Reprinted from MINING CONGRESS JOURNAL, July 1972 Summary of the First Annual Report of the Secretary of the Interior Under the Mining & Minerals Policy Act Secretary of the Interior Rogers C. B. Morton has submitted to Congress the first of annual reports required under the Mining and Minerals Policy Act of 1970. Enactment of that Act was significant evidence of an awareness that a national policy on minerals had become an absolute necessity. The Secretary's first annual report confirms this for it presents factually, more than any report to date, the alarming state of the nation's minerals posture and signals the dire and deteriorating position in the years ahead unless a life-saving policy is adopted and activated. What has happened and where are we headed? The report reveals this position: • Development of mineral resources in the United States is failing by far to keep pace with rapidly expanding demand with consequent alarming increase in dependency on foreign sources for its essential mineral needs. • In 1970, domestic mineral production fell $8.6 billion short of primary domestic demand, having risen from about $2 billion in 1950. • Conservative projection indicates Avoidance of these consequences can be accomplished only by greater domestic mineral production from the resources that are available. This will require a national policy that will create an atmosphere designed to encourage investment in exploration for and development of mineral resources and facili ties to recover and process them. Such policy and atmosphere are needed if the nation is to avoid the pitfalls of complacent dependency on foreign sources and its inevitable uncertainties with respect to national and industrial security. The necessary atmosphere does not presently exist. Without it, the prospects of securing future mineral needs on a sound basis are negligible. The necessary policy which can lead to the required atmosphere may be in process of evolu tion. The Mining and Minerals Policy Act of 1970 and the revelation in the Secretary's first annual report of the emergent need for action to implement the Act's purposes form a foundation from which the necessary policy and atmosphere can rise. The Secretary's report is a document so significant to the future welfare of the nation that it should be studied by all who believe that in large measure that welfare will depend on a sound and stable minerals posture. The summary of the report-prepared by the American Mining Congress Staffwhich follows may be helpful in appreciating the far-reaching and vital inferences it contains. J. Allen Overton, Jr. American Mining Congress Processed materials have $150 billion value The contribution of minerals to the national economy can be measured in terms of their impact on the 1971 GNP of $1 trillion plus, as depicted in fig. 1. Fig. 1 indicates that domestically extracted mineral raw materials in 1971 represented a value of some $30 billion. The value of reclaimed metals and minerals was $2 billion and that of raw mineral imports over $4 billion. When processed into energy and other forms of first use, these materials of mineral origin had a value in excess of $150 billion annually. It is impossible to estimate how much further the use of these materials pervades the Gross National Product The report analyzes the trends and changing patterns of use for major energy sources, ferrous and nonferrous metals, and nonmetallic minerals. For example, it states that over a 20-year span, demand for energy has doubled and for many primary processed materials it has tripled. Furthermore, dependency on foreign mineral sources is increasing in important degree. Energy demand doubled since 1950 This doubling demand effect for energy is depicted in fig. 2. which shows energy requirements jumping from nearly 34 quadrillion Btu in 1950 to 69 quadrillion Btu in 1971. A breakdown of this total reveals that while demands for coal and hydropower have been fairly constant. demand for natural gas has tripled and demand for petroleum has doubled. To help support these demands. domestic production of natural gas trebled and petroleum about doubled during the past 20 years as indicated in fig. 3. Despite this, there has been a growing reliance on imports, particularly in the case of petroleum. Currently, imports of crude oil and refined products amount to 25 percent of the domestic demand whereas in 1950 they were only 14 percent. Imports of natural gas still remain small, but there has been a steady increase over the years. Conversely. in 1971 exports of coal and coke valued at about $1 billion helped to offset costs of imported minerals. The growth of domestic uranium mining is traced in fig. 4. Stimulated by the AEC's procurement program. uranium production reached a high point of nearly 20,000 short tons in 1960. Imports also peaked out around this time because of procurement contract terminations by the AEC, a ban on imports and relatively low industrial demand. Domestic demand for metals tripled The report states that domestic demand for metals tripled from 1950 to 1971. accounting for 28 percent and 36 percent of total mineral demand in the respective years. The most important measure of industrial activity and strength is the pro duction of steel. Fig. 5 shows that domestic production rose from 97 million tons in 1950 to 120 million tons in 1971. More importantly, 1971 domestic tonnages represent only 19 percent of world steel production, compared to 47 percent 20 years ago. Fig. 6 explains further the increasingly significant role of imported materials as a contributor to domestic iron supplies, and the relatively flat trending iron ore production picture in the United States in recent years. Of the ferroalloy materials manganese, molybdenum, vanadium, tungsten, silicon, nickel, cobalt, columbium and tantalum the United States is now self-sufficient only in molybdenum silicon and tungsten and therefore imports most of its manganese, chromium, cobalt and nickel, as well as large percentages of the other ferroalloy elements. Growth in nonferrous metals In terms of tonnage produced, the major nonferrous metals are aluminum, copper, zinc and lead. Fig. 7 shows that use of aluminum has more than tripled since 1950, while usage of the other three metals has changed relatively little during the same time span. An examination of production trends (fig. 7) indicates that the fast rising demand for aluminum metal has been met by increasing imports of bauxite (the ore of aluminum) and alumina. Approximately 90 percent of aluminum production is based upon imported material. As for copper, U. S. mine production currently is about two-thirds greater than it was in 1950. Recycled scrap has throughout this period contributed substantially to the supply while net imports have decreased and currently represent less than one-tenth of total copper demand (fig. 7). Fig. 7 also displays the fact that domestic mine production of zinc has been exceeded by net imports in 16 of the past 21 years. Output was at a comparatively steady rate for the 1960 decade after a slight decline in the 1950's. Recovery of old scrap has long been a substantial factor in the lead industry. In fact, recovery of scrap exceeded domestic mine production of lead every year in the period 1950 |