Evening star., 1945-07-01

)uT WLIHeTuLS.
the highest price A ton would be worth
s3,500,000. Our stockpile is measured
in ounces.
There's a story about RFC-before
Metals Reserve came into being-foster-
ing the production of platinum on
American soil and advancing money
which some said it likely wouldn't
get back. The sum was 100000. 1t was
used by the borrower to establish
dredge on the shore of Goodnews Bay
in Alaska, not far below the Arctic
Circle.
Alaskan Source Developed.
The dredge was carried to the bay
in sections and assembled there. 1t
went to work. The work could be
carried on only in the summer months
because the winter ice made opera
tions impossible.
The loan was made back in 1887.
For two years the platinum produced
was sold to British buyers. Since then
the 10000 to 10000 ounces produced
each year have come to the United
States. Platinum brings from $33 to
s35 an ounce. The RFC loan was paid
OF long ago.
Diamonds by the carat and platinum
by the ounce are far from giving
realistic picture of Metals Reserve
stockpiling.
Over at Baltimore few days ago
this reporter watched the unloading
OF Russian chrome ore which had come
from Murmansk.
M. A. Myers, general freight agent
of the Canton Railroad Co., serving as
guide, led the way down the rail-
road companys ore dock. Tied up
there were the Linn Boyd and the
Joshua Thomas, American cargo ships
which, between them, had 1900 tons of
chrome ore.
Much Manganese From India.
A shovel from an overhead crane
dropped into the hold of the Linn Boyd,
took a 16-ton bite of the ore, drew it
UP and deposited it in hopper from
which it poured into railroad cars.
From the dock the ore was carried
to the storage yards. In one yard
there was pile of 125,000 tons of
manganese from India. In that yard
there were $4,000 tons of ore in all;
in another yard, 100000 tons. In the
zinc yard there were white noun
tain ranges of $4,000 tons of zinc con-
centrateS
There is ore from every continent.
Zinc from Australia, New Foundland
and Argentina. Manganese from India,
South Africa, from the Black Sea area
of Russia and from Brazil. Chrome ore
from Russia, Africa, New Caledonia,
Cuba and Turkey. Fluorspar from
Spain and South Africa.
The Baltimore stockpiles are not the
only ones There are others in various
parts of the country, either near the
points of consumption or at the places
where the metals arrive or are pro-
duced.
Boise Brings Nickel.
More than chrome comes from New
Caledonia. There is nickel also, and
the story of one shipment of the metal
from New Caledonia had its earlier
chapters in the naval battles in the
Solomon Islands.
The heroic fight of the cruiser Boise
and the damage it suffered is familiar
story of the naval warfare against the
Japanese.
The Navy got in touch with Metals
Reserve here and said it had vessel
in the Southwest Pacific coming home
and needing ballast, and did Metals
Reserve have some product in that part
of the world it would like brought to
the United States?
Metals Reserves answer was that 1t,
indeed, had some nickel matte, which
contained about 10 per cent nickel. at
Noumea IN New Caledonia About 100
tons of the nickel matte was slowed
aboard the vessel as ballast. 1t was
not until the battling Boise arrived at
the Philadelphia Navy Yard for repairs
that Metals Reserve knew why the
Navy was offering to act as cargo
carrier.
Russia Sends Much.
Not only metals for the stockpiles, but
other products as we'll have come from
Russia. The shipments from that coun-
try have been in repayment of s50,-
100000 loan advanced Russia by the
Defense Supplies Corp. late in 194l after
Russia had been attacked by Germany,
but before lease-lend help was extended
by this country.
BY the end of last April the Russians
had made deliveries to the value Of
(See METALS, Page C-10)