The Daily Alaska empire., 1929-07-08
Greater Annual Increase in Copper
 Consumption Probable.
Engineering and Mining WorldO


 An analyst passing his conclusion study of statistics for the period of 1911928, recently made the deduction that continuation of the per cent cumulative per annum increase in the domestic and world consumption of copper seemed justified This prediction would seem conservative not only be- cause of the sustained increased demand in the first quarter of this year the part of consumers of large quantities of the metal but also owing to the new and wider fields of application for copper that being developed
 Electrification of steam railroad lines, which has required far only comparatively small quan- titles of copper should expand substantially in the near future; demands of the automobile industry according to present indications will continue at an increased rate the aviation industry, heretofore almost negligible factor, will become a consumer of considerable quantities of copper; and the energy output of public utility plants, which has increased 10 per cent. annually in the United States in the last few years will undoubtedly continue to increase at this a greater rate, and will consequently re- quire increasing amounts of manufactured copper products. In Europe, where the per capita con- sumption of copper is less than half that in the United States, large potential market for the metal prevails Increased use of automobiles, safety raZors radio receiving sets, electric refrigerators and washing machines, to mention a few of the miscellaneous items for which considerable quan- titles of copper must be allocated in the United States each year, will affect materially the world demand.
 Of the for copper, the offering
 
 developed recently in England in connection with method for heating buildings In this method an electric element inside of copper tubing placed along the wainscoting of evenly distributes heat the temperature of the being controlled automatically by thermostat, according to indi- vidual needs. Radiation of the heat by the copper provides almost immediate of heat as soon as the current supplying the electric element is turned on, and effective a cessation of heat as the flow of current is stopped. | The recent application of copper tubing for water connections from street mains to buildings opens another new and wide field for the metal. Included among the advantages that copper can claim justly in this instance are: It can be bent without injury and is notably resistant to cor rosion; joints can be made without threading; it has ample strength to withstand the water pres sures employed; and coils of the tubing are light in weight and easily carried by one man. who can complete installation without assistance Addi- tional news and apparently important outlets for copper in the future copper-bea steels and copper heating radiators. Those most concerned ing companies-might well use more copper and brass piping in place of cheaper alternative that corodes, causing delay for replacement and high initial and operating expense. In brief therefore the demand for copper seems likely not only to be sustained at its recent annual rate of increase but also to reach new high rate in the next few and succeeding years