Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB

posits are located in China, but as they increase the mining depth, impurities, such as molybdenum, increases. Molybdenum is difficult to remove in making high-speed steel particularly. The tungsten chemical factor, the molybdenum content is a very, very great factor. As a matter of fact in the United States and in several small deposits in China is the only place you can produce tungsten that is practically molybdenum-free and can be used for high-speed steel.

Most foreign production contains about 1 percent molybdenum. As a result of the 1-percent molybdenum content, it means that other ores have to be blended with domestically produced ores and bring their molybdenum content down to such a point they are usable to the steel tool industry and chemically.

I have a lot of things I could talk about, but those are mainly our problems and the problems of others as well.

REVERSAL OF TARIFF POLICY NOT ANTICIPATED

Mr. ENGLE. Have you given any thought as to how the problem of the domestic mining industry is going to be solved?

Do you think there is any possibility from a practical standpoint of the reversal of our tariff policy so as to protect the domestic mining industry, or do you believe the practical difficulties will overturn some 25 years propaganda, and that we ought to proceed on some other basis, perhaps a subsidy program or an incentive program such as proposed before this committee?

Have you given any thought to the whole picture as to how we should proceed?

Mr. SEGERSTRUM. I have given a lot of thought to it, Mr. Engle. At the present time our tariff policy is definitely set and I am just waiting the day the $2 reduction is going to take effect because I believe it is going to put out of production 90 percent of the tungsten mines operating in the United States. They can't stand that cut. I don't believe there is going to be any reversal in that situation as far as the tariff is concerned. At least for 5 years or so.

Mr. ENGLE. What happened was this, these officials handling the reciprocal trade program, instead of listening to us, when you and I and other representatives of the industry appeared before their "phony" boards and they-

Mr. SEGERSTRUM (interposing). That is right.

Mr. ENGLE. What we are confronted with, we are tied up now for 3 years with this agreement, but I have a hunch, Mr. Segerstrum, the Congress is going to have something to say about how these programs are to be handled, due to the simple fact those people handling the program have discriminated against us.

Mr. SEGERSTRUM. I agree.

MINE PRODUCTION INCENTIVE PLAN AND STOCK-PILING PROGRAM SUGGESTED TO SAVE DOMESTIC TUNGSTEN MINING INDUSTRY

Mr. ENGLE. We are aware we are going to have to live with that for a while since we were foolish enough to sign the agreement. What do you suggest?

Mr. SEGERSTRUM. I think there are two ways out of that, Mr. Engle, either of which would be workable.

I think some sort of subsidy that could be operated along the line of the wartime subsidy on copper, lead, and zinc, or a stock-piling program handled with the Government for needed supplies could be built up to meet any future emergency that might arise.

Mr. ENGLE. What you mean is this, let us set up a program for the stock piling of critical and strategic minerals and metals on two phases. First, we take the highly critical materials wherever they are throughout the world, such as manganese, and get as much as we can. Second, we set up a system of incentive payments for the domestic industry for production in tungsten, copper, lead, and zinc, and provide that whatever percentage we get with the incentive payments will not go in the domestic market, so the effects of the program will not disrupt the domestic market.

Mr. SEGERSTRUM. That is definitely what I had in mind, Mr. Engle; I think all of these surpluses should be diverted to the stock pile. We had one classical example of that last year. Our Army and England's and Russia's took over in Korea some Japanese tungsten supplies, about 1,174 tons. That material was brought in here by the Army and turned over to the Department of Commerce, I forget which division there, for disposal.

Well, what happened to it; a lot of us asked that it be placed in the stock pile where it properly belonged but we got no response, and the material was later sold to brokers in New York and subsequently found its way to foreign countries. That material will never be picked up. It will probably come back to us in the form of bullets or other deadly weapons.

If we can only control what we do get, and keep our hands on it and keep it for posterity; that is what we must do, but we are not going to have anything to work with otherwise.

Maybe we won't live long enough to see the world sources depleted, but certainly there hasn't been enough production to take care of our domestic needs or world-wide needs in the last few years.

Mr. LEMKE. Just while you are on that subject I saw in a newspaper that we mined tungsten in Korea and sold it to Russia.

Mr. SEGERSTRUM. That is correct. I understand the three armies of occupation divide up, the American, Russian, and English.

In China, where most of the tungsten is produced, Russia has that tied up. Most of that is going to Russia.

Mr. LEMKE. Mr. Russell.

DOMESTIC PRODUCTION AND POSSIBILITIES

Mr. RUSSELL. I believe you gave us a figure but I would like to have it again.

What percentage of tungsten mined in this Nation during the war was used domestically?

Mr. SEGERSTRUM. I will go back through 1940 to 1944. We produced 50 percent.

In 1945, which was the last year of buying by the Metals Reserve Company we produced 38 percent because a lot of the plants were shut down at that time due to the difficulties of the Metal Reserves contracts.

We have a Bureau of Mines report, but they also cover exports to our Allied Nations under the lend-lease plan.

Now, based on our domestic consumption alone, we produced from 90 to 100 percent during those wartime years under the strain of the situation. That is as far as our natural domestic consumption is concerned.

Mr. RUSSELL. That was the figure I wanted to bring out.

In other words, if tungsten were protected by a fair American price at the present time there are sufficient amounts located in this Nation so that the full amount could be produced here?

Mr. SEGERSTRUM. That is right if the proper amount of incentives were placed.

Mr. RUSSELL. Would you care to tell us relative to the tungsten deposits in this Nation, if we produced all we could use how much of a supply we would have and how many years it would last?

Mr. SEGERSTRUM. I don't think there is a man living today who could answer that question. You have practically no new mines opened by prospectors. I would not care to comment on that myself, but we have been mining since before World War I and we have more ore than ever and they told us it would only last a year or two.

Mr. RUSSELL. We are not a "have not" nation so far as tungsten is concerned?

Mr. SEGERSTRUM. Definitely no.

Mr. RUSSELL. In your experience in mining throughout the West do you believe the policy the Federal Government has adopted that we are a have-not nation applies to copper, lead and zinc?

Mr. SEGERSTRUM. I am certain it does not apply.

Mr. RUSSELL. Your belief is that we are not a "have not" nation if we utilize what is termed the marginal ores?

Mr. SEGERSTRUM. That is correct.

Mr. RUSSELL. Many of those marginal ores are being lost at the present time because of the action of this country which has put the mines in the position where they are taking out the richest ore? Mr. SEGERSTRUM. That is right.

Mr. RUSSELL. And if not recovered today will eventually be lost. Mr. SEGERSTRUM. I think particularly in lead and zinc that situation is critical. They are just mining the high-grade ores and everything else is left behind and in 6 months it can't be recovered.

Mr. RUSSELL. Was there any effort to dump this Korean tungsten ore on the American market and further embarrass the domestic industry?

Mr. SEGERSTRUM. It definitely had a bad effect on the domestic market. It was heard about for about 2 years. They were trying to dump it in small lots of 250 tons but in tungsten that is a lot of tungsten. I understand the 1,174 tons were sold in four or five lots.

Mr. LEMKE. Mr. Hedrick?

Mr. HEDRICK. No questions.

THE TUNGSTEN STOCK PILE

Mr. LEMKE. Mr. Martin, do you have any questions?

Mr. Martin is a former member of the Armed Services Committee and at present a member of the Ways and Means Committee; Congressman Martin is one of our most valued and distinguished colleagues, and we are glad to have him with us this morning as he

knows considerable of the critical situation in which this Nation will find itself in the event of war.

Mr. MARTIN. I am happy to have a chance to ask a question or two In reference to the Korean tungsten, that transaction was handled by the Army as I recall. Wasn't it?

Mr. SEGERSTRUM. Yes; the Army brought that in, but as I under stand it the disposal was done through the Department of Commerce I am not perfectly clear on that, but that is the understanding I have Mr. MARTIN. Was any part of that turned into the national defens stock pile?

Mr. SEGERSTRUM. Not a pound; no, sir.

Mr. MARTIN. What is the situation today regarding our reserve of tungsten in the national-defense stock pile?

Mr. SEGERSTRUM. Of course those figures are very secret.

Mr. MARTIN. I do not want you to give any secrets.

Mr. SEGERSTRUM. I don't think I have it anywhere. The last figure I have were taken from a mining and metallurgical magazine of Sep tember 1944. At that time they showed tungsten ore at 38,160,00 pounds. That might mean anything.

Mr. MARTIN. Yes. At that time that would not throw very much light on the present situation, but can you describe in general terms the situation regarding the reserve of tungsten?

Mr. SEGERSTRUM. Well, much of the tungsten in our stock pile from what I understand and have seen in the field is of the low-grade quality that is not in proper condition to use in manufacture at the present time. It should be beneficiated, a very technical process which we call flotation concentration, from low-grade concentrates which may run 40 percent WO, to concentrates containing 65 perce WO, as required by industry.

IMPORTANCE OF KEEPING TUNGSTEN MINES IN ACTIVE OPERATION FOR

NATIONAL SECURITY

Mr. MARTIN. In the matter of keeping American sources active and available, it is as essential in tungsten mining to keep that mine in operation as it is in some of the other metals we have discussed here!

Mr. SEGERSTRUM. Just as much so. The tungsten mines are mined at very great depths. We are mining at 1,700 feet and we are pump. ing 5,000 gallons of water a minute. If we shut down a week it would flood our mine. The timbers would rot and it would take a long time to reactivate them.

Mr. MARTIN. That is of considerable importance from a defense standpoint?

Mr. SEGERSTRUM. That seems to be the difficulty all the way around, everywhere. Everybody thinks you can shut a mine down and a year later reopen and be ready for production in a week, but you can't do that.

CONTEMPLATED LEGISLATION SHOULD SPECIFY MINE INCENTIVE PRODUC- 1 TION PROGRAM FOR ALL STRATEGIC AND CRITICAL MINERALS AND METALS

Mr. MARTIN. That leads to this conclusion with the record such as it is in regard to the Korean tungsten and the record such as it is in connection with the reciprocal trade treaties with the obvious

"don't care attitude" regarding the health of the domestic industries. Can Congress take legislative action such as contemplated under H. R. 1602 and the bill, H. R. 2455 which you will recognize deals with our mineral supply? Can we leave it to our Government officials without any definite inclusion of a metal like tungsten named in the list? Mr. SEGERSTRUM. I felt very badly about that because all the bills I have seen only contained four metals.

Mr. MARTIN. And they go on with a general clause authorizing the officials to include others without naming the other critical materials. Mr. SEGERSTRUM. That is right.

Mr. MARTIN. Now from the record made to date, I am seriously concerned whether we can find any responsible Federal official in position to determine this policy who will be willing to include any metals other than those named by Congress.

Mr. SEGERSTRUM. I agree with you 100 percent, and I don't think anybody would take that responsibility unless they were named specifically in the legislation.

Mr. MARTIN. The handling of the Korean tungsten isn't above question merely because that was handled by Army officials. I don't take that any more seriously as a guide than I do a textbook from West Point, and I think the time has come when we should be a little more specific in our congressional directives and legislative efforts and we ought to name the whole gamut of strategic and critical Imaterials. Perhaps we should be more detailed in our congressional expressions.

[merged small][ocr errors]

Mr. SEGERSTRUM. That is my criticism, as a citizen, of all of the hills passed. They only specifically name copper, lead, zinc, and anganese and then go on and say any item that might be judged by some person to be named as critical or strategic. I think all of them ought to be specifically limited.

Mr. ENGLE. I think the gentleman has a very good point. Will you yield a moment?

Mr. MARTIN. I yield.

Mr. ENGLE. I was going to ask you about this. There are about 28 items set up on the list?

Mr. SEGERSTRUM. I would include them specifically. I would include the whole list and not just refer to them.

Mr. ENGLE. I think the purpose of allowing some latitude there was to permit the proper elasticity in the program.

Now I agree with you though, in view of the resistance we have found, especially in the Munitions Board, about any encouragement to domestic industry at all that we are just going to have to write it out in plain, unvarnished, American English, and then I have great doubt as to whether we should not name everything we have now and then add more.

Mr. LEMKE. Mr. Russell.

CURRENT PRICE OF TUNGSTEN AND FOREIGN LABOR VERSUS DOMESTIC

LABOR COSTS

Mr. RUSSELL. What is the price of tungsten in the world market today?

Mr. SEGERSTRUM. Tungsten of good grade containing one-half percent of molybdenum is selling for $30 a unit.

76100-48-pts. 4 and 5- -3

« AnteriorContinuar »