By John L. Morning1 Consumption of chromite in the United States decreased 22 percent compared with that of 1970. Most of the decreased chromite usage in the metallurgical industry resulted from a record-breaking level of imports of chromium alloys, although reported consumption of chromium alloys decreased 6 percent from that of 1970. Chromite usage in the refractory industry continued to decline as the quantity of steel produced in open-hearth furnaces, the principle consumer of chromite refractories, accounted for 29 percent of total steel production compared with 37 percent in 1970. With an off year in demand for metallurgical-grade chromite, stocks in the metallurgical industry rose 72 percent compared with those in 1970. The chemical and refractory industries maintained an adequate level of stocks. Legislation and Government Programs. -The Office of Emergency Preparedness (OEP) in June established a chromium metal objective of 3,775 tons and at the same time eliminated the subobjectives for aluminothermic and electrolytic chromium metal carried under the chemical-grade and metallurgical-grade chromite objectives. As a result of this action, the chemical-grade chromite objective was reduced from 260,000 to 250,000 tons and the basic material equivalent for metallurgical-grade chromite was reduced from 3,100,000 to 3,086,800 tons. Various grades and quantities of chromite were offered for sale during the year by General Services Administration (GSA). A total of 8,779 tons of metallurgical-grade chromite and 29,348 tons of refractory. grade chromite were sold, but no chemical-grade chromite was disposed of. For the refractory-grade chromite sold, 21,048 tons were for nonrefractory use and 8,300 tons for refractory use. GSA chromite deliveries for the year were as follows: metallurgical-grade, 79,342 tons; chemical-grade, 23,823 tons; and refractory-grade, 42,288 tons. On August 15, the President announced a 10-percent surcharge on import duties up to the statutory limit (Presidential proclamation 4074). Chromite was unaffected as chromite enters the country free. However, the duty on low-carbon ferrochromium was established at 15 percent ad valorem and high-carbon ferrochromium at 0.625 cent per pound of contained chromium plus 10 percent ad valorem. The surcharge was rescinded on December 20, 1971. In November, Congress passed and the President signed a military procurement bill (Public Law 92-156) with an amendment stipulating that after January 1, 1972, the President could not bar the importation into the United States of strategic or critical materials from a free world country. Early in 1972, the U.S. Department of Treasury published regulations on removal of import controls on Rhodesian strategic and critical materials.2 1 Physical scientist, Division of Ferrous Metals. 2 Federal Register, v. 37, No. 16, Jan. 25, 1972, p. 1108. Table 3.-U.S. Government chromium stockpile material, sold but unshipped 1 Metallurgical industry: Company chromite consumers in producing chromium alloys, refractories, and chemicals. The principal producers of these products were as follows: Airco Alloys and Carbide Division, Air Reduction Co. Inc.. Plant Calvert City, Ky. Vancoram, Ohio Graham, W.Va. Beverly, Ohio Brilliant, Ohio Tacoma, Wash. Newfield, N.J. Niagara Falls, N.Y. Marietta, Ohio Alloy, W.Va. Augusta, Ga. Maple Grove, Ohio Buckhannon, W. Va. Louisville, Ky. Newark, Calif. Plymouth Meeting, Pa. Baltimore, Md. Lehi, Utah. Pascagoula, Miss. Baltimore, Md. |