The Logan Republican. [volume] (Logan, Utah) 1902-1924, 1913-06-24
AN ENORMOUS
JUNK HEAP
Secondary Metals. Production In 1912
Valued at More Than Seventy
seven Million Dollars

Washington, d. c., June 23.--The
value of the secondary metals" ex.
elusive Of gold, silver, platinum, non,
and aluminus, recovered In 1912
reached the enormous total Of ST..
395,s43, compared with $52,5s5, 800 in
1911, according to j. p. Dunlop OF
the United States Geological Survey
an increase of nearly s25 600 900.
Secondary metals" are those recov.
cred from scrap metal sweepings
skimmings, Dresses, ETC., and are SO
called to distinguish them from the
metals derived from ore, which are
termed primary metals. The United
States Geological Surveys figures
showing the recovery Of secondary
copper, lead, zinc, tin and anthony
are summarized In the table below.
The reports to the survey do not in.
clude the very large quantity Of old
iron and steel remelted, neither do
they include the precious metals. The
quantity of aluminium scrap returned
to secondary smelters is increasing
rapidly, owing largely to the rise of
the automobile, and the survey re-
ports next year will probably include
secondary aluminium.
The values given for the secondary
metals are arbitrary and are based
on the approximate average value Of
the primary metal for the year. While
junk dealers and collectors frequently
pay low prices for small quantities of
scrap metals, competition results in
good prices being obtained for care.
fully sorted scrap and other waste
metal products sold in large quaint.
ties. After remelting or refining the
metals are sold at only slightly low
er prices than new metal. These Sc.
condary metals displace an equivalent
quantity of primary metals and must
be considered in any estimate OF
stocks available for consumption in
any year. For few special purpos.
es requiring especial purity of ma
terial, II is necessary to employ pri-
mary or virgin pig metal, but as h
general rule secondary metals can be
used in whole or in part. In fact
most foundries in order to compete
for business successfully must use
secondary material at least in part
and hence scrap metal Is purchased
by them and remelted with primary
pig metal or with composition ingot.
The secondary shelters by handling
large quantities Of all kinds of scrap
are able to classify their material so
as to produce continuously alloy met
ais of uniform composition suitable
for use in work Of different classes.
Such composition ingots are being
purchased and used in increasing
quantities by many foundries and 9TH
err manufacturers in place OF primary
metals or mixtures Of new and scrap
metals. The higher prices prevail
ing in 1912 for all metals other than
lead had the effect of causing more |
than a normally increased demand for |
and recovery of metals from scraps,
dresses, etc.
1t has so far proved impossible to
separate the statistics for secondary
metal recovered from clean scrap
made in the ordinary course of manu-
facture from the statistics of metal
recovered from Dresses ana ashes and
from scrap OF old metal that had en-.
tered the trade rs manufactured ar
ticles and been discarded. An esti.
mate has been made Of the clean COP
per and brass scrap, but no distinc.
ton is made by many of the dealers
NJ smaltaro |