The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1921-12-22
OUTLOOK FOR TUNGSTEN
ALL DEPENDS ON STEEL
METAL DISCUSSED BY EXPERT
OF THE UNITED STATES
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY.

tungsten IN lOOi steel IS as staple as
that OF yeast in bread But Will it
sun be true when business again
starts to hum When the long, hot
shavings again begin to twist and
squirm from the high-powered metal
lathes will they be turned OF by
tungsten steel? 1t seems SAFE TO an
smer positively Yes" During the
World war the price OF tungsten
reached, in at least a few transactions.
more than $1,000 per pound Tor tung-
stem powder carrying about 81 per
cent Of tungsten, and ores sold at the
mine for as much as $93.5O per unit I
Tungsten high-speed steel carried
from l6 to 20 per cent tungsten. which |
generally represented an addition of 20 I
TO % per cent in the melt, for losses
ran from II Y per cent to more than
20 per cent, and yet with such a cold
cash inducement to offer substitutes
they generally made but a small show
ing. The one exception was "stellite,"
Elwood Haynes fine alloy the COM
position of which varies according to
the purpose it is intended to serve
but which in general has a fine base
OF about rs per cent chromium and rs
per cent of cobalt, to which is added
as much as or even more than II per
cent of tungsten or even more when .
IT is to take the place of tool steel
SO that even in steilite tungsten is 7
very essential though in smaller t
quantities.
Tungsten miners and users were a
somewhat obviously interested in ru- a
mors from England that Prof Arnold p
had invented a molybdenum steel that O
would replace tungsten steels and be
better There was the usual talk of
mystery and government control but
when details were finally obtained the
steel appeared to be very similar to
others made in this country many I,
years ago. A
Tungsten will again be used as it a
was before the great slump in bust p
ness. However, with regard to tariffs W
IL will be a considerable time before W
American mines can again begin to Il
produce tungsten ore profitably. Be p
fore the World war the United States fl
was in most years the largest producer pl
Of tungsten ores; Burma was second e'
and surpassed us in a couple of years. an
In the Hermyingyi mine Burma claim 81
ed to have the largest tungsten pro- ri
ducer but the mine has not been even 81
a close second to our own Atolia mine. al
producing less than half as much from
1910 to 1917, inclusive. of
AS matter of fact, both the Primes tn
Chemical Co. and the Wolf Tongue of
Mining Co, in the Boulder forberite M
ueld, Colorado produced more Tung- co
stem in the same years than the Her nm
myingyi But the cheaply. easily mined co
ores are mostly gone from the known it
Burmese deposits. and whereas the rel
operators once talked of ores that er,
could profitably produced at S225 per mi
ong-ton unit they are now talking 81 fol
-e SIC as the cost OF production. and III,
N the United States we find the cost wa
generally estimated at twice as much. COZ
But as everyone concerned knows the
Ugh prices of the World war caused by
he discovery in China of the greatest Wi
md most cheaply worked tungsten acc
ield yet known. This field lies in cor
astern Kwangtung, southern Kiangsi. tro
>wangsi. SO far nearly all the tung- ma
ten produced in this field except that -
iunan has apparently been derived 40
rom placers, but beginning with 1918 w
he yearly output has been larger than
he annual production of the world of,
efore the war. When prices We're high e.,
he ore came on the market at high =
rices; when they dropped the Chi \
csc price went down. but ore has ma
ept coming even while it is offered ,t.
1925 per unit for concentrate car 49,.
wing y per cent WOS. Therein lies A..
ne difference between the Chinese oee.
nd the American-the Chinese de- W.
lands and if he can get a good price 80,
bends money freely but If he can not ,s
et what he wants. then, unlike the ~
merican. he goes right ahead work .o,-.
lg and makes what he can and so -
hinese ore has been offered on the -.
nglish market at lis. per long ton and
nit. or less $1.S5 per short-ton unit. 49,,
lie lowest price ever known. -
The high prices also brought con- IN.
derable quantities of tungsten ores 49,
-" Inv "a, <N'sen'ine' japan ana the
-~etf NAAN hAt ou0bNn ciEulnb Oh the
mistice left large stocks ready for
ipment in other countries, mines
inning that were loath to shut down,
d both the ore already produced and MOI
at being mined largely found their
" to his country even with rapidly
king prices. Off
At the end of 1918. the year that 90
v the close of the war, there was NJ
'bably stored in this country an delin
livalent of at least 5000 short tons ed s.
t,,nesten ooncap+,.atas ,o,.,.,,;,,, eo of ii
49, .e the
cent WOS' Ireat quantities OF eral
gsten steel were remelted during of II
short squirt in business during 1919 lows
stocks instead of dwindling. in No
lsed; they kept increasing during w B
}. until now it is probable that Arch