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
The productive capacity of both the Hungarian and Bohemian deposits
is probably enough to supply local needs in normal times, and allow a
surplus for export when economic conditions are favorable. Prior to
the war, exports of regulus went to Germany and small amounts of ore
were exported to France and England. During the war the Central Empires
probably depended largely on the Austro-Hungarian deposits for their
antimony supplies. All mines were worked by the government. It is known
that certain mines that had been abandoned resumed operations.
_France._--France is the most important antimony-producing country in
Europe and also controls important productive deposits in Algiers and
Indo-China.
The French deposits are numerous but for the most part small. The most
important of these is La Lucette, in Mayenne, where stibnite associated
with auriferous pyrite has been mined for many years. This deposit was
considered to be approaching exhaustion, but recent work is reported
to have developed new ore bodies. The La Lucette company has recently
extended its holdings in other parts of France, has bought properties
in Algiers and the Transvaal, and in 1911 leased a smelter at Barcelona
for the treatment of ores purchased abroad. The La Lucette company
is also to some degree associated with the American firm of Antimony
& Compounds Co. of America. Undeveloped deposits are known in Tunis,
Morocco, French Guinea, and Madagascar.
French control of foreign supplies is not of great importance. In
addition to its holdings in the Transvaal, the La Lucette company
purchases some foreign ores. In 1913, 4,440 tons of antimony ore was
imported from China, and 205 tons from Turkey. Foreign control of
French deposits is limited to a few companies. An Italian company,
Minière Fonderie d’Antimonio, owns concessions in France and Corsica,
from which the production before the war was about 3,500 tons of ore
per year. The great Belgian smelting company, Société de la Vieille
Montagne, owns the most productive Algerian deposit--the Hamman N’
Bails mine; and an unimportant Algerian mine was, prior to the war,
owned by Beer, Sondheimer & Co., a German firm.
In 1913, France produced 20,872 metric tons of ore carrying about 32
per cent. metal content. The smelter output in 1913 was 6,390 tons of
regulus and oxide. France is normally an exporter of metallic antimony,
the average annual exports during the period of 1910-1914 amounting
to about 2,000 metric tons. The principal purchasers were United
States, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, and Russia. According to recent
information, the surplus production of antimony in France is now so
large that the industry can hardly continue to exist on a paying basis
unless the producers come to an understanding among themselves. It
is clear, however, that to be effective, any agreement among French
producers must be either backed by a high protective tariff or must be
extended to include their principal foreign competitors.
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