Chapter III · IRON By E. C. Harder and F. T. Eddingfield
Reading edition
USES OF IRON
The uses of iron ore are so well known that their enumeration is hardly necessary. From iron ore are manufactured cast iron, wrought iron, and steel. By the addition of one or more other elements, chiefly silicon, carbon, chromium, nickel, manganese, vanadium, sulphur, and phosphorus, in quantities less than 5 per cent. and usually less than 1 per cent., various qualities, such as hardness, toughness, elasticity, durability, brittleness, density, porosity, endurance, resistance to oxidation or corrosion, malleability, and fusibility, can be controlled and given to the cast iron or steel in the desired degree.
The uses of the products of iron ore are so common that the finding of objects which do not contain some of them is difficult. Besides being used as a metal, iron enters into the manufacture of paints (especially red, yellow, and blue), chemicals of various kinds, medicines, coloring matter in glass and pottery, and in the form of specular hematite it is made into jewelry. Considerable amounts of iron ore are also consumed annually for flux in the smelting of silver, copper, lead, and other metalliferous ores.
Iron and its products are more widely used than any other metal; and the yearly production of pig iron makes up 94 to 96 per cent. of the total amount of all the metals produced in the world, and in normal times averages about 80,000,000 tons annually.
GEOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION
Iron ores are associated with many different classes of rocks—sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic. Where associated with sedimentary rocks the ores may be the result of direct sedimentation or may be later replacements of sedimentary beds by magmatic or meteoric iron-bearing waters. Many iron-ore deposits associated with sedimentary rocks are formed by the enrichment of original iron-bearing beds, either by solution and transportation of iron compounds or by the removal of other associated mineral constituents.
Among those important iron-ore deposits of sedimentary origin that have undergone little or no further enrichment since deposition, except perhaps directly at the surface, are the iron ores of the Clinton type of the eastern United States, the Wabana iron ores of Newfoundland, the “minette” ores of the Lorraine district in northern France, Luxemburg, and southern Germany, the oolitic siderite beds of the Cleveland district in northern England, and the hematite ores of Minas Geraes in Brazil. The most important of the sedimentary iron ores that are the result of further enrichment since deposition are those of the Lake Superior district in the United States.
Iron ores associated with igneous rock are mostly of deep-seated origin, usually having been formed by solutions that accompanied or followed the intrusion of the rocks with which the ores are associated. These ores are of two main classes: (1) Those associated with siliceous igneous rocks; and (2) those associated with basic igneous rocks. The ores associated with siliceous igneous rocks consist either of hematite or, more commonly, magnetite. They occur in granite, syenite, and monzonite, and in gneiss derived from these by metamorphism. Many important ore deposits in different countries belong to this class, among them being the magnetite and hematite deposits of Swedish Lapland and of central Sweden, the magnetite bodies of the Adirondacks and northern New Jersey in the eastern United States, various magnetite and hematite bodies in California and elsewhere in the western United States, the mixed hematite and magnetite deposits of the south coast of Cuba, most of the iron-ore bodies of Chile, and the newly developed iron ores of Manchuria. As a class, the iron ores associated with siliceous igneous rocks rank next in importance to iron ores of sedimentary origin.
Iron-ore deposits associated with basic igneous rocks are nearly all of a distinct type known as titaniferous magnetites. These ores consist of a mixture of magnetite and ilmenite in varying proportions, and therefore carry a variable amount of titanium. Many large ore deposits of this class are found in different parts of the world, among the larger ones being certain ore bodies in Wyoming, in the Adirondack region, and elsewhere in the United States, and several deposits in Norway and in northern and southern Sweden.
An important group of iron-ore deposits has resulted from mineral replacement along the contact of sedimentary rocks with igneous intrusives. These ores usually occur in limestones not far from intrusive masses of granite, monzonite, syenite or diorite, but they may be found within the igneous rocks themselves, near the contact. They are rarely associated with the more basic igneous rocks. These ores are known as igneous contact ores, and their origin is ascribed to iron-bearing solutions that accompanied or followed the intrusion of the igneous rocks with which the ores are associated. Such ores are extremely widespread, occurring in practically every continent. Locally, extensive deposits exist, as in the Cornwall district of Pennsylvania, in the western United States and British Columbia, in Chile, and in China and Japan. Igneous contact ores have furnished only a relatively small percentage of the world’s total production of iron ore, however.
There are also widespread replacement deposits in sedimentary rocks that are not associated with igneous rocks. These are believed to be formed by ordinary meteoric waters which dissolve disseminated iron minerals from certain beds or masses of rock, and redeposit the mineral elsewhere in a more concentrated form. Such ore deposits may be roughly tabular and resemble bedded deposits, or they may be very irregular. Most deposits of this type consist of siderite which has replaced limestone, but hematite and limonite deposits formed by replacement also exist. Among the important deposits of this group are the siderite ores of Bilbao, Spain, largely altered to limonite near the surface; the siderite ore of Eisenerz, Styria; and the hematite deposits near Hartville, Wyoming. Small deposits of siderite, hematite, and limonite of this type are found in many parts of the world.
Besides the classes of iron ores already mentioned, widely distributed iron ores occur as residual products derived from the weathering of either igneous or sedimentary rocks. These ores have been formed by the concentration of iron-bearing materials originally disseminated through the rocks whose weathered products they now constitute. They are mainly in the form of limonite and occur either as large bodies of relatively pure ore or as aggregates of irregular masses of various sizes imbedded in clays. To this class belong the brown iron ores associated with clay in the Appalachian region of the United States, the limonite ores of parts of Russia, and similar ores in Korea. In this class should also be included the extensive limonite deposits derived from the weathering of serpentine which have recently been developed along the north coast of Cuba, as well as the lateritic iron-ore deposits found in many tropical countries. Limonite ores associated with clays have been smelted since early ages, owing to their accessibility and the ease with which they could be smelted by crude methods. They have, however, furnished a decidedly minor percentage of the world’s production of iron ore.
GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION
The iron ore consumed by the world has been obtained principally from the four great iron-producing countries: United States, Germany, France and Great Britain.
Other countries that yield important quantities of iron ore are, in the order of their importance: Spain, Russia, Sweden, Luxemburg, Austria-Hungary, Cuba, Newfoundland, and Algeria. The normal annual output in each one of these countries is more than one million tons. Minor amounts of iron ore are produced in many other countries.
Table 11.—Iron-Ore Output of Principal Producing Countries, 1910-1917, in Gross Tons[12]
Country 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917
North America:
Canada[13] 231,623 187,807 192,753 274,673 218,620 355,457 245,693 192,210
Cuba[13] 1,462,498 1,163,714 1,397,797 1,582,431 821,110 827,448 712,716 553,485
Newfoundland[13] 1,108,762 1,171,992 1,251,968 1,433,858 566,000 775,403 903,625 788,820
United States 57,014,906 43,876,552 55,150,147 61,980,437 41,439,761 55,526,490 75,167,672 75,288,851
South America:
Chile ... 28,150 6,546 13,878 62,506 144,783 55,281 4,921
Venezuela[14] ... ... 12,100 57,225 2,400
Europe:
Belgium 121,024 148,130 164,734 147,048 81,063 4,646 29,951 16,732
Greece 527,040 493,106 424,835 308,640 294,573 154,951 83,647 62,366
Italy 542,578 367,900 572,900 593,618 695,124 669,262 927,406 978,174
Norway 100,834 217,051 401,665 535,869 641,790 706,379 865,700 ([16])
Spain 8,530,310 8,635,523 [20]8,990,743 9,703,177 6,710,357 5,527,552 5,762,733 5,461,857
Sweden 5,465,234 6,056,868 6,595,044 7,357,845 6,482,904 6,774,909 6,876,278 6,119,263
United Kingdom 15,226,015 15,519,424 13,790,391 15,997,328 14,867,582 14,235,012 13,494,658 14,845,734
Asia:
Chosen (Korea) 104,627 96,902 121,224 139,370 179,062 206,510 241,412 ([16])
India 54,626 366,212 580,029 370,845 441,674 390,270 411,758 413,273
Japan 132,921 144,001 168,479 168,897 134,193 133,933 156,263 ([16])
Africa:
Algeria 1,048,228 1,057,087 1,171,252 1,327,320 1,097,101 805,547 923,598 1,048,722
Natal 50 ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
Tunis 327,756 397,638 470,866 584,649 244,528 281,304 361,593 596,261
Table 12.—Pig Iron Manufactured in Principal Countries in 1850, 1890, 1900, and 1910 to 1916, in Gross Tons[26]
United States 563,755 9,202,703 13,789,242 27,303,567 23,649,547 29,726,937 30,966,152 23,332,244 29,916,213 39,434,797
Germany 350,000 4,584,882 8,381,373 14,559,509 15,404,648 17,586,521 19,004,022 14,162,147 11,603,874 13,000,000
Great Britain 2,300,000 7,904,214 8,959,691 10,217,022 9,718,638 8,889,124 10,481,917 9,005,898 8,793,659 9,047,983
France 405,653 1,931,188 2,669,966 3,974,478 4,309,498 4,870,913 5,227,378 3,500,000 4,000,000 5,000,000
Russia 227,555 912,561 2,889,789 2,992,058 3,531,807 4,133,000 4,474,757 4,190,000 3,638,000 4,300,000
Austria-Hungary 250,000 910,685 1,472,695 2,153,788 2,056,839 2,276,141 2,335,170 1,500,000 1,929,000 2,000,000
Belgium 144,452 775,385 1,001,872 1,822,821 2,072,836 2,307,853 2,318,767 1,500,000 500,000 1,000,000
Canada ... 19,439 86,090 740,210 824,368 912,878 1,015,118 705,972 825,420 1,069,541
Sweden 150,000 483,155 518,263 594,385 624,367 688,757 728,103 629,608 755,000 750,000
Spain ... 176,598 289,315 367,423 402,209 396,872 418,061 400,000 421,000 440,000
Italy ... 14,094 23,569 347,657 298,144 373,960 420,011 379,028 389,000 454,923
Japan ... ... ... 186,794 200,000 200,709 236,491 295,428 312,957 379,574
Other countries[28] 10,000 80,000 100,000 200,000 250,000 350,000 250,000 200,000 200,000 500,000
Total 4,401,415 26,994,904 40,181,865 65,459,712 63,342,901 72,713,565 77,876,347 59,800,325 63,284,123 77,000,000
More than two-fifths of the total annual output of iron ore in the world has come from the United States, and of the American production more than 80 per cent. is generally produced in the Lake Superior district. This district is, therefore, by far the most important iron-ore district in the world, producing annually more than 30 per cent. of the world’s total of iron ore.
Germany and France have been next in importance to the United States as iron ore-producing countries, about 80 per cent. of the ore mined in these two countries being obtained from the Lorraine iron fields situated on the border. The annual output of these fields, which includes also the ores of Luxemburg, has been about 25 per cent. of the world’s production. The Lorraine district and the Lake Superior district together, therefore, produce somewhat more than one-half of the total iron ore annually mined in the world.
The iron ore produced in Great Britain is obtained mainly from the Cleveland district of northern England, this district furnishing about 40 per cent. of the British total, equivalent to about 2.6 per cent. of the world’s annual production. In comparison, the Birmingham district of Alabama and the Krivoi-Rog district of southern Russia, which are next in importance to the Lorraine and Lake Superior districts, furnish about 3.5 per cent. and 3.2 per cent., respectively, of the world’s annual production.
Table 13.—Production and Movement of Iron Ore and Production of Pig Iron, 1913[29] Gross Tons
Production of iron ore Iron ore imports Iron ore exports Apparent consumption (in part stocks) Production of pig iron
United Kingdom 15,997,328 8,028,532 21,223 24,004,637 10,260,315
Canada 307,634 2,110,828 126,124 2,292,338 1,015,118
Belgium 149,450 4,400,000 ... 4,549,450 2,484,690
France 19,160,407 1,410,424 10,066,627 10,504,264 5,311,316
Italy 603,116 7,666 20,000 590,772 426,755
Russia 8,077,000 ... 565,000 7,512,000 4,557,000
Austria 3,039,324 942,312 106,071 3,875,565 1,757,864
Hungary 2,059,000 ... 700,000 1,359,000 623,000
Germany (including Luxemburg) 35,941,285 14,019,045 2,613,158 47,347,172 19,291,920
Spain 9,861,668 ... 8,907,202 954,466 424,774
Sweden 7,475,571 ... 6,440,000 1,035,571 730,257
United States 61,980,437 2,594,770 ... 64,575,207 30,966,152
Algeria 1,349,000 ... 1,350,000
Chile 70,000 ... 65,000
Cuba 1,500,000 ... 1,582,431
Newfoundland 1,605,900 ... 1,605,920
Table 11 shows the world’s production of iron ore from 1910 to 1917.
Table 12 shows the production of pig iron in 1850, 1890, 1900, and 1910 to 1916.
Table 13 shows the production and movement of iron ore and the production of pig iron for the year 1913.
POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL CONTROL
United States.
—The principal iron ores of the United States are the extensive pre-Cambrian hematite deposits of the Lake Superior region; the bedded fossiliferous ores of the Clinton type of Alabama and other southern states; the magnetite deposits of New York, northern New Jersey, and southeastern Pennsylvania; the limonite ores of the eastern and southern states; and the mixed hematite and magnetite ores of the West. The United States is the largest producer of iron ore in the world, and annually yields more than two-fifths of the world’s supply. More than 80 per cent. of the output comes from the Lake Superior district and most of the remainder from Alabama, New York, and Pennsylvania. In 1917 there were mined in the United States 75,000,000 tons of iron ore, of which 63,000,000 came from the Lake Superior region, 7,000,000 from Alabama, 1,000,000 from New York, and about 500,000 each from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Tennessee, Virginia, and Wyoming; in 1918 the total production was 69,000,000 tons, of which 60,000,000 came from the Lake Superior district, 6,000,000 from Alabama, 900,000 from New York, 500,000 from Pennsylvania, and 400,000 each from Tennessee, Virginia, New Jersey and Wyoming.
The following table shows the approximate reserves of iron ore in the principal districts of the United States:
Table 14.—Iron-Ore Reserves of the United States in Gross Tons[30]
Millions of tons.
Lake Superior District (hematite) 3,500
Birmingham District (fossil hematite) 355
Tennessee and Virginia (fossil hematite) 100
Adirondack District (non-titaniferous magnetite) 40
Adirondack District (titaniferous magnetite) 90
Northern New Jersey and Southeastern New York (magnetite) 15
Southeastern Pennsylvania (magnetite) 40
Appalachian region (magnetite) 50
Northeastern Texas (limonite) 260
Western United States (magnetite and hematite) 100
Other Districts 150
Total 4,700
The greatest single iron and steel industry in the United States is that of the United States Steel Corporation, which controls the following iron- and steel-producing companies: Carnegie Steel Co., Illinois Steel Co., Indiana Steel Co., American Steel & Wire Co., American Sheet & Tinplate Co., National Tube Co., The National Tube Co. of Ohio, Minnesota Steel Co., The Lorain Steel Co., Tennessee Coal, Iron & Railroad Co., and the Shelby Steel Tube Co., with a total of 124 blast furnaces, having an annual capacity of about 18,000,000 tons of pig iron. Most of the blast furnaces are in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, and Alabama.
With the United States Steel Corporation is connected the Oliver Iron Mining Co., which produces about 43 per cent. of the iron ore mined annually in the Lake Superior district, this being equivalent to nearly 37 per cent. of all the iron ore mined annually in the United States. The Tennessee Coal, Iron & Railroad Co. is the chief producer of iron ore in Alabama.
Next in importance to the United States Steel Corporation as a producer of iron and steel is the Bethlehem Steel Corporation, with its subsidiaries, the Bethlehem Steel Co., Pennsylvania Steel Co., Maryland Steel Co., Jurugua Iron Co., Spanish-American Iron Co., and Bethlehem Iron Mines Co.
The works of the Bethlehem Steel Corporation have a total pig iron-producing capacity of 3,060,000 tons annually from 23 blast furnaces. Seven of the furnaces are in South Bethlehem, Pa., seven in Steelton, Pa., four in Lebanon, Pa., three in Cornwall, Pa., and four in Sparrow’s Point, Md. The Bethlehem Steel Corporation owns large iron-ore deposits in Cuba and Chile. Most of the ore consumed in its furnaces at present comes from Cuba, from the Lake Superior district, and from Cornwall, Pa.
Third in importance of the iron- and steel-producing companies of the United States is the recently organized Midvale Steel & Ordnance Co., controlling Worth Brothers, Midvale Steel Co., Remington Arms Co., Cambria Steel Co., and others. The combined pig iron-producing capacity of the 14 blast furnaces controlled by the Midvale Steel & Ordnance Co. is 2,420,000 tons of pig iron. Three of the blast furnaces are at Coatesville, Pa., and eleven are at Johnstown, Pa. This company owns important iron-ore deposits in Cuba and in the Lake Superior district.
Four other large companies produce more than a million tons of pig iron annually, these being the Republic Iron & Steel Co., with an estimated total capacity from its 11 blast furnaces in Ohio and Alabama of 1,430,000 tons of pig iron, and of 2,500,000 tons of ore from its mines in the Lake Superior district and in Alabama; the Lackawanna Steel Co., with an annual capacity in 1918 from its nine blast furnaces at Lackawanna, N. Y., of 1,440,000 tons of pig iron; the Jones & Laughlin Co., of Pittsburgh, with a capacity of 1,920,000 tons from 11 blast furnaces; and the McKinney Steel Co., with eight furnaces in Ohio, New York, and Pennsylvania, and an annual capacity of 1,205,000 tons of pig iron. The last three companies named have extensive iron mines in the Lake Superior district.
Important iron and steel companies producing somewhat less than a million tons of pig iron annually are: the Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co., with an annual capacity of 990,000 tons of pig iron from six blast furnaces, all of which are at Youngstown, Ohio; the recently organized Steel & Tube Co. of America, having six blast furnaces in and near Chicago, with an annual pig-iron capacity of 900,000 tons; the Colorado Fuel & Iron Co., an important western iron and steel producer, which has six blast furnaces near Pueblo, Colo., with an annual capacity of 625,000 tons of pig iron, and has iron-ore mines in New Mexico, Wyoming, and Colorado; and the Schloss-Sheffield Steel & Iron Co. of Alabama, with seven blast furnaces and a pig-iron capacity of 530,000 tons. Many other plants with smaller capacity are scattered through eastern and central United States. So far as is known, practically the entire iron and steel business of the United States is in the hands of American capital.
Germany.
—The “minette” ore of the German Lorraine district before the war constituted by far the largest iron-ore reserve of Germany and is the chief source of present supply. Next in importance of the German ore reserves are the brown hematites occurring north of the Harz, and third and fourth in importance, respectively, are the deposits of the Lahn and Dill districts in the Rhineland, and those of Siegerland. All of these districts are in western and southwestern Germany and all of them, except Lorraine, are in the region lying east of the Rhine in Hanover, Westphalia, Hesse-Nassau, and Rhenish Prussia.
The Lorraine district is on the French border and forms a part of the large ore field of Luxemburg and northern France. The deposits, of sedimentary origin and Jurassic age, comprise extensive beds of oolitic limonite varying in thickness up to 20 feet, interlayered with marl and limestone. Seven principal beds of ore are found within a thickness of sediments ranging from 75 to 150 feet, the most important being known as the Grey seam. The tonnage[31] of “minette” ore available in the German Lorraine district is estimated at 1,830 million[32] as compared with 300 million in Luxemburg and 2,975 million[33] in northern France. The “minette” ores average 30 to 40 per cent. in metallic iron content and 0.3 to 0.7 per cent. or more in phosphorus.
The deposits of the Salzgitter and Ilsede districts north of the Harz Mountains are beds of brown ironstone conglomerate with an average thickness of 20 to 30 feet, consisting of limonite pebbles in a clayey or calcareous cement. These deposits cover many square miles, the reserves being estimated at 248 million tons. The ores contain 30 to 40 per cent. of iron and average 0.7 to 0.8 per cent. in phosphorus.
The ores of the Lahn and Dill region are mainly red hematites, that lie in an extensive sedimentary bed. They contain about 48 per cent. of iron, 0.2 to 0.3 per cent. phosphorus, and are high in silica. The reserves are estimated at about 135 million tons.
In Siegerland the iron ores are mainly carbonate, carrying 38 to 40 per cent. metallic iron and 6 to 9 per cent. manganese. They form irregular deposits abundantly scattered through the region, the available reserves being estimated at about 100 million tons.
The total iron-ore reserves of Germany (not including those of Luxemburg) actually available have been estimated at 2,540 million tons, and the probable further reserves at 1,067 million tons. Of these amounts, however, Lorraine has by far the largest part, so that the transfer of this province to France reduces Germany’s available reserves to 28 per cent. of the pre-war figure, and her further probable reserves to one-half, altogether reducing her iron-ore resources to one-third of the former amount.
As far as is known, the German iron and steel business is in the hands of German capitalists, who, besides, have important iron-ore holdings in France, Spain, Sweden, and elsewhere. Among the important iron-ore and pig-iron producing firms in Germany are Gutehoffnungshütte, de Wendel & Co., Krupp, Gebrüder Stumm, Aschener Hütten Aktien Verein, Rombacher Hüttenwerke, Thyssen & Cie., and others. All of these firms had large ore reserves in the Lorraine district when the war began.
France.
—The iron ores of France are divided into three distinct groups: the “minette” ores of the Briey, Longwy, Crusnes, and Nancy districts; the Silurian ores in Normandy; and the vein deposits of the eastern Pyrenees.
The “minette” ores of northern France form part of the great basin of “minette” ores of France, Luxemburg, and Germany already mentioned. In 1913 they furnished about 91 per cent. of the total production of France. The iron ores of Normandy and Brittany are of sedimentary origin and are composed of hematite or carbonate or a mixture of both. The carbonate becomes more abundant with depth. The iron-ore deposits of the eastern Pyrenees consist of both hematite and siderite and are of high grade, constituting the only considerable source of Bessemer ore in France. The iron content of the ores of Normandy and Brittany ranges from 30 per cent. to 50 per cent.; that of the Pyrenees ores from 51 per cent. to 57 per cent. The latter range includes calcined siderite.
The production of iron ore from French Lorraine was about 19,500,000 tons in 1913; that of Normandy and Brittany about 1,500,000 tons, and that of the eastern Pyrenees about 500,000, making a total production of more than 21,000,000 tons for France.
The following table shows the relative output of iron ore from the different iron fields of France and Germany during the last three normal years before the war:
Table 15.—Production of Iron Ore in France and Germany, 1911 to 1913 Metric tons
District 1911 1912 1913
German Lorraine 17,734,576 20,050,245 21,135,554
Luxemburg 6,059,797 6,553,930 7,331,050
French Lorraine, including Briey, Longwy and Nancy 14,878,000 17,235,125 19,499,166
Germany, outside of Lorraine 6,968,000 7,167,000 7,472,000
France, outside of Lorraine 1,584,000 1,925,000 1,686,000
The available reserves in the different districts of the French “minette” ore field are estimated as follows:[34]
Table 16.—Ore Reserves in French “Minette” Field
Million tons
Briey 2,000
Crusnes 500
Longwy 275
Nancy 200
Total 2,975
The list of operating companies in France shows a considerable number of German companies among the predominating French. German or probably German companies produced in 1913 six and a half million tons of iron ore, or one-third of the whole production. In the Normandy and Brittany region two German companies made 11 per cent. of the whole production; and in the eastern Pyrenees one German company produced 20 per cent. Altogether, German capital controlled over one-third of the iron and steel industry of France in 1913. The rest seems to have been in the hands of French capital.
The most important iron-producing firms in the Lorraine field in recent years have been those of de Wendel & Co., Gutehoffnungshütte, Société des Hauts Fourneaux et Fonderies de Pont-a-Moussons, Société des Forges et Acieries de la Marine et d’Homecourt, Société Anonyme des Acieries de Longwy, Société des Acieries de Micheville, and Société des Mines d’Ammermont Dommery. The first two firms are chiefly German and have controlled lands not only in German Lorraine, but also in French Lorraine. Thus, the iron-ore lands of the Lorraine district will, even after the cessation of the territory to France, be owned largely by German-controlled firms. Politically, however, France will have control of the output.
Great Britain.
—The iron ores mined in Great Britain come chiefly from the Cleveland Hills in Yorkshire and from Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Cumberland, Staffordshire, Leicestershire, Scotland, and Lancashire, in order of importance. More than one-third of the total production is derived from the Cleveland Hills. The ore from the Cleveland Hills, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Leicestershire, and Scotland is bedded oolitic siderite of Middle and Lower Jurassic age; that from Cumberland and Lancashire is hematite, exceptionally low in phosphorus, found in pockets in Carboniferous and Silurian limestones; and that in Staffordshire is siderite of the “black band” and “clay band” varieties found in the Coal Measures.
The following table shows the production of iron ore in the United Kingdom in 1915:
Table 17.—Production of Iron Ore in the United Kingdom in 1915
Long tons
Cleveland Hills 4,746,293
Lincolnshire 3,149,079
Northamptonshire 2,517,150
Cumberland 1,323,408
Staffordshire 703,231
Leicestershire 685,137
Scotland 375,241
Lancashire 333,086
Other Great Britain and Ireland 402,387
Total 14,235,012
A large part of the iron ore in Great Britain can not now be worked profitably, and much of the ore that was merchantable a few years ago could not now be worked, on account of increased cost of transportation, labor, and particularly of fuel. The actual reserves of ore of present merchantable grade are estimated at 1,300 million tons; the total reserves have been estimated by H. Louis at 39,500 million tons.[35]
In 1915 the United Kingdom produced 14,000,000 tons of iron ore. In the same year nearly 7,000,000 tons were imported, of which 4,000,000 came from Spain and between one-half and one million from Algeria and Norway each, making a total of over 20,000,000 tons smelted in the United Kingdom. The total production of pig iron was nearly 9,000,000 tons, of which nearly 7,000,000 tons were produced in England, 1,000,000 tons in Scotland, and nearly 1,000,000 tons in Wales. Ireland produces no pig iron. The iron and steel industry of Great Britain, so far as information is available, is in the hands of British subjects.
Eckel[36] reviews the British iron-ore situation as follows:
The position of Great Britain as regards iron-ore resources is peculiar—perhaps more curious than satisfactory. The matter may be summarized by saying that England has still several hundred million tons of high-grade ore which would be salable anywhere; that she has in addition perhaps double that quantity of low-grade ore, workable because of its nearness to coal and markets; and that England, Scotland, and Wales have thousands of millions of tons of ore now unworkable, but which may be serviceable in the future provided that at that future date there is still any other good reason for making steel in Great Britain. This last limitation may not be palatable, but it is really the crux of the whole question, and it seems to have been overlooked by the British geologists who have discussed the subject. People do not make iron out of low-grade ores simply to use up the ores; and with an increasing coke cost and a narrowing export market it is a very serious question whether the bulk of these British carbonates will ever be used. The duration of the British steel industry will be fixed by its coal supply, and not by its supply of local ores; for so long as coke and markets justify it, ore can be imported to good advantage. If other conditions do not justify the importation of ore, they will certainly not justify the use of these hypothetical reserve tonnages.
Spain.
—Spain is rich in iron-ore reserves, but the iron and steel manufacturing industry has had little development. The annual production of iron ore in Spain during the last years before the war amounted to about 9,000,000 tons, of which more than 8,000,000 tons were exported. The consumption of iron ore by Spanish blast furnaces has been in the neighborhood of 800,000 tons annually.
The principal iron ores of Spain lie in the northwestern part, in the provinces of Viscaya, Oviedo, Lugo, and Santander; in the northeastern part, in the provinces of Teruel and Guadalajara; and in the southeastern part, in the provinces of Granada, Almeria, Murcia, Sevilla, and Huelva.
The iron ores of the Bilbao district of Viscaya are all of Bessemer grade, and for many years large amounts have been exported to England for use in Bessemer plants to supplement ores from the Cleveland and other districts of England. Because of their excellence, they have been in continuous demand, and the English iron and steel industry has depended to a considerable extent upon these and other high-grade ores of Spain. In more recent years, Germany has also become interested in the Bilbao iron fields, and in the last years before the war Germany took more than one-third of the total Spanish production, including large amounts of ore from southern Spain as well. Spanish interests own important deposits in southeastern Spain and in the Bilbao district.
Most of the ore of southeastern Spain is of high grade, being rich in iron and low in phosphorus. Nearly all of it is of Bessemer quality, and some is very low in phosphorus; the latter is exported extensively for use in the manufacture of low-phosphorus pig iron. The United States has been largely dependent in past years upon Spain for this grade of ore, more than 100,000 tons being imported annually.
Spain has a number of blast furnaces and steel plants, the principal ones being at Bilbao, in the Province of Viscaya. More than 300,000 tons of pig iron are produced annually in Viscaya, this being approximately three-fourths of the total output of pig iron in Spain.
European Russia.
—In European Russia[37] the principal deposits of iron ore are distributed over four chief districts: Ural Mountains, central Russia, southern Russia and the Caucasus.
In the Ural Mountains for the greater part the ores are associated with igneous rocks. The most important deposits are in the neighborhood of Gora Blagodat, in the northern Ural regions, and near Gora Mongnitnaja, in the southern Urals. The ores are mainly magnetite and limonite and come from an extremely large number of small mines. In central Russia, over widely scattered areas, are deposits of calcareous ores, clay ironstones, and bog ores. Many of the deposits are thin and can not be profitably worked. The only reserves in southern Russia of any importance are divided among three centers: Krivoi-Rog, the Donetz basin, and the Kertsch peninsula. By far the most important deposits are the magnetite-hematite ores in the region of Krivoi-Rog. The ironstones of the Coal Measures in the Donetz basin and the limonite of the Kertsch peninsula are of secondary importance. The mines of Krivoi-Rog are extensively worked, and their reserves are estimated at some 86 million tons of commercial ore. The mines are controlled mainly by the following three companies: the Briansk company; Krivoi-Rog Iron Ore Co.; and the Providence company.
The following table shows the production of iron ore in different parts of Russia in 1912:
Table 18.—Output of Iron Ore in Russia
Long tons
Southern Russia 5,679,000
Ural 1,817,000
Central Russia 286,000
Other Russia and Siberia 6,000
Total 7,788,000
The ore reserves of Russia may be summarized by districts as follows:
Iron-Ore Reserves in Russia
Millions of tons
Ural 282
Central Russia 789
Southern Russia 536
Caucasus 14
Total 1,621
Eckel[38] reviews the iron-ore situation in Russia as follows:
On their face the ore reserves noted seem satisfactory enough, and until the data are examined more critically it is difficult to explain why the relatively large furnishing capacity of the Moscow and other central Russian districts is so far out of line with the comparatively small ore production of that area. As a matter of fact, however, the large total ore reserves credited to central Russia are in reality less important than they seem, owing both to grade of ore and thinness of the ore bodies. From an international viewpoint the ore deposits of southern Russia are the ones which require most attention; for these are so located as to be of importance to foreign competitors, while the total reserve tonnage is high, and the grade of much of the ore is excellent.
Actual available ore reserves of merchantable grade in Russia are estimated at 865 million tons.
Before the Revolution the greater part of the Russian iron and steel industries was controlled by syndicates.[39] The oldest of these consisted of manufacturers of medium sheets (1902); then followed manufacturers of joists and U-iron (1903), axles and tires (1904), iron tubes (1906), rails (1907), and bar iron and hoops. These six syndicates were afterwards combined into one, officially styled the Association for the Sale of Products of the Metallurgical Works of Russia, but generally known as “Prodameta,” from its telegraphic address. There were separate syndicates for wire, wire nails, and roofing sheets. The “Prodameta” consisted, at last advices, of nineteen works, of which sixteen are in southern Russia, and one each in Petrograd, Moscow, and the Ural region. The “Prodameta” expired at the end of 1915, but was provisionally prolonged for one year, and again at the end of 1916 it was extended for a similar period. The aggregate capital of the eighteen works was 198,400,000 roubles, and their net profit for 1915-16 was 76,200,000 roubles.
Sweden.
—The iron-ore fields of Sweden are among the most important in Europe and have for the last ten or fifteen years furnished a large output, which has gone mainly to England and Germany. A relatively small amount of iron ore is used in Swedish iron-smelting works. The iron mines of central Sweden have been actively worked since about the beginning of the twelfth century, whereas those of Swedish Lapland have been developed recently. At present about one-half the output of iron ore in Sweden comes from Swedish Lapland, and the other half from central Sweden.
Swedish Lapland is estimated to have iron-ore reserves amounting to 1,128 million tons. The ores are mostly magnetite associated with igneous rocks and show wide difference in phosphorus content. Certain deposits or parts of deposits are composed of ores that are moderately low in phosphorus, whereas others are high enough to obtain a special bonus from German steel plants that produce high-phosphorus slag for fertilizer purposes. Practically all the ores of Swedish Lapland are exported. In recent years the total production has amounted to about 3,500,000 tons annually. The principal mines are worked by the Trafikaktiebolaget Grängesberg Oxelosund, in which English and German capital is interested with the Swedish government. The Swedish government controls the output of the mines and receives a large sum in royalties on the ore produced. The ore deposits from which ore is being produced at present are Kiruna, Gellivare, and Tuolluvarra, the first two being operated by the firm mentioned above and the last being an independent operation.
The ore reserves of central and southern Sweden are estimated at 140 million tons, included in a great number of relatively small deposits. Most of the mines of central Sweden are controlled by small Swedish operators. Some of the mines, however, such as Blotberg, are to a large extent under German control, and the largest one, Grängesberg, is operated by the same firm that controls the deposits of Swedish Lapland. Some of the ores of central Sweden, such as those of Dannemora, Norberg, Strossa, and Stripa, are very low in phosphorus, and are used in the manufacture of special low-phosphorus iron; others, like those of Grängesberg and Blotberg, contain more than 1 per cent. of phosphorus.
Austria-Hungary.
—The iron ores of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire are mainly low-grade hydrous iron silicates that require roasting, large deposits of iron carbonate, and some limonite. The total probable ore reserves have been estimated at 940 million tons, of which about 560 million are very low grade.
The principal sources from which the domestic iron ore used in the past in the Austro-Hungarian Empire has been obtained are the chamosite-hematite deposits at Nucitz and elsewhere in Bohemia; the siderite beds at Erzberg, in Styria, estimated to contain more than 200 million tons of ore; the siderite-limonite deposits on the slopes of the Carpathians; and deposits of various ores in northern and central Bosnia.
By far the largest of the deposits is that at Erzberg, owned and operated by the Oesterreichische Alpinen Montan Gesellschaft, presumably Austrian. The Bohemian deposits, also important, are largely under the control of the Prager Eisen Industrie Gesellschaft. The Carpathian deposits are largely controlled by local individuals and firms, among them Duke Philipp of Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha-Kohar. Thus the principal deposits have been largely under Austro-Hungarian control.
As a result of the war and the disruption of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Bohemian deposits, estimated to contain 35,100,000 tons of high-grade ore and 221,800,000 tons of low-grade ore, will come under the control of Czechoslovakia, whereas the Bosnian ores, with an estimated reserve of 21,500,000 tons, will go to Jugoslavia. Austria will retain control of the large Erzberg deposit in Styria, and the ores of the Carpathian region will continue under Hungarian control.
Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco.
—The iron ores of Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia, in northern Africa, are mainly high-grade hematite. The reserve tonnage of Algeria and Tunisia is estimated by Nicou at 100 million to 150 million tons, and about 30 million or 40 million tons is reported in the Spanish territory of Riff, Morocco.
The deposits of Morocco and Algeria are nearly all near the north coast, and the ores are shipped from various small ports, such as Melilla, Benisaf, Arzeu, Algiers, Bougie, and Bona. The deposits of Tunisia are 180 to 200 kilometers southwest of Tunis, the shipping port, with which they are connected by rail.
The principal mines of El Riff, Morocco, are owned by the Sociedad Española de Minas de Riff. German interests, the “Netta Company,” held a large concession, but since the war these interests are controlled by the Company of Bilbao.
The North African deposits are important as a source of high-grade low-phosphorus ore for European blast furnaces. All of the ore produced is exported, the annual shipments amounting to about 1,500,000 tons.
Cuba.
—There are two principal groups of iron-ore deposits in Cuba—the magnetite and hematite ore on the south coast, and the brown ore, or limonite, on the north coast. All are near the eastern end of the island. The ores of Firmeza and Daiquiri, on the south coast, are mixed magnetite and hematite, averaging about 58 per cent. iron and 0.03 per cent. phosphorus. They are associated with igneous rocks. A determination of tonnage is difficult because of the irregularity of the ore bodies, and estimates of reserves range from 5 million to 9 million tons. The brown ore of the north shore is hydrated brown hematite, a laterization product of serpentine. The dried ore averages about 46 per cent. iron, 0.01 per cent. phosphorus, and 1.7 per cent. chromium. The reserve tonnage, estimated as high as 3,000 million tons, is mainly contained in the three large deposits of Camaguey, Mayari, and Moa.
The principal deposits of Cuba are owned and operated by the Bethlehem Steel Co. Important undeveloped deposits are owned by the Buena Vista Iron Co. (Midvale Steel & Ordnance Co.), United States Steel Corporation, Guantanamo Exploration Co., and Eastern Steel Co.
Newfoundland.
—The principal iron ores of Newfoundland are bedded oolitic hematites, which average 50 per cent. to 52 per cent. in metallic iron. The ore reserves of Newfoundland have been estimated as between 3,250 million and 3,500 million tons, making them among the largest and by far the most compact iron-ore reserves in the world. The output of ore has been 1,000,000 to 1,500,000 tons annually, except during the war, when the production decreased. These deposits are important on account of both their size and their situation. Ore can be placed readily in American or European ports at a cost far lower per unit of iron than any competitive ore, so that the market is practically unlimited.
The ores have been mainly exported to Sydney, Nova Scotia, and to Philadelphia, while about 10 per cent. has gone to Holland (Germany). The phosphorus content is too high for normal economic basic open-hearth practice if the ores are used alone, but not too high for foundry use or for the basic Bessemer process developed in Europe.
The Wabana iron-ore deposits are owned and mined by the Dominion Iron & Steel Co., and the Nova Scotia Steel & Coal Co., two Canadian firms. Both companies operate steel plants near Sydney, Cape Breton.
Norway.
—The principal iron ores of Norway are low-grade magnetite and specular hematite, much of which can profitably be concentrated. They occur in the northern part, north of the Arctic Circle. Small deposits of high-grade ores, consisting mainly of magnetite lenses, occur in southern Norway.
The Sydvaranger deposits, in the extreme north near the border of Finland, are estimated to contain 100 million tons of low-grade magnetite. The ore is treated in a large concentrating plant erected by a Norwegian company but controlled by Swedish and German capital. The concentrates analyze 70 per cent. iron and 0.02 per cent. phosphorus. The Dunderland deposits on Rannenfjord, near the Arctic Circle, are estimated to contain 80 million tons of mixed low-grade specular hematite and magnetite.
In 1914 Norway produced 652,273 tons of iron ore, of which seven-eighths came from the Sydvaranger deposit.
Italy.
—The most important iron mines in Italy are the hematite mines of the island of Elba, which have furnished between 500,000 and 1,000,000 tons of ore annually in recent years. Ten or twelve large ore bodies are found in the eastern part of the island, all under control of the Elba Company, which has obtained a concession giving it exclusive iron-mining rights on the island. Important but as yet little developed magnetite deposits are found in the Aosta Valley, Piedmont, and limonite deposits are found on the island of Sardinia. These have furnished a very small output. Minor deposits of iron ore occur in Lombardy, in the Apennines of central Italy, and elsewhere. The total reserves of iron ore in Italy are estimated at about 25 million tons.
Italy has several important iron-smelting works, among them being the Elba Company furnaces on the island of Elba, the Piombino furnaces at Piombino, on the mainland opposite Elba, and the Ilva furnaces at Bagnoli, near Naples. In addition there are some small plants in northern Italy.
Italy’s iron-ore deposits and iron manufactures are controlled by commercial organizations, mainly Italian, but in part English. The Italian government exercises control over the ore deposits by granting concessions for comparatively short terms.
Agreements made among the Italian manufacturers for the rational division of work have led to the formation of a syndicate of the following firms: Ilva, Elba, Siderurgica di Savona, Metallurgica di Lestre, Ferriere Italiane, and the Piombino Steel Works. These firms undertook to maintain the syndicate for eleven years, dating from July, 1911. The affairs of the organization were directed by the Ilva Company. “In 1916 the constituent companies renewed their agreement up to the year 1930, but the Ilva Company ceased to direct the affairs of the Syndicate, and the relations between the Syndicate and the German Stahlwerks Verband were abrogated and replaced by Anglo-Italian relationships.”[40]
A further organization was made called the “Societa Ferro ed Acciaio,” a combination of steel works.
Italy is important as a producer of iron ore and as a manufacturer of iron products. She has been able to supply her own needs in iron ore for many years and at the present rate can continue to do so for probably twenty years longer. There appears to be no tendency toward expansion into other fields to control foreign ore deposits.
Italy produced 593,000 tons of iron ore in 1913; 669,000 tons in 1915; and 927,000 tons in 1916. In 1915, 408,000 tons of pig iron were produced, and 87,000 tons were imported.
Greece.
—Chromiferous iron ores are found in eastern Greece and adjacent islands. They contain 46 to 52 per cent. iron, 2 to 3 per cent. chromium, and about 0.10 to 1.00 per cent. nickel and cobalt. The normal annual production of iron ore in Greece has been in the neighborhood of 400,000 tons.
Canada.
—Small iron-ore deposits occur in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. In Ontario there are two principal iron-ore districts—the Atikokan and the Michipicotan ranges. The ore in the former is magnetite, and in the latter hematite and siderite with some limonite. The ores of western British Columbia are largely magnetite. The principal deposits are on Texada and Vancouver islands, where the ore is of excellent grade, averaging 63 per cent. iron, 0.02 per cent. phosphorus and 4 to 10 per cent. silica. Low-grade magnetite ore is found at the Moose Mountain mine, Ontario, and is being concentrated.
There are a number of blast furnaces in Canada, among them being those of the Dominion Iron & Steel Co., Sydney; the Nova Scotia Steel & Coal Co., Sydney Mines, and the Londonderry Iron & Mining Co., Londonderry, all of which use ores from Newfoundland and Nova Scotia; the Algoma Steel Corporation, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario; the Steel Company of Canada, Hamilton, Ontario; the Canadian Furnace Co., Port Colborne, Ontario; the Canada Iron Foundries, Midland, Ontario; the Standard Iron Co., Deseronto and Parry Sound, Ontario; and the Atikokan Iron Co., Port Arthur, Ontario, which use largely Lake ores of the United States and Canada. The Moose Mountain Co., of Sellwood, Ontario, has a magnetic concentrating and briquetting plant using ore from the Moose Mountain mine. In May, 1920, the British Empire Steel Corporation, the second largest in the world, was formed by the merger of nine steel, coal, ship-building and transportation companies.
In 1912 Canada produced 156,000 tons of iron ore, and made 906,000 tons of pig iron.[41] In 1918 she made 1,066,071 tons of pig iron. The iron mines of Canada are largely of Canadian and partly of American ownership.
China and Manchuria.
—Little information is available on the extent of the iron-ore deposits of the Chinese Empire. The principal producing area is that of Tayeh, south of Yangtse River in the Province of Hupeh, where a series of ore bodies, consisting of mixed hematite and magnetite, occurs along the contact of limestone and intrusive syenite. The deposits are estimated to contain about 40 million tons of ore.[42] The Han-Yeh-Ping Iron & Steel Co., largely controlled in Japan, owns these deposits and the Han Yang steel plant near Hankow. Iron ore similar to that of Tayeh is reported to occur farther down the Yangtse at Tungling, in the Province of Ngan-whei, and also along the coast near Amoy, Province of Fukien. The deposits near Amoy are said to contain about 25 million tons.
Of considerable importance are the mixed hematite and magnetite ores of Chin-ling-chen, near Kiaochow, Shantung Province. A series of ore bodies, some of them 100 feet in width, are said to occur along a contact zone two kilometers in length.[43] The deposits were exploited by Germans and are being developed by Japanese.
Sedimentary beds of oolitic ore of some extent are reported in the provinces of Chih-li and Kiang-si, but they are of low grade.
Bedded siderite ores similar to the Coal Measures ores of England have been mined for many years in Shan-si Province and smelted in native furnaces. In Hunan Province, also, this type of ore is mined.
The principal iron ores of Manchuria are magnetites that occur as a series of deposits in a northwest-southeast belt south and southeast of Mukden, in southern Manchuria. They are interbedded with schist, gneiss, and porphyry. In this belt are the An-shan-chang deposits that are now being developed by Japanese interests affiliated with the South Manchurian Railway, and the Miaor-kow deposits operated by a Sino-Japanese company, the Pen-hsi-hu Coal & Iron Co., Ltd. The southern Manchuria magnetite belt is reported to contain reserves amounting to about 500 million tons.[44] Much of the ore is of low grade.
India.
—Iron ores of four types are found in India[45]: (1) lenses of specular hematite with some magnetite, occurring in quartz-hematite and quartz-magnetite schist of the Dharwar series and other older rocks; (2) granules of magnetite and hematite scattered through granite and schist; (3) clay ironstones in the Coal Measures of Bengal; and (4) lateritic ores.
The hematite-magnetite lenses interlayered with iron-bearing schists are the most important of the Indian ores, although it is only recently that they have been exploited. The Tata Iron & Steel Co. owns the principal deposits of this type, including Mayurbhanj, in Bengal, where mining is being conducted at present, and the large undeveloped deposits of the Raipur district, Central Provinces. Important deposits of this type are also found in southern India.
Magnetite and hematite derived from the disintegration of schist and granite are now being used by the Bengal Iron & Steel Co., of Barakar. They consist of surface accumulations of iron sands and are found in various parts of India. Clay ironstones scattered through shales were formerly used by the Bengal Iron & Steel Co., but its supply of these is exhausted. Lateritic iron ores lying at the surface are widespread but undeveloped.
The principal iron and steel company of India is that of Tata & Sons, an Indian firm. Its plant, which has been mining since 1912, is at Sakchi, in Bengal, and comprises three blast furnaces with a total monthly capacity of 24,000 tons of pig iron. There are also extensive coke ovens, open-hearth furnaces, and steel mills. Many additions are being planned. The Bengal Iron & Steel Co., which has been in operation for thirty years, has three small blast furnaces at Barakar, with a monthly capacity of 12,000 tons. A steel mill and rolling mill built by this company have been abandoned.
Several new developments are being planned in the Indian steel industry, among them being the Indian Iron & Steel Co., an English firm, which is building a plant near Asanol on the East Indian Railway.
The production of iron ores for 1915 was 390,270 tons, the production of iron and steel for 1914 was 504,564 tons and for 1915 to 1916 it was 584,775 tons. Total imports of iron and steel, 1914 to 1915, amounted to 698,635 tons, and 1915 to 1916, to 424,597 tons.
Japan and Korea.
—The iron ore used in Japanese furnaces is obtained in part from domestic mines and in part from Korean, Manchurian, and Chinese mines. The iron ore produced in Japan comes mainly from the Kamaishi group of deposits in the northern part of the island of Honshu. These mines yield more than one-half of the total annual production of iron ore in Japan, the remainder coming mainly from the Sennin and Kuriki mines, also in the northern part of Honshu; the Abuta and other bog ore deposits in Hokkaido, and the black sand deposits of Chugoku, in southern Honshu. The Kamaishi, Sennin, and Kuriki deposits consist of magnetite and hematite associated with sedimentary rocks near igneous intrusions. The iron-ore reserves of Japan are estimated by Inouye[46] at about 60 million tons.
The Korean iron ores used in Japan have come mainly from the surficial limonite deposits of Hoang-hai-do, about 100 miles northwest of Seoul, which have been actively mined for 10 years or more. Recently Japanese-controlled blast furnaces have been established at Ken-ji-pho, Korea, which use ore from the Ken-ji-pho iron mine, situated in the same region as the Hoang-hai-do mines. The pig iron produced by this plant is sent to Japan for use in Japanese steel plants.
Chinese iron ore used in Japan has been obtained from the Tayeh mines of Hupeh Province. A part of the ore from these mines goes directly to Japan, and a part goes to the Han-Yang furnaces, near Hankow, to be manufactured into pig-iron and steel products which also go to Japan. The Han-Yeh-Ping Iron & Steel Co., which owns both the Tayeh mines and the Han-Yang furnaces, is a Chinese concern, the capital of which is at present controlled largely by Japanese banking firms.
Of considerable interest at the present time is the development by Japanese of the Chin-ling-chen iron-ore deposits on the peninsula of Kiaochow, Shantung Province. These deposits were being exploited by the Germans just before the war and have recently been taken over by the Japanese, who are continuing development.
Two important Japanese-controlled iron and steel manufacturing projects are at present being developed in Manchuria. The older of these is the plant of the Pen-hsi-hu Colliery & Mining Co. at Pen-hsi-hu, southeast of Mukden, where pig iron is being manufactured from ore obtained from the neighboring Miaor-kou magnetite mines. The pig iron is being sent to Japan. The other Manchurian enterprise is the An-shan-chang iron and steel works at Sha-ho-kou, south of Mukden. The ore is derived from the An-shan-chang iron mines and the pig iron and steel products which it is later planned to manufacture are to be sent to Japan. It is also planned to send Manchurian ore to Japan.
On page 77 are shown the production and importation of iron ore into Japan in recent years:
Table 19.—Production and Importation of Iron Ore into Japan, 1914 to 1916 (Metric tons)
Year Produc- tion Importation from Total including other countries
Korea China
1914 136,385 163,747 300,305 465,754
1915 136,121 204,101 311,310 516,132
1916 158,815 192,225 282,149 474,955
A considerable quantity of pig iron is imported into Japan from British India, Great Britain, and other countries.
The principal iron-smelting works in Japan are as follows: Imperial Steel Works, Yawata; Kamaishi Iron Works, Kamaishi; Wanishi Iron Works, Tanburi; Sennin Iron Works, Waka; Kuriki Iron Works, Kisen. All are controlled by Japanese, the first being the Japanese government works.
Poland.
—In Poland the chief deposits of iron ore are the limonite deposits in the Vistula district, carrying 22 to 50 per cent. iron. The production in 1912 was 289,000 long tons. The resources are estimated at 300 million to 800 million tons.
Belgium.
—Belgium’s production of iron ore in recent years has amounted to about 150,000 tons annually, of which more than half was derived from the “minette” ore beds in the southeastern part along the French border, and the remainder came in part from beds of oolitic hematite of Devonian age in the Namur and Liege basins and in part from bog-ore deposits in the northern part. In the past the largest production has come from the Namur basin, and there are still large reserves of these oolitic hematite ores. The total iron-ore reserves of Belgium are estimated to be about 62,500,000 tons.
The iron ore produced in Belgium supplies only a very small part of the requirements for the Belgian iron and steel industry, most of the ore being imported from France.
Portugal.
—The largest deposits of iron ore in Portugal are those of Moncorvo, in the northeastern part. The ore is a bedded sedimentary deposit of low grade and the estimated reserve is 45 million tons. Small deposits of magnetite and brown hematite are found in the southern part in the Province of Alemtejo. Portugal produced 48,342 tons of iron ore in 1913.
Turkey and Bulgaria.
—Minor deposits of magnetite and hematite occur in Bulgaria and former European Turkey, and in western Asia Minor several important ore bodies are known.[47] The largest of these deposits occurs in the Berut Hills, 90 miles northwest of the Gulf of Alexandretta. It is reported to be capable of producing 300,000 tons annually.
Other important deposits are found near Ayazmat, on the mainland opposite the island of Mitylene, and near Tireboli and Trebizond, on the Black Sea. The only producing mine is near Ayazmat.
Chile.
—Scattered iron-ore deposits occur in Chile in the coastal mountain region; the principal deposits extend a distance of about 150 miles parallel to the coast, some of them being north and some south of Coquimbo. The ore bodies are within 10 to 40 miles of the coast. Most of them are enclosed as lenses in granitic rocks; a few are in sedimentary rocks near the contact of igneous rocks.
Furnaces and a steel plant were erected by a French syndicate 10 to 15 years ago in southern Chile. The plant ran only a few months, there being apparently no market for the product. The iron ore was obtained from the Tofo deposit, and green wood was used for fuel.
Of the Chilean deposits, the largest, Algarrobo, is owned by a joint Dutch-German syndicate controlled by Wm. H. Müller & Co., and Gutehoffnungshütte. Tofo, next in size to Algarrobo, is under lease to the Bethlehem Steel Co. Most of the other deposits are owned by Chileans. The tonnage of Chilean ore controlled by different nationalities is approximately as follows:
Millions of tons (long tons)
German 50
American 40
Chilean (in part English) 50
Total 140
Iron ore was mined at Tofo during 1914, 1915, and 1916, and exported to the United States. In 1915 about 153,000 tons were shipped. During the war the mining practically ceased.
Brazil.
—The iron-ore deposits of Minas Geraes, Brazil, are among the most important in the world. The ore bodies, which as yet are practically undeveloped, lie in an area roughly 100 miles square, the center of which is 225 miles in a direct line north of Rio de Janeiro. The principal ores are hematite and are associated as beds and lenses with a laminated ferruginous quartzite known as “itabirite” that covers many square miles. The interlayered beds and lenses of ore are high grade, carrying up to 69 or 70 per cent. of metallic iron and averaging between 0.003 and 0.025 per cent. phosphorus. Nearly all ores of this type are of Bessemer or low-phosphorus grade. There are also large areas of recently formed surface ores consisting of mixed hematite and limonite moderately high in phosphorus; these average 55 to 65 per cent. in metallic iron.
On account of the distance from the coast and high cost of transportation, only the high-grade bedded ores are considered at present as available. The Central Railroad of Brazil runs through the iron-ore district to the port of Rio, 310 miles from the southern edge of the district, but unfortunately, on account of heavy grades, it can not be used for extensive transportation of iron ores. As workable bodies of coal suitable for iron manufacture are not known to exist in Brazil, the Minas Geraes deposits have up to the present produced little ore.
The principal iron-ore deposits of Minas Geraes are owned by the Itabria Iron Ore Co., the St. John del Rey Gold Mining Co., Ltd., the Brazilian Iron & Steel Co., and the Compania Metallurgica, the first two being English, the third American, and the fourth Brazilian. The Deutsch-Luxemburgisches Bergwerks und Hütten Aktiengesellschaft (German), the Société Anonyme Franco-Bresiliene (French), Jules Bernard, Mathiew Goudchaux et Cie (French), the Minas Geraes Iron Syndicate (American), and others, own local deposits. The following table shows approximately the tonnage of ore controlled by each nationality:
Table 20.—Brazilian Iron Ore Controlled by Different Nationalities
Millions of tons (long tons)
Bessemer Non- Bessemer
English 145 300
American 160 420
French 21 15
German 40 10
Brazilian 44 400
Total 410 1,145
Iron ores similar to those of Minas Geraes, and magnetite deposits of minor importance are reported in other parts of Brazil.
Mexico.
—Mexico has important deposits of iron ore in the States of Lower California, Coahuila, Durango, Guerrero, Michoacan, and Oaxaca. The largest iron and steel making plant in Mexico is that of the Compañia de Aciero y Fierro de Monterey, State of Nuevo Leon, operated by Spanish capital. This plant produces between 50,000 and 100,000 tons of pig iron yearly. Ore is obtained from Coahuila, and coke from nearby coal fields. At Durango is a charcoal furnace, which has been idle for many years. It is owned by the Durango Iron & Steel Co. (American). Small iron-making operations exist in Hidalgo, Puebla, Vera Cruz and Oaxaca. The best known of the Mexican iron-ore deposits is that of Iron Mountain (Cerro de Mercado), near Durango City, a large body of magnetite. In Lower California there are important deposits of iron ore at several localities. They are owned by the International Development Co., an American firm with headquarters at Los Angeles, California. The deposits in Guerrero, Michoacan and Oaxaca are reported to be extensive.
South Africa.
—Various deposits of low-grade iron ore are found in South Africa. In Transvaal there is siliceous sedimentary hematite and magnetite in ferruginous schists of different ages, titaniferous magnetite associated with basic igneous rocks, and local clay-band ore; and in both Cape Colony and Transvaal there are lateritic surface ores. A 15-ton blast furnace has been built within the last year or two near Pretoria by the Pretoria Iron Mines Co., Ltd., for the purpose of manufacturing pig iron from local ores. This is the first attempt to establish an iron industry in South Africa.
Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand.
—In Australia and New Zealand are some important iron-ore deposits, but only a few are developed. Most of the iron ore mined in Australia has been used for flux in copper, lead, zinc, and other smelting plants; a small amount has been used in the two local iron and steel works—that of the Broken Hill Proprietary Co., at Newcastle, New South Wales, and that of the Eskbank Iron Works at Lithgow, about 75 miles west of Sydney, New South Wales. The former is the more important, having in operation at the present time two blast furnaces as well as steel furnaces, rail mill, and plate mill.
Among the important Australian iron-ore deposits are the hematite ores of Coombing Park, near Carcoar, and of Cadia, near Millthorpe, both in New South Wales, estimated to contain reserves of 42 million tons of ore; the hematite deposits of the Murchison district, about 400 miles northeast of Perth, western Australia, where one single deposit—that of Wilgi Mia—has been estimated to contain more than 25 million tons; the Iron Monarch manganiferous iron-ore deposit, estimated to contain 20 million tons of ore, and the neighboring Iron Knob hematite deposit of one million tons, both about 40 miles from Port Augusta, at the head of Spencer Bay, South Australia; and the hematite deposits of Mt. Leviathan, estimated at 10 million tons, located about 250 miles from Normanton, on the Gulf of Carpentaria, Queensland. Numerous smaller and less important ore bodies are found in all the provinces.
The Coombing Park ores have been used at the Eskbank Iron Works, 90,200 tons being produced in 1916. The ore averages about 55 per cent. iron. The Iron Monarch deposit is being developed by the Broken Hills Proprietary Co., and the ore is to be used in the furnaces at Newcastle.
An important iron-ore deposit, estimated to contain 23 million tons of minable ore, is reported to occur on Blythe River, in the northwestern part of Tasmania, about 6¹⁄₂ miles from the coast. There have been rumors recently of a possible exploitation of this deposit.
In New Zealand large deposits of limonite occur in the Nelson district, in the northern part of South Island. The principal group of deposits, known as Parapara, is estimated to contain about 64 million tons. Titaniferous magnetite sands, measurable in millions of tons, are reported to occur in the southwestern part of North Island near New Plymouth.
POSITION OF LEADING COMMERCIAL NATIONS
General Statement.
—The world’s chief iron- and steel-producing countries are, in the order of their importance: United States, Germany, Great Britain, France, Russia, Austria-Hungary, and Belgium. The annual pig-iron production of these countries ranged in 1913 from 2,300,000 tons in Belgium to 30,900,000 tons in the United States. The normal consumption of iron ore by these countries in the last years preceding the war and their recent maximum annual production are given below:
Table 21.—Maximum Annual Output and Normal Consumption of Iron Ore by Chief Iron- and Steel-Making Countries
Countries Consumption (long tons) Production (long tons)
United States 62,000,000 75,288,851
Germany 40,600,000 [48]33,987,112
Great Britain 19,000,000 15,997,328
France 12,300,000 21,572,835
Russia 8,900,000 9,362,746
Belgium 6,800,000 164,734
Austria-Hungary 5,200,000 5,233,055
The consumption figures represent metallic iron consumed in terms of iron ore and are obtained on the basis of production and imports of iron ore, and imports of pig iron and crude iron and steel products. Exports of iron ore, pig iron, and crude iron and steel products are not considered as forming part of the countries’ consumption.
A comparison of the consumption and production indicates that the United States, France, Russia and Austria-Hungary were self-supporting as far as raw materials for their iron and steel industry were concerned. Great Britain and Germany are dependent for a small percentage of their requirements upon foreign countries. Belgium produces a very small percentage of her consumption of iron ore, being almost entirely dependent upon foreign sources, mainly France and Germany, for her iron-ore requirements.
In several countries that produce much iron ore the iron and steel industry is still in its infancy. The iron ore from these countries is nearly all exported to the large iron and steel making countries. The following table shows the recent maximum annual production and normal annual consumption in some of these:
Table 22.—Maximum Annual Output and Normal Consumption of Iron Ore in Several Countries
Countries Consumption (long tons) Production (long tons)
Spain 1,000,000 9,705,963
Sweden 700,000 6,878,318
Cuba ... 1,585,431
Newfoundland ... 1,433,858
North Africa ... 1,349,000
Thus, considerable quantities of iron ore are available from these countries for consumption in countries that have to import iron ore and iron products.
There is shown below the pig-iron and steel production in 1913 of the world’s principal iron and steel manufacturing countries.
Table 23.—Pig-Iron and Steel Output of the Chief Producing Countries, 1913
Countries Pig iron (long tons) Steel (long tons)
United States 30,966,152 31,300,874
Germany 19,004,022 18,659,000
Great Britain 10,481,917 7,664,000
France 5,227,378 4,349,000
Russia 4,474,757 4,750,000
Austria-Hungary 2,335,170 2,641,000
Belgium 2,318,767 2,475,000
Canada 1,015,118 1,044,000
Sweden 728,103 574,000
Spain 418,061 359,000
Italy 420,011 897,000
Japan 236,491 251,000
United States.
—The United States has for many years had in the Lake Superior district the chief iron-ore producing fields in the world. In recent years the Lake Superior district has furnished more than two-fifths of the world’s output of iron ore. In 1917, 75,288,851 gross tons of iron ore, 38,647,397 gross tons of pig iron, and 45,060,607 gross tons of steel were produced in the United States, as compared with 61,980,437 tons of iron ore, 30,966,152 tons of pig iron, and 31,300,874 tons of steel in 1913. The imports of iron ore in 1917 amounted to 971,663 tons and of crude forms of iron and steel to 306,189 tons, as compared with 2,594,770 tons of iron ore and 250,592 tons of crude iron and steel products imported in 1913. The exports of iron ore from the United States in 1917 amounted to 1,132,313 tons and of crude forms of iron and steel to 4,744,527 tons, as compared with 1,042,151 tons of iron ore and 1,278,131 tons of crude forms of iron and steel exported in 1913.
These figures indicate that in normal times the United States consumes about 85 per cent. of the domestic output of iron ore, in the manufacture of finished iron and steel products. Fifteen per cent. is exported either as iron ore, or as crude iron and steel products which are manufactured into finished products in other countries. Of the finished iron and steel products made in this country the United States itself consumes the larger part. However, large quantities of iron and steel articles and machinery are exported to other countries as well.
The iron ore exported from this country is mainly Lake ore, which goes to Canadian furnaces. The iron ore imported is largely Cuban ore, which is used at the Sparrow’s Point plant of the Bethlehem Steel Corporation. This plant has facilities for using only ore arriving by boat and has been running almost entirely on foreign ores. The Cuban iron mines are largely under the control of this company, and an increased production is expected from them in the future.
The Bethlehem Steel Corporation has also developed an extensive iron-ore deposit in Chile, from which some shipments were made during the first years of the World War. It has been allowed to remain idle recently on account of lack of shipping facilities. Large shipments are expected from Chile in the future.
A considerable amount of Swedish ore has been imported in recent years by the Bethlehem Steel Corporation, to supplement its shipments of Cuban ore. During the war, however, the Trafikaktiebolaget Grängesberg Oxelosund decreased its ore shipments and finally refused altogether to export ore to the United States. These shipments recommenced soon after the cessation of hostilities in Europe.
Certain high-grade low-phosphorus iron ores which are not present in the United States in sufficient quantity to supply domestic needs have been imported in past years from Spain, North Africa, and to a small extent from Sweden. During the war, when the shortage of shipping facilities necessitated combing this country for supplies of high-grade low-phosphorus ores, it was shown that the United States is more or less dependent upon foreign sources for such ores.
There are a number of mines in the United States, such as the Lyon Mountain mine in New York, and the Cranberry mine in North Carolina, which produce limited amounts of high-grade low-phosphorus ore. Several mines on the Menominee Range, Michigan, produce a very siliceous low-phosphorus ore that can be used to supplement in part the high-grade ores. A considerable quantity of low-phosphorus pyrite residue from sulphuric acid and fertilizer plants is also used for making low-phosphorus iron. Much of the pyrite yielding this residue is imported from Spain, some of it is of domestic origin, and some of it comes from Canada. Altogether, the United States supplies about 60 per cent. of the material required for the manufacture of its normal output of low-phosphorus pig iron.
Certain developments in progress make it probable that a greater percentage of ore used for this purpose can be supplied from domestic mines. The principal enterprise is one that plans to concentrate the siliceous magnetite ore of the eastern Mesabi Range. Experiments have yielded a high-grade product and work on a commercial scale is planned.
The reserves of the ordinary grades of iron ore in the United States are large, and no shortage of such ore is anticipated for many years. They are easily capable of taking care of a considerably increased consumption. The largest reserves are in the Lake Superior district and in the southeastern states, but large untouched reserves occur in the western states as well. The iron ores in the Pacific Coast region have remained undeveloped from the lack of sufficient demand for pig iron and crude forms of iron and steel on the Pacific Coast. Undoubtedly this demand will increase in the future, and iron and steel industries will be established there.
The reserves of ore in the Lake Superior district are large. The grade of ore mined, however, has been gradually getting lower, and it is possible that before many years Lake iron ores averaging considerably below 50 per cent. will have to be utilized. At present the average grade of the ores mined in the Lake Superior district is about 51 per cent.
It is clear that there is not likely to be a shortage of the ordinary grades of iron ore in the United States. Reserves of high-grade ores, however, are being gradually depleted, and high-grade ores from foreign countries will find an increasingly ready market. American capital controls a large reserve of high-grade iron ore in Brazil. Much of the Brazilian ore averages about 68 per cent. in metallic iron and is very low in phosphorus, making it an exceedingly desirable raw material for the manufacture of special iron and for mixing with lower-grade domestic ores. Doubtless much of the Brazilian ore will go to Europe, as British and other foreign holdings of this ore are extensive. However, it is highly desirable that a certain proportion of the ore should be diverted to American furnaces.
Germany.
—The annual consumption of iron ore in Germany just before the war was about 40 million tons, and the maximum annual output at this time, including more than 7 million tons from Luxemburg, was only about 34 million long tons. In order to supply German furnaces it was necessary, therefore, to import more than 6 million tons of iron ore from foreign countries. More than 58 per cent. of the iron ore mined in Germany has come from the Lorraine district. The production from German iron mines outside of the Lorraine district amounted to 6,906,809 tons in 1913. The production of pig iron during that year was 19,004,022 tons.
The pre-war imports of iron ore into Germany were large, amounting to nearly 14 million tons in 1913; against these the exports were somewhat more than 2 million tons.
The iron ore imported from Sweden is mainly high-phosphorus ore from the mines of Swedish Lapland and central Sweden. This is especially adapted to the manufacture of pig iron for the Thomas process, much used in Germany. Most of the ores from the Lorraine district are slightly too low in phosphorus to be suitable for the Thomas process; and Swedish high-phosphorus ores, phosphate rock, and phosphatic slags are in places mixed with Lorraine ore to raise the phosphorus content.
A considerable amount of low-phosphorus iron ore used in the manufacture of low-phosphorus pig iron is also imported from Sweden, and a larger amount of this ore is imported from Spain. This material is used in Germany for the manufacture of pig iron to be used in making acid open-hearth steel.
Since Germany has lost the Lorraine iron fields, the remaining domestic iron mines will be able to supply less than 20 per cent. of the requirements of iron ore for the German furnaces. However, it is likely that Germany will continue to receive most of her supplies from the Lorraine fields, in which German holdings at present predominate over French holdings and will probably continue to predominate.
Great Britain.
—The United Kingdom has produced from 10 to 14 per cent. of the iron and steel of the world annually for the past 10 years or more, and apparently has consumed in normal times about 50 per cent. of the product and exported 50 per cent., mainly to British possessions. During the war about 75 per cent. of the British production was consumed at home and 25 per cent. was exported, largely to France. Fifty per cent. of the iron and steel products manufactured has been obtained from ores mined in Great Britain, and 50 per cent. from imported ores. Thus, normally, the domestic yield of iron ore just about equals the domestic demand for iron, whereas during the war the domestic demand for iron was greater than the domestic supply of ore. Great Britain depends upon outside sources for one-third of her iron-ore supply and this constitutes the source of about one-half of the iron products.
The iron industry in Great Britain before the war was loosely controlled by merchants who acted as intermediaries between producer and consumer, an arrangement that did not work to the advantage of the consumer.[49] British manufacturers had little interest abroad and were themselves insufficiently organized to operate successfully. If the sources of foreign iron ore were cut off, the situation might become critical and exceedingly embarrassing until the domestic mining industry could be expanded. To meet this condition the British Board of Trade Committee advised a consolidation of iron interests by the formation of a syndicate for the purchase and distribution of iron ores and particularly for the acquiring of interests abroad. This syndicate would establish sales agencies and arrange for transportation and trade, similar to the organization of W. H. Müller & Co., of The Hague. The committee recommended that these operations be backed by the government and that all the resources of the British Empire be under the control of the government, especially in regard to the granting of concessions to aliens and the imposing of restrictions to favor home producers. It has recently been reported that the iron interests have organized along the lines indicated.
France.
—The annual consumption of iron ore in France for the manufacture of pig iron and crude iron and steel products amounts to about 12 million tons under normal conditions. The productive capacity of the iron mines of France is more than 21 million, leaving a surplus of 9 million tons of ore annually available for export. More than 90 per cent. of the iron ore produced in France is obtained from the Lorraine iron mines.
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.
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.
The situation in Russia is so unsettled that a statement of present conditions in the steel industry is valueless. It is reasonable to assume, however, that the iron and steel situation will not materially change as to operations and control. Moreover, it will be safe to predict that Poland will develop more rapidly as an iron-ore producer in the future, as she was handicapped in the past by restrictions on exportation of ore.
Belgium.
—Belgium has been negligible as a producer of iron ore but has been a comparatively large importer of iron ore and manufacturer of pig iron. The country ranked sixth as a producer of pig iron in 1913, in which year it produced 147,048 tons of ore and imported 4,400,000 tons.[51]
Belgian iron works were greatly damaged by the Germans during the war, and probably some time will elapse before the industry again reaches the position it occupied before the war. The country offers a good market, however, for the iron ores of France and should in future years be a larger producer of iron and steel wares.
Belgium is practically dependent upon outside sources for ore supply, but is conveniently situated as a market for ores from many countries. The total iron-ore reserves of the country have been estimated at 62,500,000 tons, not enough to last 10 years at the present rate of consumption.
Austria-Hungary.
—The former Austro-Hungarian Empire yielded in recent years 2 to 3 per cent. of the annual iron-ore production of the world, and about 2 per cent. of the pig-iron production; therefore it has been of minor importance in the iron industry. The ore reserves have been estimated at 284 million tons of available ore, and 807 million tons additional of probable ore.
The present unsettled conditions will probably result in considerable change in the operation and control of the iron mines and works. Eventually the upheaval may stimulate the iron industry, but the result should not materially alter the international position.
Japan.
—The iron and steel industry of Japan is of small magnitude as compared with that of the United States, Germany, Great Britain, and other leading iron and steel manufacturing countries. The total reserves of iron ore are probably not much more than 60 million tons, or less than has been mined annually in the Lake Superior district in recent years. The steel-making industry is expanding rapidly, however, and at present blast furnaces, steel-making furnaces, and steel mills are being erected in Japan, Korea, Manchuria, and China by Japanese interests.
The output of iron ore in Japan is utterly inadequate to supply this expanding industry. The production of iron ore in Japan has averaged about 150,000 tons annually in recent years, whereas the consumption of crude, semi-crude and manufactured articles of iron and steel is approximately 1,500,000 tons. In order to supply her needs, therefore, from her own manufacturing plants, Japan would require in the neighborhood of 3 million tons of iron ore annually. As compared with this, Japan’s entire consumption of iron ore, both imported and domestic, is less than 700,000 tons. The remainder of the iron and steel required in Japan is being imported in the form of pig iron and crude and manufactured products.
Japan is making a strong effort to develop iron-ore deposits in neighboring countries, especially in China, Manchuria, and Korea; and the production from these sources which goes to Japanese-controlled furnaces is rapidly increasing. Among the more recent Japanese iron and steel enterprises in these countries are the blast furnaces and steel plant now being built at An-schan-chang, south of Mukden, in Manchuria; the blast furnaces at Pen-hsi-hu, southeast of Mukden, in Manchuria; and the blast furnaces at Ken-ji-pho, in Korea. The last two of these plants are now producing pig iron, which is being sent to Japan. In the future all three plants will probably build steel works. Iron-ore deposits are being mined in connection with all of them. Besides being used in the local blast furnaces, iron ore is being sent to Japan from these mines. In China, the most important iron and steel enterprise is that at Han-yang, in the Province of Hu-peh. This operation was started by the Han-Yeh-Ping Iron & Steel Co., as a Chinese enterprise in connection with the Tayeh mines in the same province. This company, however, became involved in financial difficulties, and Japanese capital was called upon in order that work might continue. Considerable expansion of the plant is at present taking place under Japanese supervision. Iron ore from the Tayeh mines and pig iron from the Han-yang plant are sent to Japan for use in Japanese iron and steel works.
It is doubtful whether, with the rapid expansion of the Japanese iron and steel industry, mines in China, Manchuria and Korea can be developed fast enough to supply the raw materials necessary. There are rumors that several deposits of iron ore in eastern China are now being developed, including that of Chin-ling-chen, and these may afford some additional supply. The iron mines of India also may be called upon to furnish more iron ore to Japan than they have done in the past. The only other important iron-ore deposits known elsewhere in the Orient are in the Philippine Islands. These deposits are reported to be fairly important and they are favorably situated for supplying Japanese plants. They are controlled by Americans.
The present expansion of the Japanese iron and steel industry is such that it is a question whether the consumption of iron products in Japan will be sufficient to take care of the entire output. It seems very probable that Japan is looking for a large export trade in iron and steel products. The Japanese may be ambitious not only to displace European and American goods in the Orient, but may even attempt to secure a market on the Pacific Coast of the United States and Canada. It is quite probable that Japanese manufactured articles will be able to compete in the western United States with articles manufactured in the eastern states and subject to heavy transportation rates. On the other hand, there is an active movement to start an iron industry on the Pacific Coast, and it is hoped that plants established there will be able to manufacture iron and steel products at a low enough cost to enable them to compete with Japanese products in the Orient.