Table 57.-U.S. Government stockpile disposal of mineral commodities—Continued 1 Negative sales figure represents adjustments of earlier disposal contracts. 234,696,042 Negative sales figures represent adjustment in earlier sales contracts for Treasury silver copper alloy. Copper value receipts shown represent difference in proceeds over and above asset value of $0.4215 per pound. Silver value receipts represent difference in that portion of total proceeds in excess of the U.S. monetary value of $1.2929 per ounce. Source: Executive Office of the President, Office of Emergency Preparedness. Stockpile Report to the Congress. January-June 1971, pp. 16-17; July-December 1971, pp. 14-15. Table 58.-United Nations indexes of world 1 mineral industry production Table 58.-United Nations indexes of world 1 mineral industry production-Continued 1 Excludes a number of countries of the Near East and Africa as well as People's Republic of China, North Korea, and North Vietnam. All countries having a per capita value added in manufacturing in 1958 equivalent to US$125 or more. Austria, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, and United Kingdom. 5 Countries having a per capita value added in manufacturing in 1958 of less than US$125. • Central and South America and the Caribbean Islands. 7 Afghanistan, Brunei, Burma, Ceylon, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iran, Republic of Korea, Malaysia (excluding Sabah), Mongolia, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and South Vietnam. * Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and the U.S.S.R. Source: United Nations. Monthly Bulletin of Statistics. August 1972, pp. 10–23. World production (thousand unless Table 59.-Comparisons of world and U.S. production and U.S. imports otherwise 61,981 Table 60.-Value of world export trade in major mineral commodity groups 1 Data presented are for selected major commodity groups of the Standard International Trade Classification-Revised (SITC-R) and as such exclude some mineral commodities classified in that data array together with other (nonmineral) commodities. SITC-R categories included are as follows: ores, concentrates and scrap SITC Division 28; iron and steel-SITC Division 67; nonferrous metals SITC Division 68; nonmetals (crude only)-SITC Division 27; mineral fuels SITC Section 3. Major items not included are the metals, metalloids, and metal oxides of SITC Group 513; mineral tar and crude chemicals from coal, petroleum, and natural gas of SITC Division 52; manufactured fertilizers of SITC Division 56; and nonmetallic mineral manufactures of SITC Groups 661, 662, 663, and 667. Source: Table 61.-Mineral commodity export price indexes (1963 = 100) Year and quarter United Nations. Monthly Bulletin of Statistics. New York, September 1972, p. 13. Source: United Nations. Monthly Bulletin of Statistics. New York, September 1972, p. 13. Technologic Trends in the Mineral (Metals and Nonmetals Except Fuels) The growth of the minerals industry (metals and nonmetals except fuels) slowed down in 1971, owing to the lag in the Nation's economy. Production of crude ore was about the same as in 1970, but owing to lower prices for some metal commodities total value of metal and nonmetal output decreased to $9.470 billion from $9.639 billion in 1970. During the decade from 1961 to 1970, output of crude ore for metals and nonmetals grew at an annual average rate of 2.8 percent; value of output grew nearly 5.1 percent annually. Over 4 billion tons of material was handled in 1971 in producing over 2.6 billion tons of crude ore. Exploration and development activity decreased for the second year in a row, but activity was significantly increased at gold, zinc, barite, and gypsum mines. Recent mining developments in the U.S. have been strongly influenced by mine health and safety requirements and environmental considerations, and future trends are expected to reflect the effort being devoted to improved health and safety and preservation of the environment. Design of new equipment for both surface and underground mining is reflected by the continuing emphasis on health and safety. Additional new safety features and more sophisticated safety equipment will continue to appear in the near future. In addition, disasters such as those at the Sunshine Mine in Idaho and along Buffalo Creek in West Virginia vividly illustrate the need for con stant reexamination of mining technology. Such events attract worldwide attention and in the aftermath are likely to bring global improvements in procedures and equipment to avoid similar disasters. Metallurgical trends have been controlled to a very large extent by environmental factors. Environmental and pollution problems have become increasingly important subjects of discussion at technical meetings, and it is becoming commonplace for producers to have a staff officer whose duties are concerned solely with these problems. Most primary base metal producers have implemented programs that will lead at least to partial compliance with both air quality and sulfur emission standards, and almost every smelter operator is either planning or already constructing new facilities as an approach to reducing metallurgical smelter emissions. Materials Handled.-Producers of metal and nonmetal minerals (excluding fuels) handled 4,083 million tons of ore and waste in 1971, nearly the same quantity as in 1970, but 18 percent higher than in 1967 and 49 percent higher than in 1962. During the past 10 years, material handled has grown at a rate of 4 percent annually. Crude ore output in 1971 totaled 2,613 million tons, off slightly from that of 1970. This compares with 2,073 million tons in 1962 and 2,413 million tons in 1967. Crude ore output has grown at 2.8 percent an 1 Supervisory physical scientist, Division of Ferrous Metals. |