14

OUR  MINERAL  RESERVES.

sources  last  year  amounted  to  $112,000,000,  exclusive  of  gold  and
silver,  which  would  probably  increase  this  total  50  per  cent.  The
production  of  copper  from  foreign  sources  was  by  far  the  larger
item,  the  value  of  the  metal  being  more  than  $58,000,000,  but  Europe
was  not  a  considerable  exporter,  the  ore  and  matte  coming  principally ­
  from  Mexico,  Canada,  and  Peru.  Nickel  having  a  value  of
nearly  $19,000,000  and  nearly  an  equal  value  of  pig  iron  was  produced ­
  from  foreign  ores,  obtained  mainly  from  Cuba.  The  largest
metallic  contributions  from  Europe  are  the  ores  of  manganese  and
the  ferroalloys,  most  of  which  are  imported  from  European  countries ­
  and  represent  a  production  of  metals  amounting  to  more  than
$8,000,000.  Foreign  lead  and  zinc,  mainly  Mexican  ores,  amounted
to  about  $4,500,000  and  $1,000,000,  respectively.  Although  not  imported ­
  in  as  large  amount  as  most  of  the  metals  already  mentioned,
platinum  really  presents  a  greater  problem  for  the  future,  inasmuch
as  the  production  of  about  39,000  fine  ounces,  having  a  value  of
$1,800,000,  is  derived  mainly  from  Russian  ores  and  concentrates,
Colombia  being  the  other  foreign  source.  The  sources  of  the  antimony, ­
  arsenic,  and  bismuth  consumed  in  this  country  are  largely  foreign, ­
  and  the  world  prices  of  bismuth  have  been  fixed  by  a  European
syndicate.
IRON.
The  European  countries  that  rank  next  to  the  United  States  in
the  output  of  iron  ore  as  of  coal—Germany,  Great  Britain,  and
France—are  at  war,  and  Austria  and  Russia  are  also  large  producers,
though  they  are  below  Sweden  and  Spain  in  rank.  The  interference
with  industries  caused  by  military  service  can  not  fail  to  reduce  the
output  of  mine  and  furnace  and  to  enlarge  the  demand  for  American
iron  and  steel.  The  largest  exporter  of  iron  ore  to  the  United  States
is  Cuba  and  the  next  is  Canada,  but  the  imports  from  these  countries
can  hardly  be  seriously  affected  by  present  conditions.  The  imports
of  iron  ore  into  the  United  States  are  relatively  small  except  to  blast
furnaces  on  the  Atlantic  seaboard,  although  it  has  been  expected
that  unless  commerce  with  the  west  coast  of  South  America  is  interrupted ­
  a  considerable  quantity  of  ore  will  soon  come  annually  from
Chile  by  way  of  the  Panama  Canal.
The  iron-ore  reserves  in  the  United  States  are  so  enormous,  however, ­
  that  iron-mining  operations  can  readily  respond  to  an  increased
demand  for  ore  should  occasion  require  it.  The  foreign  trade  of  the
United  States  in  pig  iron  is  also  relatively  small,  and  the  imports
and  exports  of  both  iron  ore  and  pig  iron  and  steel  should  remain
low,  and  efforts  should  be  concentrated  mainly  on  the  problem  of
increasing  the  exports  of  iron  and  steel  products  from  the  United
States,  as  well  as  that  of  supplying  manufactures  of  iron  and  steel
to  the  domestic  market  that  formerly  depended  on  imported  products.