Most of the ore exported from France in the past has gone to German blast furnaces. Much has gone to Belgium. Imports of iron ore are small, being mostly high-grade ore from Sweden, in which class of ore France is deficient. French possessions in North Africa have large reserves of high-grade ore, but the bulk of the ore mined there has gone to England and Germany. As a result of the war, that part of the Lorraine iron fields within the boundaries of the disputed provinces of Alsace and Lorraine has been given to France, who thus has control of the entire output of the great Lorraine iron fields with the exception of the part included in Luxemburg. The production of the Lorraine iron fields, including the part that formerly belonged to Germany, has been nearly 48 million tons annually, of which about 7 million tons is mined in Luxemburg. Outside of the Lorraine district France produces about 1,500,000 tons of ore. Thus, unless iron and steel making expand greatly in France, much iron ore will be mined for export. =Russia.=--In 1913 Russia ranked sixth in the output of iron ore and fifth in the output of pig iron, producing about 4¹⁄₂ per cent. of the world’s production of iron ore and 6 per cent. of the pig iron. Russia’s iron-ore reserves are estimated at about 1,600 million tons, a part of which, especially in central Russia, is not economically minable. The district of southern Russia is important on account of its large reserves, large output, and its location. This is particularly true at this time on account of Germany’s need of iron ore for future use. The Russian output of iron ore grew from about 2 million tons annually in 1891-93 to 7 or 8 million tons annually in 1913-1917. Southern Russia (almost exclusively the Krivoi-Rog district) produced nearly 7 million tons in 1913, but by 1916 the production from this region had been cut down to half, its difference being made up from other regions.[50] Between 1913 and 1917, Russia produced about 4 million tons of pig iron annually, of which 3 million tons came from South Russia, and most of the remainder from the Ural region. [50] Advisory Council, Dept. of Sci. and Indust. Research, “Report on the Sources and Production of Iron and Other Metalliferous Ores Used in the Iron and Steel Industry,” 1918. Also British Board of Trade, “Reports on Iron and Steel,” London; and Ironmonger Metal Market Year Book, 1918. In 1916 the Central War Industry Committee estimated the monthly requirements of the whole country at 300,000 tons of pig iron for war purposes, and at 80,000 tons for the requirements of the civil population, making a total annual consumption of about 4,500,000 tons, or only about one-half of the normal consumption. In 1917, the total production in the country was estimated to amount to only 30 per cent. of these minimum requirements.