During the war Chinese antimony interests were greatly strengthened, and facilities for treating the ore in that country were increased. Japan also became important as a smelter and marketer of Chinese ore, and increasing quantities of antimony were exported from China and Japan directly to the United States. English exports ceased entirely and were replaced in this country by Chinese and Japanese brands. The United States normally consumes about one-third of the world's antimony. Before the war the entire amount was secured by importation, two-thirds from Great Britain and the rest from the Orient, France, and other European countries. Domestic production of ore and smelting of foreign ores were negligible. (These statements refer only to the purer forms of antimony; the United States normally produces considerable amounts of antimonial lead, equivalent to somewhat less than 5 per cent of the country's total lead production, but this material cannot be substituted for antimony regulus in most of its uses.) During the war, under the stimulus of rising prices, mining of antimony was undertaken in the United States and several thousand tons of metal were produced--principally from Nevada, with smaller amounts from Alaska, California, and other western states. The great demands for antimony, however, were met chiefly by increased importation. Imports were mainly of regulus from Chinese and Japanese smelters of Chinese antimony; but about a third was contained in ores, including most of the production of Mexico which had formerly gone to England, and about 15 per cent of the Bolivian output. Antimony smelters were developed in the United States to handle these ores. At the close of hostilities there had accumulated in the United States large surplus stocks of antimony and antimonial materials. With a very dull market and low prices, domestic mines and smelters were obliged to close down. The dependence of the United States on foreign sources of antimony and the importance of the metal for war purposes led to some agitation for a protective tariff--in addition to the present import duty of 10 per cent on antimony metal--in order to encourage home production (see pp. 365-366, 393-394). In summary, the United States is almost entirely dependent upon outside sources for its antimony, although there are inadequately known reserves in this country which might be exploited if prices were maintained at a high level. The future of United States smelters is problematical. China, the world's chief source of antimony, at present dominates the market in this country, largely due to the low cost of production and favorable Japanese freight rates. GEOLOGIC FEATURES