, but no definite information concerning the size or value of
the deposits is available.

By far the greater part of the yearly output of platinum and palladium
of Canadian origin is a by-product of refining the nickel ores of the
Sudbury district, _Ontario_. That a far greater production of both
metals from this source is possible has been shown by the Royal Ontario
Nickel Commission.

=United States.=--Crude platinum is won in California, Oregon, and
Washington. The dredges at the base of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in
_California_ produce a large part of the placer platinum output of
the United States, principally because of the great yardage handled
rather than because of any particular concentration of platinum in the
gravels derived from the Mother Lode belt. In northern California the
Klamath and Trinity rivers, particularly the Hay Fork of the Trinity,
carry platiniferous gravels. In southwestern _Oregon_ platiniferous
gravels have been found at several places on the Illinois and Rogue
rivers. Along the beach from Bandon, Oregon, to Eureka, California,
platinum occurs with the black sands and has been won at a number of
mines located both on the present strand line and on ancient elevated
beaches. In the Blue Mountains of eastern Oregon and in the Strawberry
Range south of John Day River a few placers have been worked which
carried platinum. In _Washington_, particularly on the south fork of
Lewis River, near Yacolt, platinum has been found, and it is reported
on the beaches from the Straits of Juan de Fuca south.

All of the platinum-bearing placers in the United States are closely
associated with chromiferous serpentine derived from peridotites or
pyroxenites. The concentration of the platinum has not been great
and the original quantity was not large, so none of the areas seems
capable of much production. Most of the crude platinum from the Pacific
Coast placers carries considerable osmiridium. As stated before,
the great bulk of the platinum won in the United States is from the
dredging fields at the base of the Sierra Nevada Mountains from Butte
to Stanislaus County. The gravels in these fields are the result
of several reconcentrations, but their platinum content can not be
considered high. In practically all of the other stream placer areas
the gravels have not been subject to such extensive reconcentration,
and in some places recent gravels carry platinum. The beach deposits
are the result of repeated concentration. The platinum and gold are
excessively small, flaky, and difficult to separate from the heavy
sands; they are concentrated in the dark bands of sand caused by tidal
and wave concentration. The lenses are rarely over one foot thick
and taper out in short distances. Correct estimates of reserves are
consequently almost impossible.

Within the past few years a little platinum has been won from widely
scattered localities in _Alaska_, chiefly Dime, Bear, and Sweepstake
Creek placers in eastern Seward Peninsula; the Boob Creek placers,
Tolstoi district, Lower Yukon; and the beach deposits of Kodiak Island.
Platinum also occurs in the Upper Kahiltna drainage, north of Anchorage.

Copper ores rich in palladium are produced at the Rambler mine,
_Wyoming_, from the Salt Chuck Mine, _Alaska_, and from the Boss mine,
in _Nevada_. At the two former mines the ore is associated with basic
igneous rocks; in the latter mine the ore bodies are in dolomite. The
oft-repeated reports of platinum in certain sandstones exposed near
the Bright Angel trail in the Grand Canyon of the Colorado, _Arizona_,
and in certain shale beds in Chester County, _Pennsylvania_, have not
been verified, though in June, 1918, the United States Platinum Co. was
organized to work the deposits in Arizona.

=Australia.=--Platinum and osmiridium have been won in small quantities
from Queensland, New South Wales, and Tasmania. Platinum is also
reported from New Zealand. The greater production has been from the
osmiridium-bearing gravels of the Savage River drainage in the Bald
Hills mining district in the northwestern part of _Tasmania_. Little
has been published concerning the extent of these gravels, which were
derived from the weathering of a series of sediments intruded by basic
igneous rocks.

In _New South Wales_, beach deposits much like those of California and
Oregon are found from Beachy Head north past Clarence and Richmond
rivers into Queensland. Commercial exploitation of these deposits
seems to have had the ups and many downs of similar undertakings on
our West Coast. Some platinum was obtained from an old buried channel
in the Platina or Fifield district in central New South Wales, where
pay gravel 6 to 10 feet thick lies under an overburden of 20 to 80
feet. The water supply was not in sufficient quantities to warrant
large-scale operations. The channel seems small and has been mined
about as far as is commercially possible.

=Spain.=--What may prove to be commercial placer deposits have been
found in the Sierra Ronda, in southern Spain, about 50 miles northwest
of the port of Malaga. The deposits have been discussed in some detail
by Duparc.[190] Apparently the gravels have not been rearranged by
nature many times, the concentration of platinum is not great, and it
is problematical whether extensive development will be warranted.

[190] DUPARC, LOUIS, and GROSSETT, AUGUSTINE: “Etude comparée des
gîtes platiniferes de la Sierra de Ronda et de l’Oural”: Soc. Phys.
et Hist. Nat. Geneve, Mem., t. 38, fasc. 5, 1916.

=Other Countries.=--A small amount of platinum is produced as a
by-product from gold dredges on the Irawadi River, in _India_, and from
the tin dredges in the _Dutch East Indies_. Unconfirmed reports have
been received of discoveries of platinum in southern _Siberia_, at
various places in _Mexico_, and from several localities in _Ecuador_
and _Peru_. Platinum is known to occur in some of the streams as well
as in certain of the gold deposits of the Minas Geraes district of
_Brazil_.

In southwestern _Borneo_ platinum occurs in the Tanath-Laut district.
Several Russian writers have given information on this region.

PROBABLE CHANGES IN KNOWN GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION IN THE NEAR FUTURE

At present the Russian platinum fields are practically idle. The
dredges are for the most part not running and the industry is
disorganized. It will require considerable expense and several months’
time to rehabilitate the Russian platinum industry. The known deposits
of the Russian field are becoming exhausted, and the reserves of known
platiniferous gravels are stated by Duparc to have a life of 12 years,
based on the pre-war rate of production; or, stated differently, the
known deposits are capable of producing between 3,000,000 and 3,600,000
ounces of platinum before they are exhausted.

Colombia seems to have large reserves of unworked platinum-bearing
ground, though so little detailed information is available that it is
unsafe to predict their future. It is safe, however, to point out that
all reports indicate that careful prospecting in the Choco district
will probably be repaid by the discovery of considerable areas of
platinum-bearing ground.

The Canadian deposits hold some promise of future production. Several
recent discoveries of platinum along the Rocky Mountains in British
Columbia, from the Tulameen to the Stikeen, indicate that further
search may be rewarded. If reports are true, there is a considerable
area on the Tulameen, Willow and Peace rivers which can be dredged for
the recovery of gold and platinum. The most important Canadian platinum
reserves are in the Sudbury nickel deposits, but present metallurgical
practice will have to be changed to obtain the maximum output of
platinum and palladium from these ores.

In the United States there does not seem to be hope for a considerable
increase in the output of platinum; in fact, it may be that the
production will be materially less when the new refineries for the
treatment of Sudbury ores are completed in Canada. The placer deposits
carrying platinum are for the most part relatively small; many of those
in northern California and Oregon can not be worked economically and
few are available for dredging. As the gold-dredging field along the
base of the Sierras becomes exhausted, the output of platinum in this
country will decline in proportion, barring the discovery of new ground
and deposits of gravel richer in platinum than those now known.

The various Australian platinum deposits do not seem particularly
promising, as regards production, with the possible exception of the
Bald Hill dredging field, in Tasmania. The Fifield deposits seem to
be nearly exhausted and the beach deposits in New South Wales and
Queensland are too low grade and the valuable minerals are too erratic
in distribution to appear of much commercial interest.

The Spanish deposits have not yet been sufficiently explored to
determine their extent, but published reports do not seem to indicate
that they will prove very large or particularly rich.

POLITICAL CONTROL

As Table 74 shows, _Russia_ has political control of approximately 90
per cent. of the world’s supply of platinum. It seems probable that
_Canada_, in the nickel ore of the Sudbury district and in the known
placers in the Tulameen and Barkersville districts, has control of the
third largest reserve of platinum. The deposits under the political
control of the _United States_ in Alaska and on the Pacific Coast
are relatively insignificant. _Great Britain_ naturally controls the
platinum in her colonial possessions, Australia, Tasmania, and India.
The output of the _Dutch East Indies_, from Borneo and Sumatra, is
relatively small, although there is a possibility that the production
from these countries may be increased. _Spain_ may, perhaps, control
a small output of platinum, though it does not seem probable that
the production from this country will ever be large. A large area in
the Sierra Ronda Mountains has been set aside by the government for
further prospecting under the auspices of the government, and it seems
reasonable to believe, judging from the general mineral policy of
Spain, that in the event of the proving of commercial deposits they
will be worked under government auspices rather than by private persons.

Although the deposits in _Colombia_ are politically controlled by that
country, they are, nevertheless, owned largely by American interests.

COMMERCIAL CONTROL

=Through Ownership of Mines.=--Prior to the war, French commercial
interests practically dominated the platinum industry of _Russia_,
through the operations of the Compagnie Internationale du Platine. This
company not only had extensive mining holdings but also had contracts
with the two largest independent Russian platinum producers, namely,
the Shouvaloff and Demidoff companies, for their entire output. The
contracts were suspended by the French company shortly after the
declaration of war and may not be remade. There are, however, two
Russian companies which are more or less independent of French control
and there are a large number of small miners and peasants who know
no allegiance to any particular buying concern. It appears that at
least 75 per cent. of the platinum production of Russia is (or was,
previous to the Bolshevist domination) controlled by the following
companies: Compagnie Internationale du Platine (French), Shouvaloff’s
company (Russian), Demidoff company (Russian), Nicolo-Pavdinski company
(Russian), and the Platina company (Russian). During 1914 these
companies were operating approximately 35 dredges in the platinum
field, though from the best reports now available it does not seem
that more than two or three of the dredges were at work during 1917.
The reader should realize, however, that the production from dredges
has always been relatively small, as compared with the output made
by other methods. It is estimated that about 80 per cent. of the
platinum won from the Russian placers is recovered by hand labor by
lessees (starateli) who contract to dispose of their production to the
companies owning the ground and pay a royalty for the privilege of
working. Since the war the peasants and miners are virtually in control
of all the mines and the original operators have little to do with
operation or management.

The most important platinum-bearing placers in _Colombia_ are
controlled by American financial interests. The General Development
Co., of New York, through two subsidiary companies, controls a large
area in the headwater region of the San Juan River, particularly
on the Condoto River. Recently these interests have organized the
South American Gold & Platinum Co. The Quito Mining Co. controls a
considerable acreage on the Quito River between Quibdo and Istimina.
There are other small American holdings in the vicinity of Negua,
on the Atrato drainage, and on the Tamana and Sipi, on the San Juan
drainage. Late in 1917 a British company was organized for the
development of extensive holdings on the Opogodo River, in the upper
San Juan drainage. If the present conditions are not changed by special
legislation in Colombia it would seem that American financial interests
will continue to dominate the Colombia platinum field.

The platinum deposits of the _United States_ are apparently largely in
the hands of small holders, who are citizens of this country. A few
of the large dredges in California, which are producing platinum as a
by-product, are, in part, owned by British capital.

Apparently the beach deposits in _Australia_ (in New South Wales and
Queensland) are worked in a small way by local capital, as are the
deposits near Platina and Fifield. The Tasmania deposits are controlled
by local capital.

As to _Canada_, it is understood that a large part of the gravel
area of the Tulameen River, near Princeton, British Columbia, is
controlled by American capital. A few claims on the upper Tulameen
are controlled by Canadian capital. An American company has recently
been organized for the purpose of exploiting certain prospective areas
in the Barkersville region, in north-central British Columbia, and
it is understood that Canadian capital has rather extensive holdings
on the Peace River, in northern British Columbia, which are reported
to contain considerable quantities of platinum. The nickel deposits
of Ontario, which have a considerable prospective value as producers
of both platinum and palladium, are operated by the Mond Nickel Co.,
under British control, and the International Nickel Co., under American
control. However, the Canadian government is regulating the operations
of both of these companies.

=Through Ownership of Reduction Plants.=--It is a peculiar fact that
while the larger part of the Russian crude platinum is sold through a
French company, nevertheless _England_ has refined the greater part
of the output of Russia. The Johnson Matthey Co., of London, is the
largest platinum refiner in England. Prior to the war this company
is said to have refined about 70 per cent. of the Russian platinum
production.

In _Germany_ the chief platinum refiner is W. C. Heraeus, of Hanau.
This company is said to be owned chiefly by Dr. Heraeus and the estate
of Heinrich Heraeus. The firm of F. Eisennad & Co., at Offenbach,
a small platinum refiner, was acquired by Heraeus’ interests just
prior to the war. G. Seibert, of Hanau, also refines platinum, the
operations being financed by the Seibert Bros., and the Deutsche Gold
und Silberscheidenanstalt, of Frankfort. According to Russian figures,
about 25 per cent. of the Russian output was refined by Germany and
presumably a large part of the work was done by Heraeus. Heraeus
interests without doubt predominate the platinum-refining industry of
Germany.

The chief platinum refiner of _France_ is Quenessen, de Belmont,
Legendre et Cie., which is controlled by the estate of MM. Desmoutis
and Lamaire. Other small refineries are the Lyon Allemand, the Credit
Lyonnais, Herique Marrett & Bonnin, and Hesse Fils, all of Paris.
Apparently the first company is the controlling factor in the French
industry.

In the _United States_ the platinum industry is controlled by Baker
& Co., American Platinum Works, Irvington Smelting & Refining Works,
Hanovia Chemical Co., and Charles Englehard. There are several
independent platinum refiners in the United States, though their
combined output is less than a quarter of the domestic industry. These
are J. Bishop & Co., Malvern, Pennsylvania; Wilson Co., Newark, New
Jersey; Belais & Cohn, New York City; Kastenhuber & Lehrfeld, New York
City, and Goldsmith Bros., Smelting & Refining Co., New York City
and Chicago, which are operated financially by American capital. The
Rossler & Hasslacher Chemical Co., of New York City, also refines some
platinum.

Prior to the war there was more or less interlocking of the interests
of Johnson and Matthey of London, Quenessen of Paris, Heraeus of Hanau,
and Baker & Co. of New York. It is generally conceded that prior
to the war Heraeus actually controlled the American interests now
dominated by Englehard. However, when war was declared these various
companies, by interchange of their stock, were separated, so that it
now appears that German money is no longer interested in the English,
French, or American platinum industry. It is probable, however, that
both the English and French companies still hold stock in the American
company, though the control of the American interests is now held by
Charles Englehard through ownership of the majority of the stock of the
companies mentioned above.

It is reported that there were two government-owned platinum refineries
in Russia prior to the war, though apparently they handle only a very
small quantity of the platinum produced in Russia and no platinum from
any foreign countries.

POSITION OF THE WORLD AS REGARDS PLATINUM

As explained above, owing to the location of the chief
platinum-producing regions, Russia has been the source of practically
all of the world’s platinum, though commercially the French controlled
the marketing of the bulk of the Russian output. Since 1914 practically
no platinum has been exported and what little did get out came mostly
to the United States. The situation of the various countries can be
summarized as follows:

_Russia_ normally used little of her own platinum, exporting
it to England, Germany, and France. The country had almost no
platinum-refining capacity, the industry being controlled by French
and Russian capital with more or less German influence. Since the war
the platinum mines have not been extensively worked and in fact their
production has decreased greatly. Any accumulated stocks of platinum
that may have been in Russia probably found their way into Germany and
into Allied lands.

Before the war _Germany_ refined about 25 per cent. of the Russian
production of platinum; she has no deposits within her own territory.
She had built up great chemical and electrical industries, which
required large stocks of platinum, and probably was in a fair position
with regard to the metal when war was declared. It seems probable that
there is a shortage of platinum in Germany at present, for any great
expansion of either chemical or electrical industries.

_France_ through her control of the bulk of the Russian output was
in position to have accumulated considerable stocks of platinum, and
that she did so is indicated by the fact that the government did not
undertake any regulation of the platinum industry until early in 1918,
and it does not appear that any great expansion of the chief industries
requiring platinum was necessitated.

About 70 per cent. of the Russian, probably half of the Colombian, and
all of the Australian and Indian platinum was sold in _England_ prior
to the war. It is believed that not all of this was refined in England,
for considerable amounts of crude platinum were exported from England
to the United States; however, large stocks of the platinum metals
were on hand in England when war was declared. England had to build a
great chemical industry during the war, and quickly used what reserves
she had, so that the government early in the war saw the necessity of
controlling the use of platinum metals.

The _United States_ has been and will continue to be dependent on
foreign platinum. At present all of the Colombian platinum is coming
to this country. When we entered the war the stocks of platinum in the
United States were about 50 per cent. of the normal, and as we had
to build large chemical and electrical industries, those stocks were
rapidly exhausted.

_Colombia_ has no platinum refineries; apparently she has use for none
of the output of her mines. Before the war her crude platinum was
shipped to England and the United States for refining, but at present
it is all coming to the United States.

SUMMARY

About 90 per cent. of the crude platinum produced annually has come
from the Ural Mountains, Russia. The deposits of next importance are
situated in Colombia, South America. Small amounts are produced in
Canada (chiefly as a by-product in the refining of nickel ore), in New
South Wales, Tasmania, the United States, Dutch East Indies, India and
Spain.

The political control of the platinum deposits of the world corresponds
to geographical distribution. Russia and Colombia control the principal
deposits, and the United States, Great Britain, Holland, and Spain the
minor ones.

Prior to the war, a French company had extensive holdings in Russia,
and in addition had contracts with two Russian platinum producers for
their entire output. These contracts were canceled shortly after the
declaration of war. The remaining deposits of the Russian fields are
controlled by two independent Russian companies and by a large number
of small miners. At present the peasants and miners are virtually
in control of the mines and the owners have little to do with their
operation or management.

The principal platinum-bearing placers of Colombia are controlled by
American interests. A British company was organized recently to develop
holdings in the upper San Juan drainage. With the exception of a few of
the large dredges of California, owned in part by British capital, the
platinum deposits of the United States are owned by American citizens.
The platinum deposits of Australia are probably held for the most part
by British capital.

American capital controls a large part of the platinum gravel area
of British Columbia. A few claims are controlled by Canadians. The
companies operating the nickel deposits of Ontario, from which platinum
is produced as a by-product, are American and British.

About 75 per cent. of the Russian platinum has been refined in England
and most of the remainder in Germany. Before the war there was an
interlocking of the interests of the platinum refiners of the United
States, Germany and Great Britain, which has been broken as far as
Germany is concerned.

CHAPTER XXXII

WHO OWNS THE EARTH?

BY J. E. SPURR

Let us glance over the preceding studies one by one and see what
salient features each one contains.

THE FUEL MINERALS

=Petroleum= is of the utmost present importance and its future
importance will be even greater. Recently 98 per cent. of the world’s
production has been contributed by the following countries in this
general order of importance: The United States, Russia, Mexico, Dutch
East Indies, Roumania, India, Persia, and Galicia. It is believed that
the region around the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico will be of
increasing importance, as will also the Persian and Mesopotamian fields.

United States capital is supreme in the commercial control of the
petroleum industry in the Western Hemisphere; while British and
British-Dutch interests easily dominate the petroleum situation in the
Eastern Hemisphere.

Commercial control of petroleum is determined mainly through ownership
by operating companies of lands, leases, or concessions. State
ownership is rare, although in Argentina the petroleum industry is
owned and operated by the state. The British government controls by
direct ownership of a majority of the voting stock, the Anglo-Persian
Oil Co., which gives it a monopoly of the Persian field, through the
concession of an area of 500 square miles from Persia to the company,
and closes the field to the enterprise of the United States or other
nations; moreover through ramifications of this company, the British
government is extending its hold to other parts of the world.

In the _United States_ the commercial control of the petroleum industry
is in the hands of the “Standard Oil Group.” British and British-Dutch
companies in the United States control a production of about 11,000,000
barrels a year, out of a total of 335,000,000. In the important region
of Mexico, which now takes second place in production, the commercial
control is entirely in the hands of foreigners: American interests
control 65 per cent. and British and Dutch interests 32 per cent.

In the Eastern Hemisphere, the productive field of the _Dutch East
Indies_ is under absolute control of British-Dutch interests, the Royal
Dutch-Shell Syndicate. Prospecting licenses and concessions are granted
only to Dutch subjects and to Dutch companies, and this, with the
economic monopoly of the controlling British-Dutch interests, prevents
foreign enterprise.

The absolute and exclusive control of the great oil fields of _Persia_
and _Mesopotamia_ by the British government will be confirmed and
extended by the extension of the British Empire over those portions of
the Turkish Empire which she won by force of arms.

In _Russia_ the commercial control of the great petroleum industry
seems to be British, the predominant interests being British,
Franco-British, and British-Dutch (Royal Dutch-Shell Syndicate). The
principal producing areas in Russia are or were till recently under
British military control.

The production of _India_ (Burma) is entirely in British hands.

“The general policy of the British Empire seems to be to control all
oil development and restrict operations by foreign capital.” Such
restrictions by government regulations exist in Australia, Canada,
India, Barbados, British Guiana, British Honduras, Trinidad and other
colonies.

In the oil industry, then, we have a remarkable and striking division
of the world’s wealth between the two great Anglo-Saxon nations,
America and Great Britain. No mineral lends itself so readily as oil
to transportation and hence to commercial control. According to the
present production, American interests are largely in excess. However,
the British control of the great fields of the Eastern Hemisphere,
many of them only partly developed, together with her growing hold in
the Western Hemisphere, indicates the likelihood that the British grip
of the world’s oil resources and production may in the future become
predominant.

Striking phases of the situation are that in the case of Great Britain
the government and the oil monopolies are united, so that to all
intents and purposes the control being obtained is by the British
government direct; while in the United States the control is in the
hands of purely commercial interests, operating without the control,
assistance, or sympathy of the government. American companies may
not own and operate oil lands in the British Empire, in the French
possessions, or the Dutch colonies, but there are no American
restrictions on foreign ownership or operation.

The policy of Great Britain, furnishing her petroleum and oil bunkering
stations all over the world, and assuring her control of the seas, will
further immensely increase her already extensive world domination.

The United States has no such program of imperial expansion, but
she has her Monroe Doctrine, which is to a mild degree an assumed
protectorate over the Western Hemisphere.

=Coal.=--Next let us take up coal, among the most important of all
minerals--source of power, light, and heat, and smelter of iron
and other metals. Here again, as in oil, we find the United States
wonderfully endowed by nature. She is credited with reserves of
3,527,000 million tons out of a total 7,909,000 million in the world,
or practically half of the whole world’s supply. As the world’s coal
reserves are large, the high-grade varieties, so situated as to have
cheap transportation, are of most immediate importance. Great Britain
has such coal close to seaboard, and so, until the war, controlled
the export trade all over the world. The industries of America leave
her little coal for export, and her coal is farther from seaboard.
The efforts of Germany before the war to build up a coal-export trade
were hindered by the long rail haul; and these deposits are now being
handed over to France. Besides France, Great Britain, and the United
States, only Canada, Australia, and China have sufficient reserves
for extensive export trade. Of these countries, China is the one most
likely to increase exports, on account of nearness to the coast, and
good quality of coal.

Although the coals of the United States are not so close to the coast
as in England, they not only constitute by far the largest reserves, as
above stated, but are also most immediately available, owing to their
shallow depth and the good railway transportation facilities.

No natural substance is so universally used, and so necessary to every
individual, as coal, and hence every individual feels a natural right
to it, and believes that it should be available at a minimum cost.
This has resulted in several countries in the nationalization of the
coal industry, as in parts of Chile, Bulgaria, Prussia, and Australia.
In other countries, as in parts of the United States, the government
retains the ownership of coal lands, leasing them to private operators.
In England the present conditions point toward the nationalization of
the coal industry. In France the coal lands belong to the government,
which gives concessions for their operation, and receives a royalty or
rental and a percentage of the net earnings of the operator.

Although the United States is pre-eminent among the world’s
nationalities as regards coal, England has the advantage of having
adequate supplies scattered all over the world, in her colonies of
Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, South Africa, Rhodesia, and
Borneo.

Unlike petroleum, coal is a mineral which does not lend itself readily
to control by commercial combination. The mining and marketing of coal
is a simple matter, requiring relatively little skill or equipment,
so that it is a business open to everybody; and the vast extent of
coal lands assures a multitude of owners. Therefore the effect of the
control of coal on the world’s commerce and history is almost entirely
a matter of political control. Organization among producers exists
in various countries, as in the case of the anthracite industry of
the United States, but this does not as a rule extend to a central
ownership, nor does it usually extend to foreign countries.

In coal, then, as well as in petroleum, we find the two dominating
nations are the great Anglo-Saxon powers, England and the United
States. The United States mines about 40 per cent., or two-fifths of
the world’s annual production, while the British Isles have produced
one-fifth of the production, making them second only to the United
States. In neither case have the respective governments in the past
attempted to control the mining and the sale of coal, but in England,
at least, it is likely that some form of joint control, participated in
by the government and the miners, will come.

The methods of mining necessary for maximum production of British
coal mines during the war resulted in putting the mines in such poor
condition that it will be a year or two before they can supply all of
the former British export trade. The demands of British workmen for
shorter hours (resulting in decreased production) will hinder still
further a resumption of large exports. One of the important phases
of this, to England and America alike, is the South American trade.
England has always supplied this market, but the United States will
probably do so for the present, and should take care to do so if she
desires South American trade, and on the commercial theory of the
Monroe Doctrine. Up till recently, the United States has exported by
sea only about 4 per cent. of her production, whereas England sent out
25 per cent. Our own expanding industries have provided an ample market.

Aside from America and England, there is no dominating factor in the
future control of the coal industry in the lands surrounding the
Atlantic Ocean. Germany was a strong factor before the war, but the
loss to France of the Saar coal district, and the possible loss, to
Poland, of the Dombrova field, in Silesia, will deprive her of her
importance; and the division among several nations of these resources
will prevent any one of them from becoming a world’s factor in the coal
trade.

In the lands about the Pacific Ocean, however, the most important
future factor is the coal fields of China. No country except the United
States has larger reserves of high-grade coal ready for development
and not far from ocean transport. It is likely that the Japanese may
attempt this development and the fostering of an export trade in the
Orient. The high-grade coals of the United States are remote from the
Pacific Ocean, and could only be available for Pacific trade by the
long route of the Panama Canal. It is not unlikely, therefore, that
Chinese coal may in the future be supplied to our own Pacific ports by
the Japanese at a less price than American coal can be put there, and
that through this development Japan may be able to dominate the Pacific
trade, as England has dominated that of the Atlantic and the Pacific in
the past.

THE STEEL AND FERRO-ALLOY MINERALS

=Iron.=--The iron supplies for the world’s consumption have been
obtained principally from four countries: the United States, Germany,
France, and Great Britain. More than one-third of the total production
has come from the United States, and of the American output about
85 per cent. has come from the Lake Superior district, which alone
produces annually over 30 per cent. of the world’s total. Next in
importance to the United States have been Germany and France, and about
80 per cent. of the production of these two countries has come from the
Lorraine fields on the border. The annual output of these fields has
been 25 per cent. of the world’s production, or nearly as much as the
Lake Superior district.

Linked with the coal industry as it is, no world-wide or even national
monopolies of iron ore have been attempted. The greatest single
commercial organization in the world is the United States Steel
Corporation, with a total annual capacity (in 1913) of over 17 million
tons of pig iron, or about half of the total American production. But
this organization is not a monopoly, and there are a large number of
powerful independent companies. In France and Germany no dominating
organizations have been noted. In England up to the time of the war the
iron industry was controlled by middlemen, and the manufacturers were
insufficiently organized. To meet this condition (page 86) the British
Board of Trade Committee advised a consolidation of iron interests.

Extension of commercial control by the dominant iron-producing nations
to the ore reserves and to the iron industry of foreign countries, so
establishing that commercial penumbra of empire which is so apt to
deepen into actual sovereignty, is, however, much more marked in the
case of iron than of coal, though less significant than in the case of
oil. The control by ownership of great iron fields in South America by
England and the United States, and the extension of Japanese control
of iron-ore reserves in China, are the most significant features of
this situation. In France, even before the war, Germany controlled over
one-third of the iron and steel business. With the passing of German
Lorraine to France, it is likely that much German capital will remain.

Japan has an iron and steel industry which, although small as compared
with that of the United States, Germany, and Great Britain, and the
other leading iron and steel manufacturing countries, is rapidly
expanding. Blast furnaces, steel-making furnaces, and steel mills are
being erected in Japan and in Korea, Manchuria, and China by Japanese
interests. Japan is still very far from supplying her own consumption
of iron and steel, which is a million and a half tons annually.

In brief, as regards the world’s iron and steel, the United States has
a greatly preponderant position, which it will tend to increase, with
the desirable tendency of drawing North and South America more closely
together. In Europe, France and Germany are oddly yoked in the control
of the second greatest steel industry in the world. In the future
great arena of the Pacific, Japan is patiently building up her steel
industry, with far-reaching Oriental vision. Coal mines and an iron
blast furnace are included in the German “rights” recently acquired by
Japan. Will Japan return Shantung? Did Germany return Alsace Lorraine?
In her forward-looking plans, Japan has two national rivals--England
and America. She has a vast fertile field to work in, except for these
(especially England)--all of eastern Asia. She has a great disorganized
nation which is no longer a rival--but a field whereon to feed and grow
stronger--Siberia and Russia.

In the train of steel, and next after the problems of coal and iron,
come a number of less-known and less-abundant metals--the ferro-alloys,
metals that alloy with iron to make steels of special hardness or
toughness, or with some other special quality. Relatively inconspicuous
as they are, they are indispensable in the industries.

=Manganese.=--Manganese is far more than a ferro-alloy. It is
essential in the manufacture of all open-hearth process and Bessemer
process steel, which make up 99 per cent. of the total United States
production, for it acts as a remover of the carbon which makes the
difference in quality between steel and cast iron. For this purpose it
is mixed with the iron in the form of alloys. One of these is high in
manganese--ferromanganese--and one low--spiegeleisen.

The principal manganese fields are those of Russia, India, and
Brazil, which are so large and readily available for exploitation and
transportation to markets that there is little prospect that they
will be displaced as the principal sources of the world’s supply for
many years. In contrast with the situation regarding other important
minerals, most manganese deposits throughout the world are owned by
residents of the countries in which they occur. This is due to the
superficial and irregular character of the oxide deposits (the only
ones as a rule of high enough grade to find a market) and the simple
nature of the mining and washing of ores, which does not require much
capital.

The United States is poorly provided with high-grade manganese ores,
and hence has always been and will always be a heavy importer. Previous
to the war, the supplies were mostly drawn from Russia and India;
and during the war from Brazil, in addition to an increased domestic
production under the stimulus of high war prices. England, France, and
Germany--in fact the whole industrial world--have the same sources of
supply. There is little necessity of sharp competition, leading to
commercial combinations, or of strict governmental control, since the
productive capacity of the principal deposits is very large, and far
exceeds the world’s demand for steel making.

=Chromite.=--Next in importance in the ferro-alloy group of metals
is chromium, found in nature on a commercial scale only as the oxide
_chromite_. Chrome is used extensively in the steel industry and the
leather industry--in the former for making a specially tough steel (and
also a refractory lining for iron furnaces); in the latter, for tanning.

Chromite is found in many countries, but in most (as in the United
States and Canada) in small and scattered deposits, easily exhausted.
The largest and most important sources of supply are in the French
colony of New Caledonia, in the South Pacific; in Rhodesia, in Africa;
in Asia Minor; and in the Ural Mountains, Russia. Up to 1830 the Ural
region supplied the world’s chromium; from 1830 to 1870, the Eastern
United States (Maryland and Pennsylvania) became the chief source;
from 1870 to about 1900 the scene of chief activity shifted to Asia
Minor; and since then New Caledonian and Rhodesian ores have occupied
the world’s markets. New Caledonian ore is produced with cheap labor,
and the deposits are near the coast; and the Rhodesian deposits are
large and rich. High prices during the war, due to lack of shipping,
brought about a great increase of production in the Pacific States of
the United States; but with a return to normal conditions this region
cannot survive competition, unless especially protected by legislation.

In normal times, the United States consumes more than one-third of
the world’s annual consumption of chromite, but depends upon foreign
sources--Rhodesia and New Caledonia. During the war, deposits of
limited extent in Brazil and Cuba were drawn on, as well as Canadian
and domestic ores. So far as developed, however, the Western Hemisphere
is relatively poor in chromite deposits. The chrome industry in the
United States is highly centralized, the Electrometallurgical Company
having an almost absolute monopoly of the ferrochrome industry, and
being probably the largest producers of ferrochrome in the world,
and the Mutual Chemical Company having a great preponderance in the
chemical chrome industry.

The chromite supply of the world is therefore at present essentially a
monopoly controlled by British-French capital, and the great supplies
occur in the colonies of England and France.

=Nickel.=--The position of nickel is rather unusual, in that workable
deposits are rarely met with, and deposits of great importance are
confined to a few places. The only really commercially important
deposits are those of Sudbury, in Canada, and of New Caledonia;
although small deposits of workable ore have been mined in Norway, and
nickeliferous and chromiferous iron ore occurs in Cuba.

The deposits of Sudbury are relatively far more important than
those of any other field. Therefore Great Britain (through Canada)
possesses by all means the largest and most important nickel deposits,
amounting practically to an exclusive control. Previously American
capital exerted a dominant commercial control over the nickel
industry, through its ownership of the largest ore reserves and its
control of smelting and refining plants in the United States. One of
these American companies has also the second largest holdings in New
Caledonia. The British government plainly has taken means to overcome
this commercial domination. A large company has gone into business at
Sudbury, in which the British government has the controlling interest.
The government has also brought about the transfer of the refining
operations of the International Nickel Company from New Jersey to
Ontario, so that the entire industry will be confined to Canada.

=Tungsten.=--The greatest tungsten-producing region is that of eastern
Asia; the region of the United States and Mexico second; that of
Bolivia and neighboring countries in South America third; and fourth
comes the province of Portugal, Spain, and Italy. There seem to be no
very large and concentrated tungsten deposits; and nearly all of those
worked give signs of being easily exhausted. There may be therefore a
world tungsten shortage in the future. Possibly Bolivia will prove to
be the most durable field.

As to the commercial control, it is entirely in British hands, and this
through the active policy of the British government. Actual control
is obtained through the ferrotungsten makers, to whom the ores go for
treatment. On this basis the commercial control in 1917 was: British
14,606 tons; American 9,479 tons; Japanese 1,165 tons; French 1,057
tons; and Germany 360 tons.

American capital controls the tungsten deposits within its own borders
and in Mexico, and is largely interested in Bolivia and China. Before
the war Germany controlled probably half the tungsten output, the other
half being divided among the United States, England and France. At the
present time, the control through ownership of mines and smelters is as
follows: Great Britain 54 per cent.; United States 35 per cent.; Japan
4 per cent.; France 4 per cent.; and Germany 1 per cent.

=Vanadium.=--Vanadium is an important ferro-alloy metal. Vanadium steel
has great toughness and torsional strength, and is used in automobile
parts, gun barrels, and the like. Chromium-vanadium steels have an
extensive market.

The largest and most important deposits of vanadium in the world are
in Peru, and until recently were controlled by the American Vanadium
Company (an American firm), which has a concession from the Peruvian
government. Otherwise the most important deposits are found in
southwest Colorado, and were till very lately controlled by the Primos
Chemical Company, of Pennsylvania. The American Vanadium Company had an
absolute world monopoly of vanadium products and ferrovanadium, until
the entrance into the field of the Primos company. Quite recently the
holdings of both these companies have been taken over by the Vanadium
Corporation, allied to the Bethlehem Steel Corporation.

=Antimony.=--Antimony has a relatively restricted use in peace-time,
but war creates (for the manufacture of shrapnel) a vastly increased
demand. Under normal circumstances the supply is far in excess of the
demand. China has long been the most important source of supply, and
is likely so to continue. France and Algeria are also producers, as is
Mexico; and other countries produce under the stimulus of high prices.
The United States, as well as Canada, has relatively small reserves
and normally small production. In the early part of the European war,
however, in 1915 and 1916, countries like Bolivia, Mexico, Australia,
the United States, Peru, Burma, and Spain contributed important
amounts; but none of these will be important factors at the usual low
prices.

Prior to the war, England was the chief antimony-smelting center of the
world. Ores from all over the world were there treated, and the British
brands were considered purer than others, and virtually monopolized the
world’s markets, including those of the United States. During the great
demand in 1915 and 1916, British interests completely controlled the
Bolivian industry. Until 1914 one of the principal English companies
held contracts for the production of the Wah Chang Company, the most
important antimony producers in China; but in 1914 this company
established an independent selling agency in the United States. This
tends to transfer the control of the antimony market from England to
China. With all her vast mineral resources, China has been able to
obtain an important position in the world’s markets with regard to but
few metals. Of these antimony is the most striking example. Since 1908
over 50 per cent. of the world’s total antimony production has come
from China.

=Molybdenum.=--The use of molybdenum in steel making is as yet almost
in the experimental stage, but it is likely to become important. It is
valuable in electric work.

Up to about 1916 practically all the molybdenum ore (molybdenite, a
sulphide of molybdenum) came from Australia and Norway. Shortly after
the opening of the war, the molybdenite in Canada became prominent;
and later the United States came to the fore as a producer. At present
the United States can probably produce as much if not more molybdenum
than all the rest of the world put together, principally from the great
newly discovered deposits at Climax, Colorado. Before this development,
Great Britain was the largest producer, in Australia and Canada. Both
the British and the Canadian governments have been much interested in
the development of the Canadian molybdenum, and the Canadian government
has built a mill for the concentration of the ores. Prior to the war,
the German-controlled American Metal Company, a branch of the German
“metal octopus,” obtained, through a subsidiary, a large share in the
control of the Climax deposits; and the Primos Chemical Company, which
had strong German connections before the war, produced ferromolybdenum
from ore from its own mine at Empire, Colorado. This, together with
the great interest taken by Germany and German capital in molybdenum
elsewhere, led to the rumor of attempted German control of American
molybdenum.

=Uranium.=--Uranium is valuable for the manufacture of special steel,
although only used in small quantities. It is of extraordinary interest
on account of its association with radium, both being obtained
principally from the minerals carnotite and uraninite (including
pitchblende). Radium is used in medicine, and for luminous paint.
The only regions which have yet produced large amounts of radium and
uranium on a commercial scale are in the United States and Austria. At
the present time the United States is producing several times as much
as all other countries combined.

=Zirconium.=--Zirconium is used in electric lighting, and experiments
have been made with zirconium steel. During the war it was at one time
thought to be of unusual value as a ferro-alloy. Zirconium occurs
in nature as the mixed oxide and silicate, baddeleyite, and as the
silicate zircon. The baddeleyite deposits, having a higher percentage
of zirconium, will probably become the chief source of the metal. It
occurs in commercial quantities only in Brazil. Zircon deposits are
found in Brazil, and also in India; and a deposit of minor note occurs
in the United States (Florida).

=Thorium and Mesothorium.=--With zirconium must be considered monazite,
a mineral which is the source of thorium and mesothorium. Thorium
nitrate is used in the manufacture of Welsbach mantles for gas burners;
mesothorium is a by-product of its manufacture from monazite, and is
a radioactive substance used as a substitute for radium in making
luminous paints and for therapeutic purposes. The zircon minerals
and monazite typically occur together in river or beach sands. Like
the zirconium minerals, monazite comes mainly from Brazil and India;
although it has in the past been mined successfully in the United
States, the industry is now extinct.

The thorium nitrate industry of the United States is closely controlled
by two companies, the American Welsbach Company, and the Lindsay Light
Company. During the war they furnished thorium nitrate also to England
and France, thus exercising a world-wide control.

THE MAJOR NON-FERROUS METALS

=Copper.=--The United States stands out predominantly as the world’s
great copper producer, producing in 1917 60 per cent. of the world’s
output. No other country produces one-sixth as much as the United
States. American capital controls (in part through control of refining)
78 per cent. of the world’s production.

Germany has been one of the largest consumers of copper, though not
a large producer. Because of this, German interests have in the past
secured a considerable control over copper supplies, as well as
those of lead, zinc, and other metals, through refining and selling
contracts with mining companies. Such control does not as a rule extend
to ownership of mines or smelters. Thus for many years companies
affiliated with the great German Metal Combine (Metallgeselschaft)
were influential in the copper business of the United States. There
were three of these companies in the United States, the American Metal
Company, L. Vogelstein & Co., and Beer-Sondheimer & Co. Recently the
first two have consolidated; and all were Americanized during the war.

The commercial control of the copper in the world, as based on
ownership of mines, is, in even figures: United States capital, 69 per
cent. (entirely in the Western Hemisphere); British capital, 13 per
cent. (in both hemispheres, but mainly in the Eastern); Japanese, 8
per cent. (entirely domestic); German, 6 per cent.; and French, 2 per
cent. It will be noted that of the present production three-quarters
comes from the Western Hemisphere (North and South America) and only
one-quarter from the rest of the world. It is probable that this is
a fair index of the relative wealth. The future production of South
America will probably increase more rapidly than that of North America,
which was earlier developed. It is necessary for the permanent control
of the copper situation by the United States that American capital
should continue to be foremost in the development of South America.

=Lead.=--The United States is the largest producer of lead in the world
and has large resources. Next to the United States, in the order named,
come Australia, Spain, Germany, and Mexico. Three powers--the United
States, British Empire, and Spain--produce 76 per cent. of the total;
and of these the United States and Great Britain produce 60 per cent.

The most striking feature about the lead industry is the fact that as
the German system of far-reaching commercial control under government
auspices--through smelting, refining, and selling--was destroyed,
this system was at once adopted by the British and French. In other
words, they found that the German plan had been so effective that they
not only blocked it permanently so far as their own countries were
concerned, but organized similar commercial-political combinations
which should not only take care of all their own lead business, but,
like the German organization, should reach out into other countries.
The German combination still remains active outside the territory of
the former Allies.

Of all the great lead-producing powers the United States is the only
one which does not possess a government-controlled lead monopoly.
Threatened commercial world monopolies of lead, as of other minerals,
have therefore, through the revival of nationalistic spirit due to the
war, given place to national-commercial monopolies by three powers
(Germany, France, and Great Britain), each intended to become as
world-wide as possible, and thus competitive with each other and with
the purely commercial organizations of the American lead industry.
In England this movement has taken the form of a British Metals
Corporation (covering not only lead but other metals). The British
Treasury is represented on the Board of Directors.

In France, the nationalist movement has resulted in the formation of
consortiums or trade monopolies for each industry, organized under
government auspices. That of the mineral industry is the Société
Minerais et Metaux. The official announcement states that this society
is organized under the auspices of the French government, in order
to group the French metal producers, operating both at home and
abroad, into a co-operative association for the purchase and sale of
metallurgical products.

In America, the principal commercial factor is the American Smelting &
Refining Co., dominating the market through its control of reduction
plants, although it controls directly only one-third the production.

=Zinc.=--Zinc and lead are commonly associated in mineral deposits,
so that their geological and geographical distribution is nearly
identical. Of the world’s production of zinc, the United States
produces 35 per cent., Germany 25 per cent., Australia 15 per cent.,
and Italy 5 per cent.

Up to the outbreak of the war in 1914, the position of zinc was extreme
among the metals, in that political control or state sovereignty
exercised only a minor effect upon the industry. “Economic factors,”
says our author, “made ineffective any control not international in
scope. A very large percentage of the zinc ores of the world were
transported from the country of production to another for treatment,
in some cases even being re-exported.” During the war, however,
political control was largely invoked to strengthen and restore
commercial control to the chief belligerent nations. This movement was
particularly marked in the British Empire, where there now exists,
as above noted in the paragraphs discussing lead, a joint political
and commercial control. Alien interests were eliminated by government
action, and the government retained a share in the control through
interests in marketing organizations or financial participation in
treatment works.

In the zinc industry, as in that of its closely associated metals,
copper and lead, the ownership or control of reduction plants, and
more particularly marketing organizations, have been more important in
determining commercial control than state sovereignty or commercial
ownership of mines. In recent years the marketing organizations became
world-wide and completely dominated the industry. The ambition of
German commercial interests to control the metal markets and resources
of the world was more nearly realized in the case of zinc than of any
other metal.

In France, as noted above in the case of lead, a government-controlled
metal marketing organization has been formed for the same
purpose--protection and advantage in competition. However, British
domination of the European zinc industry seems certain. Only the
American industry remains untouched by close organization under
government auspices. Should Germany lose Silesia, she will probably
become a small factor in the zinc industry. With so many doors closed
in her face by the British and French political and commercial
combinations, there should be governmental precautions taken by the
American Government that she should not re-establish herself in the
United States, nor so far as possible (following out to its logical
conclusion the Monroe Doctrine) in the rest of North and South America.

Note that in the zinc industry, as well as in every other industry,
Japan is rapidly expanding, and having reached the limit of her own
resources, her field of growth is in Korea, China, and Siberia.
Japan’s present zinc-smelting capacity is greater than her domestic
consumption, and much greater than the domestic ore supply; and ore is
imported from China, Siberia, Indo-China, and Australia.

=Tin.=--Tin belongs to a group of minerals that are classifiable
together by the fact that they are not of widespread distribution,
but are found in really commercial quantity only on a few spots
of the globe, and yet are absolutely necessary for our industrial
civilization. Such also are chromium, platinum, potash salts, nitrates,
and nickel. Of this political-commercial group, tin is an important
member. It is noteworthy of this group that the United States is not
the lucky holder of the first prize in any of these cases. In the case
of chromium, it is mainly the French and British colonies, of platinum
it is Russia and Colombia, of potash salts it is Germany, of nitrates
it is Chili, of nickel again the British and French colonies, and in
the case of tin it is southeastern Asia and Bolivia.

The United States produces less than one-fifth of 1 per cent. of its
requirements, and its control of foreign tin resources through mine
ownership is negligible. On the other hand, the United States consumes
over half the tin of the world, and is the largest manufacturer and
distributor of tin products. The tin-mining and smelting industry of
the world is dominated by Great Britain.

Tin is used in the manufacture of tin plate, in solder, brass, and many
other essential uses, and no satisfactory substitute is available. In
war as well as peace, tin cans are as necessary as rifles. Aluminum
is the most likely possible substitute for tin in containers, and the
United States controls the aluminum industry. About 68 per cent. of
the tin is produced at present from southeastern Asia and neighboring
islands, 21 per cent. from Bolivia, 4 per cent. from Nigeria and South
Africa, and 3 per cent. from England. The Bolivian production will
probably tend to increase.

=Mercury.=--Mercury, or quicksilver, is a mineral of some importance,
although by far not in the class of the last four discussed above. It
is useful for drugs and chemicals; as a detonator for high explosives;
as a pigment; for treating gold and silver ores; and for many other
uses. The greatest quicksilver deposits in the world are in Spain. The
United States comes second. The important Idria mine, near Trieste,
formerly Austrian, but at last accounts in possession of Italy, takes
third place. The production from the rest of the world is small. Spain,
Italy, and the United States, therefore, divide the production and
the control through state sovereignty. The great mine of Spain, the
Almaden (the greatest in the world), is also owned and worked by the
Spanish government. The Spanish government contracts, on the basis
of competitive proposals, with the successful bidder for the sale
of quicksilver for a term of ten years. For a number of successive
periods, the contract has been awarded to the Rothschilds of London. By
this arrangement the market is controlled in London; and during the war
the sale was taken over by the British government. The control of the
marketing of the product of this mine enables those in control to fix
the price of quicksilver in the world’s markets.

=Aluminum.=--An important metal at present, and one bound to be
eventually still more important, is aluminum. While one of the
principal constituents of all rocks, in the form of silicates, its
release from that combination is so difficult that it has not been
solved on a commercial scale. Since there is much more aluminum
than iron in the earth’s compounds, however, there will never be a
shortage, if cost is disregarded. Commercial aluminum is manufactured
from the oxide, bauxite. Bauxite is also used directly as an abrasive
and also as a refractory. The largest bauxite deposits are controlled
politically by the United States and France, with the British Empire in
a favorable prospective position. The aluminum works of the world are
controlled by Great Britain, France, and Germany, and also Switzerland,
Italy, and Norway. The aluminum industry of the United States and
Canada is practically in the hands of one company, the Aluminum
Company of America, which also holds interests in South America and
other countries. The French producers of aluminum have effected a
central organization through the incorporation of a selling company,
L’Aluminium Française. The British Aluminium Company is the sole
producer in England, and controls the Irish deposits.

THE NON-METALLIC MINERALS

=Emery and Corundum.=--Abrasives are essential and important in the
industries. Chief, perhaps, in the group of natural abrasives are
emery and corundum, which are superior in hardness to other abrasives
such as quartz, tripoli, garnet, and pumice. They are used in grinding
and polishing metals--chiefly iron and steel--and glass. Commercially
important deposits of emery and corundum are located in the
Appalachian region of the United States, on the islands of the Grecian
Archipelago (especially Naxos), in Asia Minor, India, Madagascar, and
South Africa. There is little control other than that inherent in state
sovereignty.

=Magnesite.=--Magnesite is a mineral of some importance, used mainly
in metallurgical operations and as a refractory material for lining
furnaces; also for the manufacture of a cement for flooring. Magnesite
is not a rare mineral, and deposits are widespread. Productive and
commercial deposits are located in the United States (California and
Washington), Canada, Mexico (Lower California), Venezuela, Austria,
Germany, Spain, Greece, and other countries. Not rare enough to be the
subject of great combinations, the interesting international feature of
the trade is that which centers in the United States. Until recently
large magnesite deposits were not known in the United States, but in
the last few years vast deposits have been developed in California
and Oregon. Previous to the war, the deposits of Austria were mainly
drawn on by consumers in the Eastern United States, and during the war
Canadian magnesite was mainly used. American firms own considerable
interests in the deposits in Austria, and probably in some of those in
Canada, Mexico and Venezuela.

=Graphite.=--Graphite is used for crucibles for steel and brass making,
for foundry facings, pencils, shoe polish, as a lubricant, etc.
Crystalline graphite only is used for crucibles. The supply of this
for American consumption was one of the problems of the war. Of the
crystalline graphite deposits, it is believed that those of the French
colony of Madagascar will, on account of their richness--if competition
is free--supplant American and German deposits; the deposits of Ceylon
are regarded as on the wane. Amorphous graphite will probably come
from Austria, Mexico and Korea. The deposits of the United States are
extensive but of low grade.

=Mica.=--Mica is an essential mineral, especially in electrical work.
One of the commonest minerals of nearly all rocks, it becomes valuable
only when it occurs in crystals or sheets of large size, which are of
comparatively rare occurrence, being found only in certain pegmatite
dikes. India, Canada, and the United States produce about 98 per cent.
of the sheet mica of the world. Brazil, Argentina, and the former
German East Africa are becoming important. India produces 65 per cent.
of the total world production; the United States only 15 per cent.
Brazilian mica is expected to be of much greater importance in the
future than in the past, although India will doubtless retain its
position as the most important producer.

The British Empire controls 75 per cent. of the sheet-mica production.
Before the war, Germany had obtained a large measure of commercial
control in Indian mines, and by virtue of her dominant position in
the electrical industry, threatened to control the mica market of the
world. The United States is now the largest consumer; but as the
important development of the electrical industry in England during the
war places it in the position formerly occupied by Germany and Austria,
it requires a larger supply of the mica from India, and this may lead
to a permanent British control. London is the distributing center for
Indian mica, and London prices regulate the market. During the war
Indian mica was controlled by the British government and allotted to
the Allied nations at fixed prices. A permanent British monopoly of the
mica market can probably best be obviated by the development of the
Brazilian field by American electrical manufacturers.

=Asbestos.=--Asbestos is an essential mineral, on account of its
incombustibility and insulating qualities, together with its fibrous
structure, which enables it to be spun or woven into ropes and
fabrics; and on this account it has a wide and varied use. There are
mineralogically three kinds of asbestos--chrysotile, crocidolite, and
anthophyllite--the last being, as a rule, of non-spinning quality.
Chrysotile is the most valuable commercially: crocidolite, or blue
asbestos, will not bear high temperature like the other varieties,
and on account of its low fusibility is useful for electric welding.
Therefore, the main asbestos problem centers about the deposits of
high-grade chrysotile, especially as the supplies of anthophyllite
asbestos are abundant, and with its restricted uses, ample for an
indefinite period. The most important deposits of chrysotile asbestos
are in Quebec, Canada, but large deposits are also worked in Russia and
Rhodesia.

The United States is by far the largest manufacturer of asbestos
products in the world, but produces only a small fraction of the
necessary materials. The presence of the deposits in Canada, however,
provides the American industry with an ample supply. British companies
hold exclusive control of the production of South Africa, Australasia,
and Italy: of these, South Africa includes the Rhodesian deposits
of chrysotile, which are among the most important in the world.
Altogether, the British Empire is in a dominating position, controlling
about 88 per cent. of the annual asbestos production of the world and
approximately 70 per cent. of the estimated reserves. Canada is in the
lead of all countries, supplying about 85 per cent. of the world’s
production. Should the British policy as to other mineral industries be
carried out in the case of asbestos we may expect action on the part of
the British or Canadian government to transfer the center of asbestos
manufacture from the United States to Canada or England.

THE FERTILIZER MINERALS

We have above touched on four great groups of minerals--the fuel
minerals, the steel and ferro-alloy minerals, the major non-ferrous
minerals, and the non-metallic minerals. Next comes a group by
itself--the fertilizer minerals or elementary substances, chief among
which are phosphate rock, potash, nitrates, and sulphur and sulphuric
acid. All of these appear essential to the re-invigorating of the soil
as successive crops are removed, and so to securing a permanency of its
original productivity.

=Phosphate Rock.=--Phosphate rock is a natural substance which is used
mainly as an ingredient of fertilizers, being finely ground and used
directly. Large quantities are also used for making phosphoric acid and
phosphorus, the latter being used in matches, etc. Phosphate rock is a
bedded or sedimentary deposit containing phosphate of lime; phosphate
of lime also occurs as nodules in stream beds. Another type of deposit
commonly classed as phosphate rock is the porous coral or limestone
of tropical islands, permeated with phosphate leached from guano. The
phosphate rock deposits of present commercial importance are located
in the United States, Algeria, Tunis, and Egypt, the United States
possessing by far the largest reserves. The United States has also the
largest industry of production. Politically the principal deposits are
controlled by the United States, France (Tunis and Algeria) and Great
Britain (Egypt). The commercial control of the deposits of the United
States is mainly in the hands of Americans, although German and French
interests own some of the hard-rock deposits. The deposits of Algeria
and Tunis are controlled by two companies, one British and the other
Italian. Germany will be without a source of supply under her own
control now that her colonies have been forfeited.

From the above it will be seen that there is no probability of a world
control or monopoly of phosphates. The United States is in a position
to command the market unless nationalistic legislation in the various
countries is enacted to protect and advance their own industries.

=Potash.=--Potash is a most important fertilizer, over 90 per cent.
of all potash used being so employed, the remainder going into the
manufacture of explosives and glass, and into the chemical industry.

Up to 1914 practically all the world’s supply of potash came from
the great natural rock-salt deposits of Stassfurt, Germany. Next in
importance come the deposits of Alsace, containing sufficient to
supply the world’s present demands for 300 years. Large undeveloped
deposits exist in northeastern Spain. Germany made active practical
use of her natural potash wealth in erecting a government monopoly,
which supplied the world. This advantage was made much of in her plans
for further political and commercial conquest, and in the writings of
the vainglorious Teutons. In potash, they openly boasted, they had an
all-powerful commercial weapon which would oblige other nations to
supply in exchange raw materials such as Germany needed, as cotton and
copper from the United States. With her political collapse, however,
her commercial potash monopoly has also gone. The vast deposits of
Alsatian potash have gone to France, and while German potash may still
perhaps be produced and sold more cheaply, the Alsatian deposits will
act as a check. A commercial combination between the two, and including
the Spanish deposits, is, however, not at all out of the question.
Potash is one of the commonest elements in the earth, and in the United
States there is an abundant supply but it is largely in the form of
silicates, and so more difficult and expensive to extract than from the
soluble natural salts of Germany.

=Nitrates.=--Nitrates are essential in an extraordinary degree, in
various ways: as fertilizer, and so essential to food and life; as
the source of ammonia, and therefore necessary to the modern system
of food refrigeration; as an essential ingredient in explosives, and
thus indispensable for the national defense. Just as potash is one
of the commonest elements of the earth, so nitrogen is one of the
commonest elements of the air, of which it constitutes four-fifths. It
should not, therefore, be hard to get; but to isolate it and catch it
in usable form--in technical terms, to “fix” it--is difficult, slow
and expensive. Nature has not done much toward “fixing” nitrogen in
her mineral supplies; and although it is constantly being “fixed” in
animal and vegetable organisms, it is largely soon returned to the
atmosphere as ammonia or in other forms, or, being in the form of
soluble salts, is leached from the soil and carried away, either to
be transformed again to the atmosphere, or, rarely, to be accumulated
under arid conditions by evaporation into mineral deposits. For some
hitherto unexplained reason, only in Chili have mineral deposits of
importance thus been formed; and the Chilean deposits have till lately
supplied the world, giving Chile even a far more exclusive position as
regards nitrates than was held by Germany as regards potash; but there
has never been any monopolistic control of the Chilean nitrate supply.
Besides this mineral source, and the obtaining of nitrogen from the air
by fixation, important sources of fertilizer nitrogen are contained
in organic matter--refuse vegetable or animal remains, or animal
excreta--and also from coal, as a by-product of coke manufacture.

Previous to the war, Germany anticipated being deprived of Chilean
nitrate by developing fixation and by-product processes, through which
she supplied herself during the war. Other countries have not been so
thorough. During the war, the danger of the United States being cut off
from supplies of Chilean nitrates by the German submarine campaign,
led to the Government projecting and starting four large and expensive
plants for nitrogen fixation. They were unfinished when the war closed.

About five-eighths or less of the nitrogen consumed has been from
various organic sources, including the by-production from coke making.
By-product nitrogen in the United States is estimated at around
one-eighth of the entire supply. The remaining three-eighths has been
furnished largely by Chilean nitrates.

THE PRECIOUS METALS

=Gold.=--In the group of precious metals, gold is of the most
importance, mainly as the time-honored and unreplaceable measure of
value and medium of exchange. This position it has sometimes shared
with silver, but no country has ever refused to thus recognize gold.

Gold is found all over the world, but the British Empire produces
60 per cent. of it, while the United States produces 20 per cent.
Political and commercial control are nearly identical in the case of
gold, which is easily reduced to the metal state and thenceforth passes
current, requiring no selling agencies. Due to the commerce brought on
by the war, the United States now has a larger gold reserve than any
other nation.

=Silver.=--“Silver,” says our author, “is used both for money and in
the arts, the former use being the more important and more essential.
In some countries, especially those producing silver in large amounts,
it is the money standard, either alone or with gold. In other countries
on a gold standard silver is used for subsidiary coinage. In India and
China it is used for the settlement of foreign trade exchange balances.”

In countries with elaborate financial systems, where paper currency is
freely accepted, as in the United States and Europe, it is not such an
essential money metal; but in other countries it directly replaces and
conserves gold. On this account silver is not an article of luxury,
but an essential. The coinage of silver increased in Europe as the war
progressed, and was essential in bringing supplies from the Far East to
the battle fronts. While the normal annual silver production is around
159,000,000 ounces, the demand during 1918 exceeded 500,000,000 ounces.
Silver production adds to the stock of money, increases confidence
in financial conditions, and furnishes, with and subsidiary to gold,
a basis for credit. About half of the world’s silver output is as a
by-product of the production of other metals, notably lead and copper;
and accordingly the production of silver is largely independent of the
price.

Of the world’s total silver production, over 80 per cent. comes from
the mines of the Western Hemisphere. For many years Mexico was the
leading producer, until all its industries became disorganized by
revolution. The United States, always a close second, is now in a
leading position. Canada, Central America, and South America are
important. In the Eastern Hemisphere, Australia is the leading producer.

The principal silver deposits of the world are controlled politically
by the United States, Mexico, and Great Britain, these three
controlling 85 per cent. of the total production in 1913.

=Platinum.=--Platinum is controlled chiefly by Russia, being produced
otherwise in important quantity only in Colombia. American interests
predominate in Colombia. Before the war there was an interlocking of
the interests of the platinum refiners of the United States, Germany,
and Great Britain, with the German influence very marked.

[Illustration: FIG. 23.--The control according to political sovereignty
(territorial ownership) of the world’s mineral production.

(_Facing page 540_)

POLITICAL CONTROL (TERRITORIAL)

IRON 1913
191,978,750 Short Tons
UNITED STATES 37% BRITISH EMPIRE 11% FRANCE 14% LORRAINE 10% REST OF
GERMANY 6% AUSTRIA-HUNGARY 3% SPAIN 6% RUSSIA 5% ALL OTHERS 6%

COAL 1913
1,478,000,000 Short Tons
UNITED STATES 39% BRITISH EMPIRE 26% FRANCE 3% GERMANY 21% AUST.-
HUNGARY 4% ALL OTHERS 7%

PETROLEUM 1917
502,980,600 Barrels
UNITED STATES 67% BRIT. EMP. 2% RUSSIA 14% MEXICO 11% ALL OTHERS 6%

COPPER 1917
1,604,472 Short Tons
UNITED STATES 60% BRIT. EMP. 8% JAPAN 8% CHILE 5% CENTRAL POWERS 3%
ALL OTHERS 13%

ZINC 1913
1,095,686 Short Tons
UNITED STATES 32% BRITISH EMPIRE 6% FRANCE 7% BELGIUM 30% GERMANY 28%
ALL OTHERS 7%

PIG LEAD[191]
1,371,900 Short Tons
UNITED STATES 45% BRITISH EMPIRE 13% FRANCE 2% SPAIN 11% GERMANY 14%
AUST.-HUNGARY 2% ALL OTHERS 13%

GOLD 1917
425,486,400 Dollars
UNITED STATES 19% BRITISH EMPIRE 64% RUSSIA 4% JAPAN 2% ALL OTHERS 11%

SILVER 1913
223,127,000 Ounces
UNITED STATES 30% BRITISH EMPIRE 23% CENTRAL POWERS 3% MEXICO 32% ALL
OTHERS 12%

NICKEL 1913
32,016 Short Tons BRITISH EMPIRE 85% FRANCE 11% HUNGARY 2% ALL OTHERS
2%

GRAPHITE 1913
139,283 Short Tons
BRITISH EMPIRE 22% FRANCE 6% ITALY 9% GERMANY 9% AUSTRIA-HUNGARY 39%
JAPAN 8% ALL OTHERS 4%

MERCURY 1913
4,725 Short Tons
UNITED STATES 16% ITALY 23% SPAIN 33% AUSTRIA-HUNGARY 21% ALL OTHERS
5%

TIN 1917
137,199 Short Tons
BRITISH EMPIRE 50% NETHERLANDS 14% BOLIVIA 21% CHINA 8% ALL OTHERS 9%

MANGANESE 1913
2,607,483 Short Tons
BRITISH EMPIRE 35% RUSSIA 55% BRAZIL 5% ALL OTHERS 5%

POTASH 1913
1,247,992 Short Tons
GERMANY (STASSFURT) 93% GERMANY ALSACE 5% ALL OTHERS 2%

TUNGSTEN 1917
26,783 Short Tons
UNITED STATES 17% BRITISH EMPIRE 34% CEN. POW. 1% JAPAN 7% BOLIVIA 16%
CHINA 6% ALL OTHERS 19%

PLATINUM 1913
267,233 Troy Ounces
RUSSIA 93% COLOMBIA 6% ALL OTHERS 1%

SULPHUR 1916
1,100,000 Short Tons
UNITED STATES 65% ITALY 23% JAPAN 10% ALL OTHERS 2%

ASBESTOS 1913
158,016 Short Tons
BRITISH EMPIRE 87% RUSSIA 12% ALL OTHERS 1%

Prepared by: John E. Orchard,
Assistant Mine Economist,
U.S. Bureau of Mines, May 1, 1919

[191] _Recent_]

[Illustration: FIG. 24. The control, according to commercial or
financial ownership of the world’s mineral production.

(_Insert following Fig. 23_)

COMMERCIAL CONTROL (FINANCIAL)

(Percentages are Estimated)

IRON 1913
191,978,750 Short Tons
UNITED STATES 37% BRITISH EMPIRE 12% FRANCE 11% GERMANY 27% AUST.
HUNGARY 3% ALL OTHERS 10%

COAL 1913
1,478,000,000 Short Tons
UNITED STATES 35% BRITISH EMPIRE 24% FRANCE 3% GERMANY 21% AUST.
HUNGARY 4% ALL OTHERS 13%

PETROLEUM 1917
502,980,600 Barrels
UNITED STATES 72% BRITISH EMPIRE 9% NETHERLANDS 75% GERMANY 2% ALL
OTHERS 10%

COPPER 1917
1,604,472 Short Tons
UNITED STATES 69% BRITISH EMPIRE 13% FRANCE 2% GERMANY 6% ALL OTHERS
10%

ZINC 1913
1,098,686 Short Tons
UNITED STATES 32% BRIT. EMP. 6% FRANCE 12% BELGIUM 10% GERMANY 34% ALL
OTHERS 6%

PIG LEAD[192]
1,371,900 Short Tons
UNITED STATES 49% BRITISH EMPIRE 17% FRANCE 13% GERMANY 15% ALL OTHERS
6%

GOLD 1917
425,486,400 Dollars
UNITED STATES 23% BRITISH EMPIRE 63% FRANCE 6% CENTL. POWERS 1% ALL
OTHERS 7%

SILVER 1913
223,127,000 Ounces
UNITED STATES 52% BRITISH EMPIRE 33% GERMANY 10% ALL OTHERS 5%

NICKEL 1913
32,016 Short Tons
UNITED STATES 51% BRITISH EMPIRE 39% FRANCE 6% GERMANY 4%

GRAPHITE 1913
139,283 Short Tons
UNITED STATES 11% BRITISH EMPIRE 25% FRANCE 4% ITALY 7% GERMANY 10%
AUSTRIA-HUNGARY 36% ALL OTHERS 7%

MERCURY 1913
4,725 Short Tons
UNITED STATES 16% BRITISH EMPIRE 35% ITALY 11% GERMANY 13% AUSTRIA-
HUNGARY 21% ALL OTHERS 4%

TIN 1917
137,199 Short Tons
BRITISH EMPIRE 67% FRANCE 1% GERMANY 1% NETHERLANDS 14% CHILE 11%
BOLIVIA 7% CHINA 7% ALL OTHERS 2%

MANGANESE 1913
2,607,483 Short Tons
UNITED STATES 4% BRITISH EMPIRE 31% FRANCE 3% GERMANY 17% AUSTRIA-
HUNGARY 2% RUSSIA 36% ALL OTHERS 7%

POTASH 1913
1,247,982 Short Tons
GERMANY (STASSFURT) 93% GERMANY (ALSACE) 5% ALL OTHERS 2%

TUNGSTEN 1917
26,783 Short Tons
UNITED STATES 35% BRITISH EMPIRE 55% FRANCE 4% GERMANY 1% ALL OTHERS
3%

PLATINUM 1913
267,233 Troy Ounces
UNITED STATES 4% BRITISH EMPIRE 2% FRANCE 74% RUSSIA 15% ALL OTHERS
2%

SULPHUR 1916
1,100,000 Short Tons
UNITED STATES 65% ITALY 23% JAPAN 10% ALL OTHERS 2%

ASBESTOS 1913
158,016 Short Tons
UNITED STATES 24% BRITISH EMPIRE 64% CENTRAL POWERS 10% ALL OTHERS 2%

Prepared by John E. Orchard
Assistant Mine Economist
U.S. Bureau of Mines, May 1, 1919

[192] Recent]

=Who Owns the Earth?=--The answer to our inquiry at the head of
this chapter, “Who Owns the Earth?” is therefore answered by these
summaries, and is further set forth in the accompanying charts, one
showing political (or, rather, in this case, strictly territorial)
control, and the other commercial control, Figs. 23 and 24. As based
upon the territorial and commercial control of the fundamental
minerals, it appears that the earth is owned by the two great
Anglo-Saxon nations, the United States and the British Empire: the
former by destiny and good fortune and without political plan or
policy, in that such a vast store of mineral wealth was found in the
great sparsely populated wilderness of America which it occupied;
the latter through the imperial policy of Britain, developed through
hundreds of years by the need of extending commerce and the flag into
far-off lands to supplant the slender resources of its own limited
islands. Of the two, the United States is rather in the lead, and
possesses and controls more of the world’s mineral wealth than any
other nation; but Great Britain is a close second.

Rapid changes occur, however, in these days, and the future must be
inspected. The imperial policy of expansion and increasing political
control has become a tradition and an instinct with Great Britain; she
learned since the loss of her American colonies to give full autonomy
to her more intelligent colonies, so that she strengthens her dominion
thereby, and persistently goes on her way putting more and more of the
earth under the British flag. The wealth and resources of the United
States being so far greater than its necessities, foreign problems have
resolved into occasional questions of self-protection; and from this
condition a directly resulting theory has sprung, of non-interference
in the rest of the world. Like China, we declare ourselves apart from
the world, and simply ask to be left alone, in consideration of which
we agree to leave the world alone. Our Monroe Doctrine as originated
is part of that theory--we wanted the world to leave all the Americas
alone, but took no responsibility for the Americas otherwise--a selfish
and one-sided position.

The manner in which we cling to this doctrine is stupid and
ineffective: while we have conceived of it only as applying to
military or political encroachment, we have overlooked the modern
phase of commercial conquest. Thereby we gain the suspicion of our
Latin-American neighbors, who accordingly welcome more gladly European
or Japanese rather than American capital; and thus we encourage the
very encroachments we have thought to prevent. We should either abandon
the Monroe Doctrine entirely, or define it also in terms of political
control.

Therefore, as regards our great industries, and, more specifically, our
mineral industries, we have never had any definite policy; our troubles
and problems were purely internal, and the Government’s efforts were
largely directed to preventing such solidarity of any one industry that
its power should be too great, although American organizing genius
first successfully developed these colossal business combinations,
rising without government support. England, too, and France, with
their democratic traditions, tended to resist the overwhelming power
of great business organizations, as leading to the destruction of
equal opportunity and threatening the power of the state. It remained
for Germany, pressing impudently toward the conquest of the world, to
see the advantage of combining the powers of the state with those of
business monopolies, as a means of regulating industry at home and
overpowering other nations. Thus the old question of the union or
separation of Church and State becomes one of Business and State.

The success of this plan of German penetration was most clearly and
disagreeably brought home to the British mind, as well as to the French
and the American perception, by the war, and during the war England
took under government control her mineral industries more definitely
and systematically than did we. Moreover, perceiving the success of
the German system as a means of penetration and as a method against
competitors, she has adopted it, there being a striking tendency to
put her key industries under syndicates, unions, cartels, or trusts
controlled directly by the state.

A system of state socialism thus takes the place of the freedom of
individual competition. As regards the mineral industries, much the
same action has been taken by France. But in America, dropping all the
problems and half-learned lessons of the war, we return to the _status
quo ante_. If this difference continues, it is certain that British
control of the earth--whereby we mean its minerals--will eventually
preponderate. As far as we are concerned, we should perhaps rather see
it in the hands of Great Britain than of any other power, but must we
not decide upon our own course as a rich and populous nation of an
increasingly close-packed but seething and yet unorganized globe?

Our statesmen, newspapers, and financiers proclaim to the world that we
intend to take the lion’s share of the world’s shipping and commerce.
England says nothing, but puts her government directly behind her own
industries, while the American Government still holds aloof from them.
Nationalism has been revived in Europe, and especially in England and
France, as the result of the struggle to prevail against the intense
German nationalistic spirit, which all but subjugated a world drifting
comfortably into internationalism. It is conceivably a step backward, a
reversion, but what attitude shall America take? The British and French
nationalism need not disquiet us so much as that of the Japanese, still
more intense and purposeful, and working with the same German tools
(not invented in Germany, but in America, but, like most German arts,
successfully copied and utilized), now adopted by England and France
in self-defense. America also has had a rebirth of nationalism, quite
necessary in the existing state of affairs.

As the case now stands, the United States largely predominates in
the petroleum industry, with 71 per cent. of the world’s production
in 1917; England, far behind, is in a way to overtake us with giant
strides under her new system. In the basic necessities of coal and
iron, the United States also leads. The second place in the steel
industry, held by Germany, was presumably lost as a result of the war,
and probably passes to England, already second in coal and with her
iron industries in charge of a government-controlled syndicate for
purposes of protection and expansion.

In copper, the United States is far away in the lead, with England a
long second, and in lead, also, with half the world’s production, with
England second. Before the war England and Germany were about tied for
second place, and the latter was rapidly drawing ahead through her
state-controlled commercial methods; but the war will set her back
greatly. In zinc, the United States had the greatest production (32 per
cent.) before the war, slightly more than Germany (28 per cent.), but
German methods gave it the preponderance of actual commercial control.
The result of the war will restore the commercial supremacy to the
United States, and the importance of England will increase. In silver,
the United States now leads in production and in both territorial
and commercial control, and, by her commercial control over Mexican
production, controls one-half of the world’s output, with Great Britain
a strong commercial second, having nearly 40 per cent. of it.

In the production of the important mineral, sulphur, the United
States is far in advance of the world, with 65 per cent. of the
world’s production in 1916. Italy is second, Japan third, and England
is practically unrepresented. Phosphate rock is dominated, both
territorially and commercially, by the United States, but there are
other supplies for England, and France has abundance in her own
territory. Vanadium is commercially controlled by the United States,
although territorially by Peru. Molybdenum has very lately come to be
controlled by the United States, with Great Britain, formerly first,
now second. In uranium and radium the United States also has first
place, with Austria a long second. The aluminum industry is strongest
in the United States, although very important also in France.

In the following, however, Great Britain has control: the important
“key industry” of tin, where her territorial control is one-half and
her commercial control absolute, whereas the United States is not
represented; in the important nickel industry, by territorial control
of 80 per cent., and by a commercial control that is now probably
predominant over the strong American interests, as a result of an
active government policy; in tungsten, where she controls territorially
the greatest production (34 per cent.), and where she has commercial
supremacy, controlling 54 per cent. (1917), the United States being
second, with a commercial control of 35 per cent. (although its
territorial control is only 17 per cent., about equal to that of
Bolivia).

In manganese, Russia nominally leads, with 36 per cent. commercial
control (55 per cent. of the world’s production in 1913); but under
present conditions the effect is to give England the lead, with
the United States in a position of minor importance. In chromium,
Great Britain and France control through a syndicate, in which the
British interest is in the majority, and the United States occupies
a subordinate position with regard to both these countries. In gold
production the British Empire controls 63 per cent.; the United States
23 per cent. In graphite in 1913 the British Empire was second to
Austria-Hungary. It will now take the first place, and the United
States will be a competitor. In asbestos, the British Empire produces
87 per cent. and controls commercially 63 per cent. of the world’s
total, the United States being negligible in production, but second in
commercial control (of Canadian asbestos). Mercury, territorially, is
mainly in the hands of Spain, but the industry is actually dominated
by England, under selling arrangements. Antimony has long been
controlled by England, but control may revert to China, which means the
possibility of its becoming Japanese. Mica, essential for electrical
work, is controlled by Great Britain.

Only a few minerals remain in which most of the industry is not in the
hands of either the United States or England: potash, formerly a German
monopoly, and now divided between Germany and France, with Germany
likely predominant; and mineral nitrates, in Chilean territory, with no
marked national commercial control other than that of Chile.

Both America and England are strong in their grip on the world’s
mineral industries--England much stronger than before the war and with
a freshly set purpose to expand. A combination of these two countries
would amount to a practical world control of minerals, and, with
France, a little stronger control. This much for the present, but
uncertain quantities loom shadowy, in the destiny of Russia, the future
of Asia, and the progress of Japan. Japan is intently embarking on a
course toward the domination of Asia, politically and commercially.
Her present position is not so significant as the consideration of
her rapid progress, the knowledge of the rich field in which she is
to work, and a study of her militaristic methods, which remind one of
those of Germany. Japan holds to no ally that will not (temporarily)
aid her in her forward march, and in the weakness of Russia, China, and
Korea she sees her opportunity. The war to her was an unmixed blessing.
She took no chances, and seized enormous advantages.

There are three great figures of nations which seem to have been
destined to be, in these times, of critical importance to the United
States: in the past Germany; in the present, Great Britain; in the
future, Japan. The German question was settled in the only possible
way; for England the only sane solution is a closer-knit alliance; and
for Japan, watchfulness and friendly intentions.

INDEX

Africa
Asbestos in, 394
Bauxite and aluminum in, 350
Chrome in, 114
Copper in, 246
Copper, exports to United States, 249; copper production, 246, 249
East Africa
Mica in, 383
Emery and corundum in, 359
Gold in, 473
Magnesite in, 368
North Africa
Copper in, 248
Phosphate in, 405
South Africa
Gold in, 473; gold, financial control, 488
Mica in, 384
Tin in, 323
West Africa
Copper in, 248
Gold in, 474

Alaska. See United States.

Algeria
Antimony in, 185
Iron ores of, 71
Lead in, 273
Phosphate in, 406
Zinc in, 303

Alloys
of antimony, 172; of chrome, 109; of manganese, 90; of molybdenum,
191; of nickel, 129; of platinum and iridium, 506; of tungsten, 142;
of vanadium, 163; of zirconium, 210

Alsace. See France and Germany.
Petroleum control in, 16
Potash control in, 418

Aluminum (bauxite)
Changes in practice, 349
Chapter on, 349

Aluminum
Control of aluminum, commercial, 352; in France, 353; in
Germany-Austria, 354; in Great Britain, 353; in Italy, 354; in
Norway, 353; in the Guianas, 353; in the United States and Canada,
352
Geographical distribution, 350; in Africa, 350; in Australia, 350;
in China, 351; in South America, 350; in the United States, 350; in
Europe, 350; in India, 350
Summary, 354
Uses of, 349
Works, capacity, 352
World’s output, 351

Antimony
Alloys of, 172
Chapter on, 172
Geographical distribution, 173, 174, 175; in Africa, 185; in
Algeria, 185; in Asia, 182; in Australia, 186; in Austria and
Hungary, 179; in Bolivia, 178; in Borneo, 182; in Canada, 177; in
China, 182, 183; in Europe, 179; in France, 179; in Germany, 180; in
Great Britain, 180; in India, 184; in Indo-China, 184; in Italy,
181; in Japan, 184; in Mexico, 177; in North America, 176; in Peru,
179; in Portugal, 182; in Russia, 182; in Serbia, 182; in South
Africa, 185; in South America, 178; in Spain, 182; in Turkey, 184;
in the United States, 176
Position of England, 187; position of France, 188; position of
Germany, 188; position of Japan, 188; position of United States, 187
Production of world, 186
Recent industrial conditions, 188
Summary, 189
Uses of, 172
World situation, 530

Argentina
Copper in, 245
Petroleum control in, 16

Asbestos in Africa, 394; in Asia, 394; in Canada and Newfoundland,
393; in Europe, 393; in Italy, 393; in Mexico, Central and South
America, 393; in the United States, 391
Anthophyllite, in United States, 392
Changes in practice, 389
Chapter on, 388
Chrysolite, in United States, 391
Control in Canada, 398; in South Africa, 398; in United States, 397
Control, political and commercial, 397
Future changes, 395
Geographical distribution, 391
Geological distribution, 389
Position of Great Britain, 399; position of the United States, 399
Substitutes for, 389
Summary, 400
Uses of, 388
World situation, 537

Asia
Antimony in, 182
Asbestos in, 394
Chrome in, 115
Coal in, 27
Copper in, 253
Emery and corundum in, 358
Gold in, 471
Graphite in, 374
Iron in, 74-77
Magnesite in, 368
Manganese in, 99
Mercury in, 341
Monazite in, 217
Petroleum in, 9
Phosphate in, 406
Tin in, 319, 323, 327, 329, 330
Tungsten in, 149
Zinc in, 303, 305, 306

Asia Minor
Chrome in, 115
Magnesite in, 368
Mercury in, 341

Australasia
Asbestos in, 395
Chrome in, 111
Copper in, 249
Gold in, 474
Lead in, 268, 269
Manganese in, 101
Nickel in, 134, 135
Phosphate in, 406
Tin in, 325, 326, 329
Tungsten in, 149
Zinc in, 302, 303

Australia
Antimony in, 186
Bauxite and aluminum in, 350
Coal position, 31
Copper, production in 1917, 250
Gold in, 475
Gold, political and commercial control, 490
Iron in, 80
Lead in, 268
Lead, commercial control, 282
Lead position, 288
Magnesite in, 368
Manganese in, 101
Mica in, 384
Molybdenum in, 191; molybdenum, commercial control, 197
Platinum in, 514
Radium in, 207
Tin in, 325
Tungsten, future of, 149
Uranium in, 207
Zinc in, 302; commercial control, 311

Austria
Copper in, 258
Lead position, 290
Magnesite control, 369
Mercury in, 340
Radium resources, 206; uranium resources, 206
Zinc in, 305

Austrian Empire
Chrome in, 118
Mercury in, 340

Austria and Hungary
Antimony in, 179
Iron, political and commercial control, 70; iron position, 87
Manganese in, 96

Balkan Peninsula
Chrome in, 118

Bauxite
Chapter on, 349
Geographical distribution, 350
Geological distribution, 350
Uses of, 349
World control, 351

Belgian Congo
Copper in, 246, 247
Manganese in, 101

Belgium
Coal in, 24, 26
Iron position, 87
Lead in, 276; lead position, 290
Manganese in, 96
Zinc position, 313

Bolivia
Antimony in, 178
Copper in, 245
Lead in, 276
Silver in, 498, 501
Tin in, 328; tin control, 333
Tungsten in, 150
Zinc in, 306

Borneo
Antimony in, 182
Manganese in, 101

Bowles, Oliver
Chapter on Asbestos, 388

Brazil
Chrome in, 120
Coal position, 31
Gold in, 470, 480
Iron, control, 78
Manganese in, 94
Mica in, 383
Monazite in, 217; monazite, commercial control, 218, 219, 220
Zirconium in, 212, 213; zirconium, political control, 213

British Empire. See Great Britain.

British Guiana
Gold in, 480
Petroleum control in, 17

Bulgaria
Iron in, 77
Lead in, 276

Burma
Lead in, 274; lead position, 289; lead smelters, 283
Petroleum in, 15
Tungsten, future of, 149

California
Chrome in, 119
Gold in, 466
Magnesite in, 365
Mercury in, 342
Platinum in, 513

Canada
Aluminum control in, 352
Antimony in, 177
Asbestos in, 393; asbestos control in, 398
Chrome in, 118
Copper, commercial control, 238
Emery and corundum in, 358
Gold in, 468
Iron, commercial control, 73
Lead in, 273; lead position, 289; lead smelters, 283
Magnesite in, 365
Manganese in, 94
Mica in, 382
Molybdenum in, 193; molybdenum, commercial control, 197
Nickel in, 133
Petroleum control in, 16
Phosphate in, 405
Platinum in, 513; platinum ownership, 518
Pyrite in, 452
Zinc in, 306

Cape Colony, Africa
Asbestos in, 394
Copper in, 248
Gold in, 473

Central America
Chrome in, 120
Copper in, 239
Gold in, 469; gold control, 485
Petroleum in, 17

Chile
Coal position, 31
Copper control, 241; copper, commercial control, 242; copper, United
States control, 243
Iron, control, 78
Manganese in, 96
Nitrate ores, 423; nitrate, outlook for, 441
Sulphur in, 458

China
Antimony in, 182
Coal position, 31, 47
Copper in, 255
Gold in, 473; gold, financial control, 488
Iron position, 88
Lead in, 273
Mica in, 384
Petroleum control in, 17
Silver position, 504
Tin in, 329; tin control, 332
Tungsten, future of, 149
Zinc in, 306

China and Manchuria
Iron, control of, 74

Chrome (chromite)
Alloys of, 109
in Australasia, 111
Chapter on, 109
Chief producing countries, 528
Commercial control of, 111-114; in France, 125, 126; in Great
Britain, 124; in the United States, 122, 123, 124
Control, commercial and political, 127
Geographical distribution, 111, 112
Geological distribution, 110; in Africa, 114; in Asia, 115; in Asia
Minor, 115; in the Austrian Empire, 118; in the Balkan Peninsula,
118; in Brazil, 120; in Canada, 118; in Central America, 120; in
Colombia, 120; in Cuba, 120; in Europe, 118; in Greece, 118; in
India, 117; in Japan, 117; in Macedonia, 118; in New Caledonia, 111;
in North America, 118; in Rhodesia, 114; in Russia, 117; in Serbia,
118; in South America, 120; in Turkey, 115; in the United States,
119; in Venezuela, 120
Position of France, 125; of Germany, 126; of Great Britain, 124; of
leading nations, 121; of Russia, 127; of the United States, 122
Production of, 113
Uses of, 109
World situation, 528

Coal
Asia and Australia, statistics for, 53
Changes in practice, 23
Chapter on, 22
Commercial control, 33
Control in Germany, 35; in Great Britain, 36; in the United States,
36, 37
Control, political, 33
Domination by Great Britain and the United States, 525
Europe, statistics for, 1913, 49, 50
Exports, and imports, 1913, 52, 53, 54
Geographical distribution, 25
Geological distribution, 23; in Africa, 26; in Europe, 24; in North
America, 24; in South America, 24
Imports, 1913, 52, 53, 54; in the United States, 524
Position of Australia, 31; of Brazil, 31; of Chile, 31; of China,
31, 47; of France, 46, 47; of Germany, 30, 46; of Great Britain, 30,
44; of Italy, 47; of Japan, 47; of Russia, 47; of South America, 31;
of United States, 43; of world, 32
Production, 1913, 49, 50, 51; production of principal countries, 26;
production of world, 27, 28; future production, 32
Reserves of world, 28
Situation as effected by World War, 39, 40, 41
South America, statistics for, 1913, 52; trade, probable changes in,
42
Summary of control, 524
United States, statistics for 1913, 49
Uses of, 22

Colombia
Chrome in, 120
Petroleum control in, 17
Platinum in, 512; platinum ownership, 517

Copper
in Africa, Katanga district, 246, 249
Chapter on, 223
Control, business, 225; control, geographical and financial, 224; in
Canada, commercial control, 238; in Chile, commercial control, 242;
United States control, 243; in Cuba and the Caribbean, commercial
control, 239; in Europe, control of, 257; control, summary, 531, 532
in Europe, production, 257
Geographical distribution, 227; in Africa, 246; in Argentina, 245;
in Asia, 253; in Australasia, 249; in Cape Colony, 248; in Chile,
241; in China, 255; in Europe, 256; in Germany, 258; in India, 256;
in Japan, 253; in Korea, 255; in New South Wales, 252; in North
America, 228; in Northern Africa, 248; in Norway, 256; in Peru, 244;
in Portugal, 256; in Queensland, Australia, 251; in Rhodesia, 248;
in Russia, 258; in South America, 241; in Southwest Africa, 248; in
Spain, 256; in Sweden, 256; in Tasmania, 252; in the Transvaal, 248;
in the United States, 228; in Venezuela, 245
in Japan, production and exports, 253
in Mexico, commercial control, 239
in Peru, commercial control, 244
Reserve of world, 226
in Russia, production, 259; reserves, 259
Summary of, 260
in United States, control by German interests, 232-235; control
through ownership of mines, 228; control through ownership of
smelters and refineries, 230
in United States, leading financial groups, 228, 229
in United States, ore reserves, 236
in United States, ownership and capacity of refineries, 231
in United States, porphyry copper reserves, 236
United States, shipments from Africa, to, 249
World situation, 531

Corbett, C. S.
Chapter on Nickel, 129

Cornwall
Tin in, 327

Corundum and Emery
Chapter on, 356
Uses of, 356
World situation, 535

Costa Rica
Manganese in, 94
Petroleum control in, 17

Cuba and the Caribbean
Copper, commercial control, 239

Cuba
Chrome in, 120
Iron control in, 71
Manganese in, 94
Nickeliferous iron in, 135
Pyrite in, 452

Cyprus
Pyrite in, 451

Czecho-Slovakia
Iron ores, 70
Lead in, 272

Dub, George D.
Chapter on Graphite, 372

Dutch East Indies
Petroleum control in, 14
Tin in, 329

Eddingfield, F. T.
Chapter on Iron, 55

Egypt
Lead in, 275; lead position of, 289
Manganese in, 101
Petroleum control in, 16
Phosphate rock in, 406
Zinc in, 306

Emery and Corundum
Chapter on, 356
Control, commercial, 360; control, political, 360
Future developments, 359
Geographical distribution, 357
Geological distribution, 357; in Africa, 359; in Asia, 358; in
Canada, 358; in Europe, 358; in the United States, 357
Position of England, 361; of France, 361; of Germany, 361; of Japan,
361; of the United States, 361
Production of, 362
Summary, 361
Uses of, 356
World situation, 535

England
See Great Britain.

Europe
Antimony in, 179
Asbestos in, 393
Bauxite and aluminum in, 350
Chrome in, 118
Coal in, 24-26
Copper in, 256
Copper production and control in, 257
Emery and corundum in, 358
Gold in, 470
Iron in, 57-60
Lead in, 269, 271
Magnesite in, 366
Manganese in, 96
Mercury in, 339
Petroleum in, 8, 9
Phosphate in, 405
Pyrite, exports and imports in, 258
Silver in, 498
Tungsten, future of, 151
Zinc in, 303, 305

Ferguson, H. G.
Chapter on Antimony, 172
Chapter on Graphite, 372

Ferro-Alloy Minerals, 526

Ferromanganese, 90

Fertilizer Minerals, 537

Florida
Phosphate rock in, 403

France
Aluminum control in, 353
Antimony in, 179; antimony position, 188
Chrome position, 125
Coal position, 46; coal control, 36
Copper control in Chile, 243; copper control in Mexico, 240
Emery and corundum position, 361
Gold position, 492
Graphite position, 377
Iron-ore production, 1911-1913, 65; iron, political and commercial
control, 64; iron position, 86
Lead in, 274; lead position, 290; lead smelters, 283
Manganese in, 96; manganese position in, 107
Mica, position of, 386
Molybdenum position, 198
Nickel position, 141
Petroleum position, 19
Phosphate rock in, 405
Pyrite in, 450
Tin position of, 335
Tungsten, control of, 156
Zinc, commercial control, 313

Fuel Minerals, 522

Gale, Hoyt S.
Chapter on Potash, 411

Galicia
Petroleum control in, 15

German Austria, lead in, 272

Germany
Antimony in, 180; antimony position of, 188
Chrome position, 126
Coal control, 35; coal position, 30, 46
Copper in, 258; copper control in Australasia, 250; in Chile, 243;
in Mexico, 240
Emery and corundum position, 361
Gold position, 492
Graphite position, 377
Iron position, 84; iron, political and commercial control, 63
Lead in, 270, 271; lead position, 289
Magnesite in, 367
Manganese in, 96; manganese position, 107
Mercury in, 340
Mica position, 387
Molybdenum position, 198
Nickel position, 141
Petroleum control in, 518
Potash in, 412; potash control in, 417
Radium in, 207
Tin position of, 335
Tungsten control, 159
Uranium in, 207
Zinc in, 301; zinc, commercial control, 311; zinc, position of, 313

Germany, Austria and Hungary
Pyrite in, 450

Gilbert, Chester G.
Chapter on Nitrogen, 421

Gold
Australia, control of, 490
Chapter on, 462
Control, commercial, 477; control in Central and South America, 485;
in China, 488; in India, 487; in Japan, 487; in Siberia, 486; in
Siberia and Russia, 485; in South Africa, 488; in United States and
Canada, 479; control, political and commercial, 478; control,
political, 476; control, financial in world, 480-483; future changes
in distribution, 476
Geographical occurrence, 464; in Asia, 471; in Australasia, 474; in
Australia, 475; in Central America, 469; in China, 473; in Europe,
470; in India, 471; in Japan, 472; in Korea, 472; in Mexico, 469; in
New Zealand, 475; in North America, 464; in Rhodesia, 474; in
Siberia, 471; in South Africa, 473; in South America, 469; in United
States, 464; in West Africa, 474
Geological occurrences, 463; in Mexico, financial control, 484; in
Transvaal, financial control, 488, 489
Position of France, 492; of Germany, 492; of Great Britain, 491; of
Japan, 492; of Russia, 492; of United States, 491
Production in world, 480-483; production of world 1880-1917, 465,
466
Rhodesia, financial control, 489
Summary, 493
Uses of, 462
World situation, 540

Graphite
Chapter on, 372
Control, political and commercial, 375; future developments, 374
Geographical distribution, 373
Geological occurrence, 373; in Madagascar, control, 375
Position of England, 377; of France, 377; of Germany, 377; of Japan,
377; of the United States, 376
Production of, 378; production, world capacity, 373
Summary, 377
Uses of, 372
World situation, 536

Great Britain
Aluminum control in, 353
Antimony in, 180; antimony position, 187
Asbestos position, 399
Chrome position, 124
Coal control, 36; coal position, 30, 44, 525
Control of minerals, 542
Copper control in Mexico, 240
Emery and corundum, position, 361
Gold position, 491
Graphite position, 377
Iron, political and commercial control, 66; iron-ore production, 66;
iron position, 85
Lead in, 272; lead position, 288, 289; lead smelters, 283
Manganese in, 97; manganese position, 106
Mica position, 386
Molybdenum position, 198
Nickel position, 141
Petroleum interests in Mexico, 14; petroleum policy, 523; petroleum
position, 18
Radium resources, 207
Silver market control, 503
Sulphur in, 458
Tin in, 319; tin control, 332; tin position, 335
Tungsten, control of, 154
Uranium resources, 207
Zinc in, 305; zinc position, 314

Greece
Chrome in, 118
Emery in, 358
Iron in, 73
Lead in, 273; lead smelters, 283
Magnesite in, 367
Manganese in, 97

Grout, Frank F.
Chapter on Coal, 22
Chapter on Graphite, 372

Guianas, The
Aluminum control in, 353
Gold in, 470

Hall, Durand A.
Chapter on Antimony, 172
Chapter on Mica, 380

Hanover
Petroleum control in, 16

Harder, E. C.
Chapter on Chromium, 109
Chapter on Iron, 55

Hess, Frank L.
Chapter on Tungsten, 142

Hewett, D. F.
Chapter on Manganese, 90

Hill, James M.
Chapter on Bauxite and Aluminum, 349
Chapter on Platinum, 506
Chapter on Tin, 317

Holland
Tin control, 332; tin position, 335

Hungary
Iron position, 87
Lead in, 276; lead position, 290
Mercury in, 339

Hyder, Frederick B.
Chapter on Lead, 261
Chapter on Zinc, 294

Idaho
Lead in, 266
Phosphate in, 404

India
Bauxite and aluminum in, 350
Chrome in, 117
Copper in, 256
Gold in, 471; gold, financial control, 487
Iron, control of, 75
Manganese in, 99
Mica in, 383
Monazite in, 217; monazite, commercial control, 220
Petroleum control in, 15
Tin in, 327
Zinc in, 306
Zirconium in, 213; zirconium, political control, 214

Indo-China
Coal in, 24
Zinc in, 305

Iridium
Uses of, 506

Iron
Chapter on, 55
Control, commercial, 61; control in Austria and Hungary, 70; control
in India, 75; control in Japan and Korea, 76; control in Cuba, 71;
control in France, 64, 65; control in Newfoundland, 71; control in
Russia, 68, 69; control in United States, 61, 62, 63; control,
political, 61
Four chief producing countries, 526
Geographical distribution, 57
Geological distribution, 55; iron in Australia, 80; in Brazil, 78;
in Bulgaria, 77; in Canada, 73; in Chile, 78; in Cuba, 71; in
Czecho-Slovakia, 70; in Greece, 73; in Italy, 72; in Jugoslavia, 71;
in Mexico, 79; in Newfoundland, 71; in New Zealand, 80; in Norway,
72; in Poland, 77; in Portugal, 77; in South Africa, 80; in Tunisia,
71; in Turkey, 77
Iron-ore and pig-iron production and movement, 1913, 60
Ore reserves in United States, 61
Pig-iron manufacture, statistics, 59
Position of Austria, 87; of Belgium, 87; of China, 88; of France,
86; of Germany, 84; of Great Britain, 85; of Hungary, 87; of Japan,
88; of Russia, 86; of the United States, 82
Production of the world, 1910-1917, 58

Italy
Antimony in, 181
Asbestos in, 393
Coal position, 47
Iron ores of, 72; iron, commercial control, 73
Lead in, 272; lead position, 290; lead smelters, 283
Manganese in, 97
Mercury in, 339
Petroleum control in, 17
Pyrite in, 450
Sulphur in, 453
Zinc in, 303

Japan
Antimony position, 188
Coal position, 47
Chrome in, 117
Copper in, 253, 254; copper production, 254
Emery and corundum position, 361
Gold in, 472; gold, financial control, 487; gold position, 492
Graphite position, 377
Iron control, 76; iron position, 88
Lead in, 275; lead position, 291
Manganese in, 100, 101
Molybdenum position, 198
Petroleum control in, 16; petroleum position of, 20
Pyrite in, 452
Silver position, 499
Sulphur in, 457
Tin in, 330
Tungsten control, 156
Zinc in, 303; zinc position, 314

Java
Manganese in, 103

Jugoslavia
Iron ores, 71

Katanga district, Africa
Copper in, 246, 249

Katz, Frank J.
Chapter on Emery and Corundum, 356

Korea
Copper in, 255
Gold in, 472; gold, financial control, 487

Lead
Changes in practice, 262
Chapter on, 261
Control in Australia, 282; in Mexico, 282, 283; in Spain, 282
Control, commercial, 277
Control, commercial, of pig-lead output, 287; in United States, 279
Control, political, 277
Control through trade combinations, 283, 284, 285, 286
Consumption, 1913, 278
Geographical distribution, 264; in Algeria, 273; in Australia, 268;
in Belgium, 276; in Bolivia, 276; in Bulgaria, 276; in Burma, 274;
in Canada, 273; in China, 273; in Colorado, 267; in Czecho-Slovakia,
272; in Egypt, 275; in France, 274; in German Austria, 272; in
Germany, 270, 271; in Great Britain, 272; in Greece, 273; in
Hungary, 276; in Idaho, 266; in Italy, 272; in Japan, 275; in
Mexico, 271; in Missouri, 265; in New South Wales, 268; in Poland,
270; in Peru, 274; in Portugal, 276; in Queensland, 269; in
Rhodesia, 276; in Russia, 275; in Siberia, 275, 283; in Southwest
Africa, 273; in Spain, 269; in Sweden, 276; in Tasmania, 269; in
Tunis, 272; in Turkey, 273; in the United States, 265; in Upper
Silesia, 270; in Utah, 267; in Western Australia, 269
Geological occurrence, 263
Position of Australia, 288; of Austria, 290; of Belgium, 290; of the
British Empire, 288; of the British Isles, 289; of Burma, 289; of
Canada, 289; of Egypt, 289; of France, 290; of Germany, 289; of
Hungary, 290; of Japan, 291; of Spain, 291; of the United States,
287
Lead-silver smelters, Mexico, 282; lead-silver smelters, United
States, 281
Production, 1913, 264, 278; production, future changes, 276
Smelted in 1913, 278
Smelters in Burma, 283; in Canada, 283; in France, 283; in Great
Britain, 283; in Greece, 283; in Italy, 283; in Turkey, 283
Summary, 291
United States, financial groups, 281
World situation, 532

Macedonia
Chrome in, 118

Madagascar
Graphite control, 375

Magnesite
Chapter on, 363
Control, political and commercial, 368; control in Austria, 369;
control in the United States, 368
Geographical distribution, 364; in Africa, 368; in Asia, 368; in
Australia, 368; in California, 365; in Canada, 365; in Europe, 366;
in Germany, 367; in Greece, 367; in Mexico, 366; in North America,
365; in South America, 366; in the United States, 365; in
Washington, 366
Geological occurrence, 363
Summary, 370
Uses of, 363
World situation, 536

Malay Peninsula
Tin in, 319; tin production, 1917, 321

Manganese
Changes in practice, 91
Chapter on, 90
Control, commercial, 103; control, political and commercial, 103
Geographical distribution, 93, 104; in Africa, 101; in Asia, 99; in
Australasia, 101; in Australia, 101; in Austria and Hungary, 96; in
the Belgian Congo, 101; in Belgium, 96; in Borneo, 101; in Brazil,
94; in Canada, 94; in Chile, 96; in Costa Rica, 94; in Cuba, 94; in
Egypt, 101; in Europe, 96; in France, 96; in Germany, 96; in Gold
Coast of West Africa, 101; in Great Britain, 97; in Greece, 97; in
India, 99; in Italy, 97; in Japan, 100; in Java, 103; in Mexico, 94;
in New Zealand, 101; in North America, 93; in Panama, 94; in the
Philippine Islands, 101; in Portugal, 97; in Russia, 97, 98; in
South Africa, 101; in South America, 94; in Spain, 99; in Sweden,
99; in Tunis, 101; in Uruguay, 96
Geological distribution, 91, 92
Position of England, 106; of France, 107; of Germany, 107; of the
United States, 106
Principal sources of, 527
Production of, 102
Summary, 108
Uses of, 90
World situation, 527

Mercury
Changes in distribution, 343
Changes in practice, 344
Chapter on, 337
Control, commercial, 346; control, political, 345
Geographical distribution, 339; in Alaska, 341; in Asia, 341; in
Asia Minor, 341; in Austrian Empire, 340; in California, 342; in
Europe, 339; in Germany, 340; in Hungary, 340; in Italy, 340; in
Mexico, 343; in Nevada, 343; in North America, 341; in Portugal,
340; in Russia, 341; in Serbia, 341; in South America, 343; in
Texas, 343
Geological distribution, 338
Summary, 347
Uses of, 337
World situation, 535

Mesothorium
Uses of, 216
World situation, 531

Mexico
Antimony in, 177
Coal in, 28
Copper in, commercial control, 239
Gold in, 469; gold, financial control, 484
Iron, control, 79
Lead in, 271; lead, commercial control, 282, 283
Magnesite in, 366
Manganese in, 94
Mercury in, 343
Molybdenum in, 195; molybdenum, commercial control, 197
Petroleum, commercial control, 14
Pyrite in, 452
Sulphur in, 458
Tungsten, future of, 151
Zinc in, 305

Mica
Changes in practice, 381
Chapter on, 380
Control, political and commercial, 385
Future developments, 384
Geographical distribution, 383; in Australia, 384; in Brazil, 382;
in Canada, 382; in China, 384; in East Africa, 382; in India, 382;
in South Africa, 384; in the United States, 382
Geological distribution, 382
Position of Germany, 387; position of Great Britain, 386; of France,
386; of the United States, 386
Substitutes for, 381
Summary, 387
Uses of, 380
World situation, 536

Minerals
World control of, 541

Missouri
Lead in, 265
Zinc in, 298, 300

Molybdenum
Chapter on, 191
Control, commercial, 197; in Australia, 197; in Canada, 197; in
Mexico, 197; in Norway, 197; in United States, 197
Control, political, 196
Geographical distribution, 191, 199; in Australia, 191; in Canada,
193; in Mexico, 195; in North America, 193; in Norway, 191; in the
United States, 193
Geological distribution, 191
Position of France, 198; of Germany, 198; of Great Britain, 198; of
the United States, 198
Reserves, 196
Summary, 200
Treatment of ores, 196
Uses of, 191
World situation, 530

Monazite
Chapter on, 216
Control, commercial, 218, 219, 220, 221
Control, political, 218
Geographical distribution, 216; in Brazil, 217; in India, 217; in
the United States, 216
Geological distribution, 216
Position of the United States, 221
Treatment practice, 218
Uses of, 216

Moore, R. B.
Chapter on Molybdenum, 191; Chapter on Monazite, Thorium, and
Mesothorium, 216; Chapter on Vanadium, 163

Morocco
Iron ores, 71
Phosphate in, 406

Morris, H. C.
Chapter on Zirconium, 209

Nevada
Mercury in, 343

New Caledonia
Chrome in, 111
Nickel in, 134; nickel, commercial control, 139

Newfoundland
Iron ores, 71

New South Wales
Copper in, 252
Lead in, 268
Platinum in, 514
Tin in, 326
Zinc in, 302

New Zealand
Gold in, 475
Iron in, 80
Manganese in, 101
Petroleum control, 17

Nickel
Alloys, 129
Changes in practice, 130
Chapter on, 129
Commercial control, 138
Control, commercial, in New Caledonia, 139; in Sudbury district,
Canada, 138, 139
Control, political, 138
Future of, 136
Garnierite and lateritic type deposits, 134
Geographical distribution, 132; nickel in Canada, 133
Geological distribution, 131; in Norway, 134; in United States, 134
Position of France, 141; of Germany, 141; of Great Britain, 141; of
the United States, 141
Production, 136
Sudbury district, Canada, 133
Sulphide type deposits, 133
Veins, 135
World situation, 528

Nickeliferous iron, Cuba, 135

Nigeria
Tin in, 323

Nitrates
By-product, outlook for, 443
Fixation, outlook for, 442
Ore deposits in Chile, 422
Summary, 444, 445
World situation, 539

Nitrogen
Ammonia fixation, 437
Arc fixation, 437
Atmospheric, 421
Bacterial fixation, 439
By-product compounds, 434
Chapter on, 421
Consumption for fertilizers, 435
Control, commercial aspects, 433; general aspects, 425
Cyanamid fixation, 438
Cyanide fixation, 438
Fixation compounds, 437
Geological distribution, 421; in carboniferous deposits, 425
Natural compounds, 434
Nitride fixation, 438
Organic, 424
Outlook for, 440
Production statistics, 426; production, world developments, 428
Recent developments and changes, 439
Sources, 427
United States, developments in, 430
Uses of, 421
Utilization cycles, 427
World situation, 431

Non-ferrous Metals, 531

Non-metallic Minerals, 535

North America
Antimony in, 176
Chrome in, 118
Coal in, 24, 25
Copper in, 228
Gold in, 464
Iron in, 57, 61, 62, 63
Magnesite in, 365
Manganese in, 93
Mercury in, 341
Molybdenum in, 193
Petroleum in, 5-8
Silver in, 501
Tungsten, future of, 150

Northrup, John D.
Chapter on Petroleum, 1

Norway
Aluminum control in, 353
Copper in, 256
Iron ores, 72
Molybdenum in, 191; molybdenum, commercial control, 197
Nickel in, 134
Pyrite in, 449

Orchard, John E.
Chapter on Gold, 462

Oregon
Platinum in, 513

Osmiridium
in Canada, 513; in Colombia, 512; in the United States, 513

Osmium
Uses of, 506

Paine, F. W.
Chapter on Copper, 223
Chapter on Silver, 495

Palladium
in Canada, 513
in platinum ores, 510
Uses of, 506

Panama
Manganese in, 94
Petroleum control in, 17

Penrose, R. A. F. Jr.
Chapter on Radium and Uranium, 201

Peru
Antimony in, 179
Copper in, 244
Lead in, 274
Tungsten, future of, 150
Vanadium in, 165
Zinc in, 307

Petroleum
Changes in operating and refining practices, 4
Chapter on, 1
Control, commercial of, 11, 12; in Alsace, 16; in Argentina, 16; in
British Guiana, 17; in Canada, 16; in China, 17; in Colombia, 17; in
Costa Rica, 17; in Dutch East Indies, 14; in Egypt, 16; in Galicia,
15; in Hanover, 16; in India, 15; in Italy, 17; in Japan, 16; in
Mexico, 14; in New Zealand, 17; in Panama, 17; in Persia, 17; in
Trinidad, 16; in Venezuela, 17; in the United States, 12, 13
Control, political, 9
Future developments, 6
Geographical distribution, 6
Geological distribution, 5
Policy of Great Britain, 523
Position of France, 19; of Germany, 19; of Great Britain, 18; of
Japan, 20; of the United States, 17
Production of, 10
Substitutes for, 3
Summary, 20
Summary of control, 522
Uses of, 3

Persia
Petroleum control in, 17

Philippine Islands
Manganese in, 101

Phosphate Rock
Changes and developments, 408
Chapter on, 402
Control, commercial, 408
Geographical occurrence, 403; phosphate in Africa, 405; in Algeria,
406; in Asia and Australasia, 406; in Canada, 405; in Egypt, 406; in
Europe, 405; in Florida, 403; in France, 405; in Idaho, 404; in
Morocco, 406; in Siberia, 406; in South America, 405; in South
Carolina, 403; in Tennessee, 404; in Tunis, 405; in the United
States, 403; in Utah, 404; in Wyoming, 404
Geological occurrence, 402
Position of leading nations, 409; of the United States, 409
Summary, 409
United States reserves, 404
Uses of, 402
World situation, 538

Platinum
Chapter on, 506
Control, commercial, 517; control of Canadian platinum, 518; of
Colombian platinum, 517; control by Germany, 518; by the United
States, 519
Control, political, 516
Control through ownership of mines, 517
Control through ownership of reduction plants, 518
Crude analyses of, 509; purity of, 509
Future changes in distribution, 515
Geographical distribution, 507, 510; platinum in Alaska, 514; in
Australia, 514; in California, 513; in Canada, 513; in Colombia,
512; in New South Wales, 514; in Oregon, 513; in Russia, 510; in
Spain, 515; in Tasmania, 514; in the United States, 513; in
Washington, 514; in Wyoming, 514
Geological distribution, 508
Production of world, 1909-1917, 508
Russian control, 516; Russian ownership, 517
Sources of crude, 1909-1917, 511
Summary, 521
Uses of, 506, 507
World situation, 519, 540

Poland
Coal in, 49, 50
Iron in, 77
Lead in, 275
Zinc in, 304

Portugal
Antimony in, 182
Copper in, 256
Iron in, 77
Lead in, 276
Manganese in, 97
Mercury in, 340
Pyrite in, 448
Tin in, 330
Tungsten, future, 151

Potash
Alsatian control, 418
Changes in commercial practice, 415
Chapter on, 411
Control, commercial and political, 417
Geographical distribution, 412; in Germany, 412; in the United
States, 414
Geological distribution, 415
German control, 417
Nature of, 411
Production of world, 1917, 416
Spanish control, 419
Summary, 419
Uses of, 411
World situation, 538

Precious Metals, 540

Pyrite and Sulphur
Chapter on, 447
Control, commercial, 460; control, political, 459
in Europe, exports, and imports, 258
Geographical distribution, 448; in Canada, 452; in Cuba, 452; in
Cyprus, 451; in France, 450; in Germany, Austria, and Hungary, 450;
in Italy, 450; in Japan, 452; in Mexico, 452; in Norway and Sweden,
449; in Russia, 450; in Spain and Portugal, 448; in the United
States, 451
Substitutes for, 448
Uses of, 447

Queensland (Australia)
Copper in, 251
Gold in, 475
Lead in, 269
Tin in, 326
Tungsten in, 148

Quicksilver
Chapter on, 337
See Mercury.

Radium
Chapter on, 201
Future prospects, 208
Geographical and geological distribution, 203; in Australia, 207; in
England, 207; in Germany, 207
Ores of, 202
Production, United States, 205
United States resources, 204
Uses of, 201

Ransome, E. L.
Chapter on Mercury, 337

Rhodesia (Africa)
Chrome in, 114
Copper in, 248
Gold in, 474; gold, financial control, 489
Lead in, 276

Rhodium
Uses of, 506

Rice, George S.
Chapter on Coal, 22

Roumania
Petroleum control in, 15

Russia
Antimony in, 182
Chrome in, 117
Chrome position, 127
Coal position, 47
Copper in, 258
Copper production and reserves, 259
Gold control, 485; gold position, 492
Iron ore reserves, 68; iron, political and commercial control, 68
Iron position, 86
Lead in, 275
Manganese in, 97, 98
Mercury in, 341
Petroleum control in, 13
Platinum in, 510; platinum control in, 516; platinum ownership, 517
Pyrite in, 450
Tin position, 335
Zinc position, 315

Ruthenium
Uses of, 506

Serbia
Antimony in, 182
Chrome in, 118
Mercury in, 341

Shale-Oil
Future of, 4

Siam
Tin control, 333
Tin in, 329
Tungsten in, 148

Siberia
Gold in, 471
Gold control, 485, 486
Lead in, 275, 283
Mercury in, 341
Phosphate in, 406

Silesia
Lead in, 270

Silver
By-product, proportion of output, 498
Changes in practice, 500
Chapter on, 495
Chinese and Japanese position, 504
Coinage, 496
Control, by England, 503
Control, commercial, 500
Control, financial, 501
Control, political, 500
Control, territorial, 501
Control through relations to consumers, 503; control through trade
combinations, 502
Control through ownership of mines, 500
Control through ownership of reduction plants, 501
Future changes in, 499
Geographical distribution, 498, 499
Geological age of deposits, 497, 499
Production, in world, 498
Rich mines, proportion of output, 498
Summary, 504
Uses of, 495
World situation, 540

South Africa
Antimony in, 185
Asbestos, control in, 397
Coal in, 24, 25, 26
Gold, financial control, 488
Gold in, 473
Iron in, 80
Manganese in, 101
Tin in, 324
Zinc in, 306

South America
Antimony in, 178
Asbestos in, 393
Bauxite and aluminum in, 350
Chrome in, 120
Coal position, 31
Copper control, 241
Gold in, 469; gold control, 485
Magnesite in, 366
Manganese in, 94
Mercury in, 343
Phosphate in, 405
Tungsten, future of, 150

South Carolina
Phosphate in, 403

Southwest Africa
Lead in, 273

Spain
Antimony in, 182
Copper in, 256
Iron, political and commercial control, 67
Lead in, 269; commercial control, 282; lead position, 291
Manganese in, 99
Platinum in, 515
Potash in, 419
Pyrite in, 448
Tin in, 330
Tungsten, 148
Zinc in, 304

Spiegeleisen, 90

Spurr, J. E.
Chapter by, 522
Chapter on petroleum, introduction to, 1

Steel and the Ferro-Alloy Minerals, 526

Stockett, A. W.
Chapter on Potash, 411

Stone, R. W.
Chapter on Magnesite, 363
Chapter on Phosphate Rock, 402

Sulphur
Changes in practice, 459
Geographical distribution, 453; in Chile, 458; in Italy and Sicily,
453; in Japan, 457; in Mexico, 458; in the United States, 455
Position of the principal powers, 461; position of the United
States, 461

Sulphur and Pyrite
Chapter on, 447
Control, commercial, 460
Control, political, 459
Substitutes for, 448
Uses of, 447

Sweden
Copper in, 256
Iron, political and commercial control, 69
Lead in, 276
Manganese in, 99
Pyrite in, 449
Zinc in, 305

Tasmania
Copper in, 252
Lead in, 269
Nickel in, 134
Platinum, in, 514
Tin in, 325
Zinc in, 303

Tennessee
Phosphate in, 404

Texas
Mercury in, 343
Petroleum in, see United States
Sulphur in, 455

Thorium
Chapter on, 216
Uses of, 216
World situation, 531

Tin
Chapter on, 317
Control, commercial, of mines, 333; of smelting, 334
Control, political, 332, 333
Geographical distribution, 319, 320; in Africa, 323; in Australia,
325; in Austria, 331; in the Belgian Congo (Katanga), 331; in
Bolivia, 328; in the British Empire, 319; in British Nigeria, 323;
in China, 329; in Cornwall, 327; in the Dutch East Indies, 329; in
Germany, 331; in India, 327; in Italy, 331; in Japan, 330; in the
Malay Peninsula, 319; in New South Wales, 326; in Portugal, 330; in
Queensland, 326; in Russia, 331; in Siam, 329; in South Africa, 324;
in Southwest Africa, 331; in Spain, 330; in Tasmania, 325; in the
United States, 330
Geological distribution, 318
Position of France, 335; of Germany, 335; of Great Britain, 335; of
Holland, 335; of Russia, 335; of the United States, 335
Production of world, 1913-1918, 321; producing localities of the
world, 320; production, future changes, 332; production in the Malay
Peninsula, 322
Uses of, 317
World situation, 534

Transvaal, Africa
Copper in, 248
Gold, financial control, 489

Trinidad
Petroleum control, 16

Tungsten
Alloys of, 142
Changes in practice, 143
Chapter on, 142
Control, commercial, 152; British control, 154; French control, 156;
German control, 159; Japanese control, 156; United States control,
156, 159
Control, political, 152
Future of Asia, 149; of Australia, 149; of Bolivia, 150; of Burma,
149; of China, 149; of Europe, 151; of Mexico, 151; of North
America, 150; of Peru, 150; of Portugal, 151; of South America, 150;
of the United States, 150
Geographical distribution, 146
Geological distribution, 145
Production, 147, 148, 152
Substitutes for, 142
United States imports, 157
Uses of, 142
World situation, 529

Tunis
Iron ores in, 71
Lead ores in, 272
Manganese in, 101
Phosphate in, 405

Turkey
Chrome in, 115
Iron in, 77
Lead in, 273

United States
Aluminum, control of, 352
Antimony in, 176; antimony position, 187
Asbestos in, 391; asbestos control, 397; asbestos position, 399
Bauxite and aluminum in, 350
Chrome in, 119; chrome position, 122
Coal control, 36, 37, 524; coal position, 43
Control of minerals, 542
Copper, control of, 228
Copper control in Chile, 241-243; in Mexico, 239
Copper in, 228
Copper shipments from Africa, 249
Emery and corundum in, 357, 358; emery and corundum position, 361
Gold in, 464; gold control, 477, 478; gold position, 491
Graphite position, 376
Iron, political and commercial control, 61
Iron-ore reserves, 61; iron position, 82
Lead in, 265; lead, commercial control, 279; lead, financial groups,
281; lead position, 287; lead-silver smelters, 281
Magnesite in, 365; magnesite control, 368
Manganese position, 106
Mica in, 383; mica position, 386
Molybdenum in, 193; molybdenum, commercial control, 197; molybdenum,
position of, 198
Monazite in, 216; monazite, commercial control, 218-221; monazite
position, 221
Nickel in, 134; nickel position, 141
Nitrogen developments in, 430, 432
Petroleum position, 17
Phosphate in, 403; phosphate position, 409
Platinum in, 513; control of platinum, 519
Potash in, 414
Pyrite in, 451
Radium resources, 204
Silver in, 498, 501
Sulphur in, 455
Tin in, 330; tin position, 335
Tungsten control, 156, 160; future of tungsten, 150; imports of
tungsten, 157; tungsten, proposed tariff, 161
Uranium resources, 204
Vanadium in, 166
Zinc in, 297; zinc, commercial control, 309; zinc position, 313
Zirconium in, 213

Uranium
Chapter on, 201
Future prospects, 208
Geographical and geological distribution, 203; in Australia, 207; in
England, 207; in Germany, 207
Ores of, 202
Production, Austria, 206; production, Europe, 206; production,
United States, 205
United States resources, 204
Uses of, 202
World situation, 531

Uruguay
Manganese in, 96

Vanadium
Alloys of, 163
Changes in practice, 164
Chapter on, 163
Control, commercial, 165, 170
Control, political, 170
Future developments, 170
Geographical distribution, 165, 169; in Arizona, 166; in California,
166; in Colorado, 166; in Peru, 165; in the United States, 166
Geological distribution, 165
Position of leading nations, 170
Uses of, 163
World situation, 529

Venezuela
Chrome in, 120
Copper in, 245
Gold in, 470
Petroleum control in, 17

Washington
Magnesite in, 366
Platinum in, 514

White, A. G.
Chapter on Pyrite and Sulphur, 447

Who Owns the Earth?
Chapter by J. E. Spurr, 522; Who owns the earth? 541

World Control of Minerals, 541

Wyoming
Phosphate in, 404
Platinum in, 514

Zinc
Australia, commercial control, 311
Changes in practice, 295
Chapter on, 294
Control, commercial, 308; in Australia, 311; in France, 313; in
Germany, 311; in the United States, 309
Control, political, 308
Deposits of world, 298
Geographical distribution, 297; zinc in Algeria, 303; in Australia,
302; in Austria, 305; in Bolivia, 306; in Canada, 306; in China,
306; in Egypt, 306; in France, 304; in Germany, 301; in Great
Britain, 305; in Greece, 304; in India, 306; in Indo-China, 305; in
Italy, 303; in Japan, 303; in Mexico, 305; in New South Wales, 302;
in Peru, 307; in Russia, 304; in South Africa, 306; in Spain, 304;
in Sweden, 305; in Tasmania, 303; in the United States, 297
Geological distribution, 296
Germany, commercial control, 311
Industry in 1913, 299
Position of Belgium, 313; of Germany, 313; of Great Britain, 314; of
Japan, 314; of Russia, 315; of the United States, 313
Production, 1913, 299; future changes in production, 307
Summary, 315
United States, commercial control, 309
Uses of, 294
World situation, 533

Zirconium
Alloys, 210
Baddeleyite or brazilite, 211
Chapter on, 209
Control of, 213,
Geographical distribution, 211; in Brazil, 212, 213; in India, 213;
in the United States, 213
Geological distribution, 211
Production, 215
Refractory uses of, 209
Summary, 215
Uses of, 209
World situation, 531
Zircon, 212

Transcriber’s Notes

Depending on the hard- and software used to read this text and their
settings, not all elements may display as intended. Some of the
tables may be illegible on small screens or in narrow windows.

Spelling, capitalisation and hyphenation as used in the source
document (including the errors and inconsistencies in company,
geographic and proper names, titles of publications, etc.) have not
been corrected or standardised, except as mentioned under Changes made
below. Results of calculations in tables are given in this text
as they appear in the source document, even though they appear to
contain occasional calculation and/or rounding off errors or are
based on incomplete or contradictory data.

Page 50, Table 7, table row Austria: the remark in the last column
may be better suited for the row Hungary.

Page 278, Footnote [132] Percentage of mean of totals used in a
and b: a and b refer to the columns with footnotes [130] and [131]
respectively.

Pages 508 and 510, Tables 72 and 74: these tables are (almost)
identical in the source document as well.

Changes made

Tables and illustrations have been moved out of text paragraphs;
footnotes have been renumbered sequentially and moved to directly
under the paragraph where they are referenced.

In several of the tables data have been aligned more consistently
than in the source document. Some tables have been split or otherwise
re-arranged to fit the available width. These tables have been split
so that it is straightforward to recombine them into single tables.

Some obvious minor typographical and punctuation errors have been
corrected silently.

Page ix: Platinum, by James H. Hill changed to Platinum, by James M.
Hill.

Page 35: Dorfmund changed to Dortmund.

Page 45: Alden changed to Aden.

Page 50, Table 7: References to page 49 (Austria, Hungary) replaced
with “above” cf. other entries.

Page 148: footnote anchor [78] inserted in table heading.

Page 224, Table 35: column header Western Hemisphere moved to
separate row; row Total Eastern Hemisphere: values 1,113,000,
212,750, 98,000, 31,000 and 125,000 moved to row World Total.

Page 278, Table 53: first column Per cent. under Primary pig lead,
Smelter production (values 0.2, 4.5, etc.) considered to be intended
as second column under Imports, Recoverable lead content of ores and
concentrate.

Page 432: ... and the latter in, exhaustibly available ... changed to
... and the latter inexhaustibly available ....

Page 509-510: Footnote anchor [186] inserted after both occurrences
of IO₃.

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