MINERAL PRODUCTS.
21
The following statistics of zinc exports from the principal zincsmelting
countries of Europe have been taken from the official publications
of the countries concerned and are given for 1912 because
official figures for 1913 are not available for all the countries:
Zinc exports in 19Í2 from Germana, Belgium, France, and Great Britain, in
short tons.
To-Canada
Mexico
Central America and West
Indies
South America
Africa
Australia and New Zealand.
Asia, Japan, and East Indies
From
Germany.
Slabs
and
sheets.
280
4,018
Galvanized
iron.
4,370
1,758
6,128
From
Belgium.
Slabs
and
sheets.
2,903
2,115
202
4,807
9,288
2,547
5,950
Galvanized
iron.
97
8,835
00
5,440
27,908 14,438
From
France.
Slabs
and
sheets.
5,280
15,328
8,502
29,110
Galvanized
iron.
837
5,201
2,113
58,514
1,282
13,708
81,715
From Great
Britain.
Slabs
and
sheets.
4,152
4,017
Galvanized
iron.
29,398
1,319
4,812
123,203
71,592
143,525
287,300
001,209
Total.
Slabs
and
sheets.
4,190
2,115
202
10,457
28, 031
2,547
24,330
72,475
Galvanized
iron.
29,398
2,150
10,170
138,581
130,100
144,807
308,272
703,550
The foregoing table shows a foreign market for over 72,000 tons
of zinc, of which about 30,000 tons consists of spelter in slabs and
the remainder of zinc sheets. The American zinc industry should
stand an excellent chance to take over the trade in zinc slabs and
such part of the trade in zinc sheets as American zinc-rolling mills
can furnish. The trade in galvanized-iron sheets is dominated by
Great Britain, which controls 87 per cent of the total export trade
in that commodity with the four countries concerned. In addition to
smelting over 65,000 tons of spelter in her own plants Great Britain
in 1913 imported 150,000 tons, presumably used chiefly in making
her enormous output of galvanized iron. It would seem that any
expansion in Great Britain’s foreign trade either in spelter and
zinc sheets or in galvanized iron would entail the importation of
more spelter from the United States. This country therefore has
the opportunity to furnish the major part of 222,000 tons of spelter
a year as long as the war lasts, together with whatever part of the
spelter for the galvanized-iron trade of the southern continents and
Asia it can acquire. The first demands will naturally come from
Great Britain, and according to reports they have already begun.
With the end of the war, however, the continental smelters will begin
to compete strongly for that trade. The southern continents and Asia
are therefore more likely to become steady outlets for our zinc
products, and by the time the war closes American zinc should have
obtained a permanent foothold in those markets, sufficient to take
care of the surplus smelter capacity of the United States.
