Mohave County miner and our mineral wealth., 1919-07-12
MANGANESE PRODUCED
 DURING YEAR OF 1918


 nese ore in 1918, according to statis tics compiled by D. F. Hewett, of the United States Geological Survey, De- partment of the Interior, was greater than in any preceding year. The shipments of high-grade ore during the last quarter of the year were 75,- 465 tons, against 9O,73S tons, S2,4S1 tons, and 55,6S2 tons for the third, second, and first quarters, respecti- vely, and the total for the year was therefore 304,366 tons, or two and a half times that for 1917, which was the highest previously recorded. The shipments of low-grade material were also the highest on record-S9S,3 ,332 tons containing 10 to 35 per cent of manganese and 242,5S5 tons contain ing to 10 per cent of manganese.
 United States Supplies Nearly One
 Third of Manganese Required.
 Most of the product is used in steel alloys, and if the country's require ments of high-grade ore are placed at S50,000 tons, the quantity required for the manufacture of 45 5,000,O00 tons of steel, it would appear that domestic sources supplied S5 per cent; but as the ore is slightly lower than that of imported ore the actual contribu- tion of manganese in high-grade ore was about 32 per cent Reports re- ceived by the Survey from makers of manganese alloys-ferromanganese and spiegeleison--indicate that 8 per cent of the metallic manganese used in the alloys made and imported dur ing 1918 was derived from ores mined in the United States. As the propor- tion of domestic manganese in such alloys was only per cent in 1913 and l6 per cent in 1916 the domestic miners of manganese made notable contribution to the nations indepen- dence in mineral supplies in war time. Had the war continued for an other year domestic ores would pro- bably have supplied half the mangan- csc in the manganese alloys needed by the country.
 Statistics can be used in numerous ways, but during the war the statis- tics showing the current production in many industries were found to be of greatest use in making forecasts If future production. Although the United States contains many deposits of manganiferous oresf-some large but many small; some of high grade but many low grade-the shipments prior to 1916 were negible part of that required to supply the country's total needs. Under the stimulus of higher prices the rate of shipment be- gan to increase, but aftes the United States entered the war it became nec- essary to estimate accurately the probable output of ore during success sive periods in the near future. h. stead of estimating according to past shipments the Geological Survey in 1917 and 1918 requested the producers to make estimates of their future shipments by stated periods, and these estimates, when used as indicated be- low, yielded, long before the end of the period, estimates within z per cent of the actual shipments.
 At the end of each quarter blank forms were sent to the operators re- questing estimates of their probable shipments during the next six or twelve months. At the end of the first period for which an operator had submitted an estimate he was rated according to the proportion that he had shipped during the period. Early in 1918 most of the operators had been thus rated one or more times, and the average of the ratings for each operator was used in revising his future estimates. New operators of fered different problem, but it was found by experience that the average operator who was equipped to produce ore actually shipped about 40 per cent of his own estimated output.
 In July, 1918, the reports received showed that 136,554 tons of high grade ore had been shipped during the first six months of the year, and as it then seemed that the war would continue into 1919 it was estimated that 324,576 tons would be shipped during the year. A similar estimate made from reports covering the first nine months, compiled just after the armistice was signed, appeared to warrant reduction of the estimate to 294,497 tons. The actual ship ments indicated by the figures just compiled were 304,366 tons.
 Outlook for 1919
 It is too early to predict with assur- ance for shipments of manganese ore during 1919. A number of mines that wer closed in November, 1918, have been reopened, but although a few will continue to ship for several months on contracts made in 1918, and some new contracts have been made, the ship ments of domestic high-grade ore in 1919 will probably not exceed 6O,0O0 tons-that is, it will be little less Ilo