Evening star., 1941-07-06
Defense Stimulates
Mining Industry
By Frederic J. HdSktn.

destined to revive many old industries,
and possibly be the means of creating
many new enterprises One of the most
promising fields where an old enterprise
is likely to take on new life and become
more extensive is that of mining This
does not mean the mere surveying TOR
larger and richer fields of COAL iron,
silver and gold, but general revival
in the search for and mining of all
valuable minerals found in the United
States and its possessions. This new
and extensive pioneering would even in
clude the resurveying and reworking of
mines where so far only small quantities
of any product have been found.
The widespread need for copper, zinc,
nickel, aluminium, chromium manganese,
tin and other minerals for national de-
fense purposes has led to a full realiZa-
ton Of the importance of not only maxi
ing wide and intensive search for addi-
| tional supplies of these but for the
| building up of reserves sufficient to meet
any emergency. Many of these minerals.
of course, are found only in very limited
quantities in the United States but most
| geologistS stick to the theory that where
| small quantities of any mineral are
| found larger and even more abundant
! supplies are possible of discovery.
Not
| focused attention on the importance Of
| certain minerals, but with world trade
| conditions becoming less advantageous
to the United States and the Western
| Hemisphere as a whole -sufficiency,
| especially in an ample supply Of stra-
! tegic materials, is becoming a national
Watchword.
| Except for Soviet Russia, the United
! States is the only industrialzed country
| of any great size which has a large por-
! ton Of needed minerals within its bor-
ders. Thus the United States enjovs
favorable position among the nations Of
the world in the realm of mineral re-
sources These resources have been FORE
| runners Of great enterprises and largely
| responsible for the rapid development of
| many sections of the country. It was the
gold fields Of California, for example,
that turned the eyes of the Nation to the
expansive West and eventually led to
| opening the countrys land to the maps
western rim. Coal mined in PennsyI-
| vania, West Virginia and Ohio and iron
from the Lake Superior district COM
plemented to bring about a country
| wide industrial expansion. Later the
coal fields, yielding vast amounts of
cheap fuel, played an important part IN
the development Of the automobile in
dustry.
Coal is perhaps the Nations most
abundant mineral resource. Estimates
put the countrys supply of bitunlinous
coal sufficient to last 1000 years. and
anthracite sufficient 70 last approx
mately 200 years. Iron ore, limestone
and gypsum are also minerals estimated
to last for a period of several hundred
years. Oil, estimated only few years
ago to last probably through the present
| century, has found an extension in the
production of petroleum from various
types of coal.
In all, the Nation is richly endowed
by nature with many huge supply OF
many important minerals. while others
are scarce so far as their actual known
location is concerned. Hence this coun-
try must look to foreign sources for large
supplies. For example it imports more
than so per cent of its manganese from
Soviet Russia. about 25 per cent from
Brazil and the remainder from India
and Canada. Nickel also is scarce and
so Canada must be relied upon for ap-
proximately 90 per cent Of that impor-
tant metal From Africa and Cuba come
so per cent of the chromium which the
United States must purchase, while 1t
looks to China, Mexico and Bolivia for
some 10 per cent of its antimony. The
United States is also deficient in tin, so
necessary in the construction of ships,
trains, motorcars and airplanes. and in
making equipment for telephone, tele-
graph. water and electric systems From
the British Malaga, Bolivia and other
foreign sources the majority of this
| country requirements OF IlIl nluSG come,
Many plans have been suggested to
remedy these deficiencies. One would
be an appropriation by the Federal Gov
ernment of sizable sum as reward
| to private chemists for finding proper
| substitutes This plan not only en-
| bodies a liberal reward but a chemist
would be advanced a reasonable sum.
! upon the presentation of proved ability.
| to finance certain experiments. This
plan would not discourage or supplant
the many noted chemists In Govern
ment service. but the belief is that many
of the country's best minds prefer to
work privately, and so the enlarging of
| the Governments efforts would enlist
the services of many of these private
experimenters.
But the plan which seems TO capture
the imagination of those who are in
terested in prospecting is for a return Of
| pioneer mining activities by individuals,
these also to receive some financial en-
| couragement and a suitable reward from
the national Government. The United
States Geological Survey. of course, is
tracking down all possible sources OF
mineral supplies, making tests and rec
concentrations, but despite the efficiency
Of that agency the country still has
great faith in the individual pioneer
obsessed with burning desire to make