28

OUR  MINERAL  RESERVES.

large  and  advantageously  situated.  No  deposits  of  antimony  ores
have  been  found  in  the  United  States  which  entirely  fulfill  these  conditions, ­
  and  as  a  result  practically  all  the  antimony  metal  used  here
is  imported  from  European  smelters,  mostly  from  England.  The
ores  for  these  smelters  come  largely  from  China,  Mexico,  and  France.
So  long  as  the  war  lasts,  and  especially  so  long  as  sea  traffic  is  disturbed, ­
  the  production  will  be  curtailed  and  prices  raised,  for  the
use  of  antimony  in  type  metal,  and  especially  in  bearing  metals,  is
fixed  and  will  continue.  Other  uses,  such  as  the  making  of  coffin
trimmings,  which  consume  a  surprisingly  large  quantity  of  antimony ­
  and  from  which  there  is  no  secondary  recovery,  might  conceivably ­
  turn  to  aluminum  or  other  metals  as  substitutes.
For  several  years  the  production  of  antimony  in  the  United  States
from  domestic  ores  has  been  confined  to  that  contained  in  antimonial
lead  and  small  quantities  recovered  in  the  electrolytic  refining  of
copper  and  lead.  A  production  of  antimony  from  foreign  ores—
which  can  only  be  estimated—is  also  made.  The  antimonial  lead  is
mostly  a  by-product  in  the  smelting  of  the  precious  metals,  and
efforts  are  made  to  save  all  possible,  so  that  this  production  can  not
be  largely  increased.  Th^quantity  saved  in  electrolytic  copper  refining ­
  can  probably  be  increased,  though  not  enough  to  make  it  a
serious  factor  in  the  market.
The  production,  recovery,  imports,  and  approximate  consumption
of  antimony  in  the  United  States  for  1913  are  shown  in  the  following
table  :

Production,  recovery,  importa,  and  consumption  of  antimony  in  the  United
States,  1013.

Antimony  contained  in  antimonial  lead  from  all  sources,  including  by-product  antimony ­
  -
Recovered  from  wastes,  scrap,  etc.  (including  a  little  ore),  nearly  all  as  alloy
Imports:
Met  al  and  regulus
Crude  antimony  and  ore  (probable  antimony  content).’

Quantity
(short
tons).

2,540
2,775
0,210
1,200

Approximate  consumption  of  metallic  antimony  12,755

Value.

$450,491
402,115
798,581
137,780

1,828,967

Besides  these  items,  more  than  1,000  tons  of  oxide  and  salts  of
antimony,  valued  at  over  $117,000,  were  imported.
It  is  probable  that  under  the  pressure  of  high  prices  attempts  will
be  made,  as  in  1900-7,  to  work  American  deposits.  If  this  can  be
done  without  great  initial  outlay,  some  antimony  miners  will  probably ­
  make  good  profits;  but  it  may  be  only  a  few  months  before
prices  will  be  back  to  or  near  those  prevailing  during  the  last  six
or  seven  years.