Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1938-12-10

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DR. Thomson's statement follows:
our defense plans must OF neces-
slty include provision for an ade-
ouate supply of strategic and criti-
cal war minerals. OF these war
minerals. Montana possesses a sig
nificant supply of two of the most
important. namely manganese ana
chromium.
"Philipsburg is a notable prouuc-
or of battery or chemical mangan-
csc Certain parts of the Butte dis
trict are actually capable of pro-
ducing a significant tonnage OF
manganese ore suitable for use IN
steel manufacture, and sintered man
ganese is producted here whenever
Il can be sold in competition with
foreign ore imported into TINS
country. It is not question oil
'coddling' the manganese Industry,
but rather of developing our own
resources, and of spending our
money at home wherever 1t can be
done consistent with sound national
economy and possible national de-
tense.
Notable Deposits.
"A
is true with chromite of which we
have notable deposits in saltwater
and Sweetgrass counties. These de-
posts are a yet largely undevel-
oped because the character OF the
ore and the distance from market
precludes competition with imported
foreign chromite.
'It has been urged in some quar-
ters that we should rely upon i'm
portation of minerals of this type
since we do not have superabun-
dance of them, and thus conserve /
whatever supply we do have for
emergency use. This argument
sounds extremely plausible to those
who do not understand the mineral
industry. There is, of course, no
valid argument for using up our
own supply of such vital necessities
in time Of peace, hut a manganese
industry or a chromite industry can
not build overnight mines must be
opened and deposits developed in a
systematic manner; plants must be
built. and in many cases processes
must be developed, particularly for
the benefication of lowgrade ore
which must be handled in large ton
nages Thus, it would seem to be
sound craftsmanship not to "coddle' 1
but to encourage the domestic pro-
duction of war materials to such
point that in time of war we can {
make ourselves far more independ- I
ent of foreign supply than we are {
at present
The proposal in the last Congress '
of an appropriation of $25, 10000 !
for the accumulation of stocks of
such minerals will no doubt be re-
newed at the coming session. Such
a measure, coupled with the proviso !
that these stocks are to be built up
from domestic sources wherever pos (
sible has much to commend It, 6
TRAUERNIAN'S STATEMENT Il
There is plenty of manganese ore
in the United States, especially in u
Montana, that can be economically Z
processed to make high-grade u
product that could be used in the Z
process of making steel and in steel
alloys, paints, batteries, glass, etc. i
just as it was used in the world J
war" Mr.. Trauerman, mining engi- I
neer and one of this country's larg- L
est manganese producers during the ]
war, said. He added: I
Before the war, Montana did not Il
produce one pound of commercial
manganese. However by Septem Der, y
1918, Montana was producing at the
rate of 100000 tons of high-grade |
per year, against war r
time United States consumption of
100000 tons per year u
Trauerman. who was the first
man in metallurgTcal history to sue !
cessfully make a furnace product
from Rhodachrosite or pink" man.
ganese, stated that since the war
of more efficient concen-
trating processes have been dsvel-
oped, especially by Montana metal
lurgists. these processes giving a
product that is higher
in manganese content and lower in
detrimental contents such as silica,
sulphur and PHOSPHORUS, than any
manganese produced
or processed any place else in the
world.
Given an adequate tariff to pro-