Political and commercial geology and the world's mineral resources
Science
Political and commercial geology and the world's mineral resources
Geology, Economic; Mines and mineral resources
According to Mr. Merry, the nickel mines and smelters of _Norway_ were
also mainly in control of the same German group that had gotten control
of Le Nickel. It worked under the name “Metallgesellschaft.” One mine
and smelter reopened recently were under English control.
The nickeliferous iron ores of _Cuba_ are owned entirely by American
companies, principally by steel manufacturing companies, notably the
Bethlehem Steel Co.
All three companies producing or about to produce nickel in the Sudbury
district own their own smelting and refining plants. The International
has been smelting its ore in Canada and refining it in the United
States. It has a new refinery at Port Colborne, Ontario. The Mond
Nickel Co. which smelts in Canada and refines in England, has started a
refinery in Canada. The British-American Nickel Corporation has built
both a smelter and a refinery in Canada.
The United States Nickel Co. operates a refinery at New Brunswick, New
Jersey. Les Hauts-Fourneaux de Noumea and this company belong to the
same interests. They have a smelter at Noumea, New Caledonia; also a
refinery at Havre, France.
La Société le Nickel has a smelter at Thio, New Caledonia, and
refineries at Havre, France, and Erdington and Kirkintilloch, British
Isles.
No one refining process dominates the nickel industry of the world. The
two companies producing nickel from Sudbury ores are using entirely
different refining processes, which they individually control; and
the British-America concern, soon to begin producing, will use a
third process, the Hybinette, an electrolytic process on which it has
exclusive rights for North America. The Orford Copper Co., subsidiary
of the International, uses what is known as the “salt-cake” process,
but it also produces some nickel electrolytically.
The process of the United States Nickel Co. at New Brunswick, New
Jersey, being one of fluxing and reducing from matte produced at the
Noumea smelter, is not adaptable to copper-bearing sulphide ores.
The ores produced in Norway are smelted and refined in Norway by the
Hybinette process.
Obviously the nickel resources of the world are controlled by a few
companies. The chief one is the International Nickel Co., which has
the largest holdings at Sudbury, and the second largest holdings in
New Caledonia. The Mond and the British-America are the next most
important, and La Société le Nickel is fourth in importance. E. J.
Longyear Co. and associates do not aspire to become producers of nickel
and are in the market to sell their properties. For a new concern to
succeed it would have to develop a refining process of its own. The
alternative would be for it to sell out to or merge itself with a firm
that controls a refining process. There are no custom smelters or
refineries in America. The Mond company buys the Alexo ore because its
high magnesium content makes it a good fluxing material in smelting
Sudbury ores.
POSITION OF THE LEADING COMMERCIAL NATIONS
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