Evening star., 1949-12-04

need of a full-strength air force.
For the modest jet engine pro-
duction they saw ahead in peace
years these five precious metals
appeared adequate In quantity.
quality and location, 50 there was
no worry.
Siberia Is Question Mark
But suddenly the unexpected
happened: Soviet Russia began
to act real nasty and when the
people here whose business 1t is
to plan for war, even when its
eventuality is all but impossible.
got to estimating the necessary
quantity of raw materials and
length of time it would take to
produce, say 100000 jet engines
for fighters and bombers, they
turned cobalt blue. For it looked
like America, so expert and res
nowned in the volume production
of anything Git built $4,000
piston aircraft engines in one
year during the last war;, would
fail disastrously for the lack Of
the necessary quantity of the vital
big 5 metal materials in the first
place and their inaccessibility in
the second. Here, in general. Is
where the planners found these
vital metals at recognized going
sources of supply:
Tungsten: Not plentiful any
where, but more so in China and
Burma, with a small amount in
the United States.
Chromium: A healthy supply in
Russia and a lesser amount in
Rhodesia. Africa.
Nickel: Canada is rich in nickel,
and Russia has it, too.
Cobalt: The largest deposits are
in the Belgian Congo of Africa.
but there is some to be had In our
own Rocky Mountain regions.
Columbium: Another African
speciality. specifically Nigeria. but,
like cobalt, not bountiful.
Neither Russia on the one hand,
nor Britain and America on the
other, has a monopoly on all five
types, but a quick look at the map
shows Russia need not be de-
pendent on, the outside world for
nickel and chromium, and If the
Soviet influence in China is as
profitable as reported, tungsten
can be included among its price
less mineral assets. That leaves
cobalt and columbium to be gotten
from Africa-unless Siberia has
come through.
Regardless of what was known
about the nature and location of
mineral deposits of all kinds in
the U. s. s. r. before the war.
there is no reliable evidence now
of what has been developed since,
particularly in Siberia. Early in
the war, our people knew that
there was more to be found in
that supposedly barren country
than fur-bearing wolves and the
bones of Czarist exiles. It was
believed to be fantastically wealthy
in many natural resources and the
fact that the Russian Airways
System has been expanded to in
clude all sections Of Soviet Asia
it's easier and quicker to build
airways in that region than high
ways and railroads-is strong tes-
timony for this belief.
A quick trial balance of holdings
or possible concessions that could
be obtained by the combined ef-
forts Of England and America
shows we would have nickel from
Canada, columbium from Nigeria
and cobalt from the Belgian
Congo. Tungsten and chromium
could be placed beyond reach,
though small quantities of the
former can be had in the United
States and Of the latter from
Rhodesia.
Substitutes Sought
Where once there appeared to
be enough of the big five metals
for experimental and limited jet
engine production. the startling
facts developed in 1916 showed
that there was then not enough
to meet the combined war re-
quirements of all three nations,
if they were anywhere near the
order of 100000 jet engines year
per country.
But nation harboring doubts
as to it's immediate security is not
going to be stepped there. 1t will