The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1900-06-19
WORLDS IRON TRADE.
The View an English Paper Takes Of
the Matter.
(Selrs Commercial InteIligence.)

of the iron trade of the past year, as
well as of the iron trade of the present
time. is the readiness with which the
supply of iron ores appears to have re
sponded TO an altogether phenomenal
demand. This feature is not limited to
the United Kingdom alone, but appears
to have been equally characteristic of
the conditions that have prevailed, and
are still prevailing, in other countries.
1t is, indeed, more especially notable in
the United States, where the increased
output OF pig iron in 1899 over the pre-
vious year has been about 100000 tons,
which represents a total increase of
nearly 1900, 900 tons in the consumption
of iron ores. This increase of pig iron
production is in excess of the increase
recorded, and likely to have taken
place, in all the other countries of the
world taken together. If we add to the
increase of pig iron output found for
the United States the increment as
certained for Germany, France, Rus
STA, Belgium, AustTia-Hungary and
Great Britain, the total increase in the
| consumption of iron ores. for the year
/ 1899 over the previous year works out
to between 1000, 600 and 100000 of tons
an increase which would have been
! regarded as impossible of attainment
/ within so short a period at very re-
/ cent date. These figures go far to dis
J pose of the pessimiStic foreDodings that
! have been current, not in Great Britain
/ only, but in most other irOn-making
/ countries as well, as to the probable
/ failure of the ordinary sources of sup
/ ply to provide for the requirements
/ Of the iron and steel industries. No
/ doubt, within the last year or two IN
! pTecedented efforts have been made in
/ all countries alike to oVertake those
1 requirements; stimulated by a phenom-
/ email rise in the values of ores of iron
all over the world. Perhaps the most
/ striking example of the success of these
efforts is furnished by the experience
/ of the United States which, within the
| space Of half a dozen years, has raised
| the production of ores in one district
| alOnG-that of Lake SuDerior-from
| about 100000 tons to over Is, 1000, 000
4 in the twelve mOuths-Or, rather, in the
six months only, since the navigation
season on the great lakes is practically
| limited to that period. Almost equally
| startling and unexpected has been the
responses made by the iron ore deposits
of Spain r. the increased demands Of
Europe.
A year ago it was regarded as very
supply in 1899 any material increase on
the ore supplies of 1898, and yet the re-
Gently issued statistics show that the
| total Spanish iron ore production in
1899 was 1924 900 tons, being an increase
exceeding 2,600, 600 tons on the output of
I the previous year. of which increase
about 100000 tons were supplied to the
United Kingdom and about 100000 tons
| to Germany and Belgium. 1t has been
I "a
ences, in other countries. Greece, which
has come to the front as a source of
iron ore supply within the last few
/ years, succeeded in 1899 in raising its
supply of iron ores from about 100000
to nearly Zoo, 900 tons, and arrange
ments have been made for securing
larger supplies in the future from
Sweden, Nova Scotia, Norway and
other countries in which iron ores are
known to exist in abundance.
| Nevertheless we cannot be said TO
be out of the woods, and the fact that
iron ores have been provided in suffi-
cient quantities to meet urgent re-
quirements in 1899 is no evidence that
this will be equally the case in the fu-
ture. The impression has not been re
moved that the future will witness a
scramble for iron ores that may mean
a famine. That this is not a merely
J
cent events, and not least so by the
fact that the iron ore supplies Of Swed-
en- now available for sale, and likely
to be made available by the opening
up of the new supplies of Swedish Lap
land, have already been contracted for
at good prices for six years to come to
the full extent Of the computed ca
pacity Of supply. The principal Eu-
rOpean source of supply is Spain, where
iron ores were worked last year in If
teen provinces, but none of these are
of real Importance except the province
of Biscay, including Santander, where
the output of 1899 exceeded by about
1000, 600 tons that of the previous year
This is a large increase. but it appears
to have been the utmost of which the
peninsula was capable. even under the
stimulus of an advance of about 100
per cent in prices. The output for the
current year is likely to be reduced
and in three or four years time it is
probable that Biscay viii supply less
than One-half its present quantity
while within twelve years the supply is
expected to be practically exhausted
There remain the still available sup
plies of other prOYinces-nOtdbly Muir
cia, Almeria and Seville. but these, So
far as is known, are not likely to go far
in the direction Of replacing Bilbao. II
Europe no other notably large supplies
} of iron ore are available for the irOI
( ore trade of Great Britain and Germa
{ ny. Greece is spoken of as likely Il
furnish considerable supplies, and 81
: also of Norway, but we have no direc
evidence that the available resource:
of either country are of large extent o.
f unexceptiOnable quality.
! / The United States, which produced
more iron and steel than the whole o.
4 continental Europe. must, however
= have a big say in the question OF iroI
; ore supply and demand. There is sons
: talk of the probability of the American
: production of pig iron in 1900 exceeding
15,060000 tons. The rate of production
? so far has exceeded that enormous fig
= ure. This would mean an increase o
7 nearly 1.500, 600 tons on the record out
s put of 1895, and an increase of well Oh
to 5000, coo tons in the consumption o
iron ores. Can the United States rel,
on their home supplies being increase,
= to that extent? If not, are they Hkel,
Y to come to Europe for supplies, and
r they do enter European markets, &
what extent will that fact curtail tn
! | supplies available for European cOun
tries and increase the cost of such sup
plies? Much will of course, depend OF
the extent to which the demand 70
. pig iron keeps up the price of that com
/ monty IN american markets pig lrO
is now selling for 100 per cent NOR
than it realized little more than a yea
ago. This figure allows to American
producers of pig iron a large ylargi
| of possible increase in the price to b
paid for iron ores consistently wit
:, large profits in the pig iron industry
, If the Americans are driven by the in
adequacy of their own home supple
i to encroach on the Spanish. Swedish @
= other supplies now available for tn
r European iron trade, the situation ma
n be seriously altered for the worse froT
= the European standpoint Alread