CKEMICAL AND ENGINJEEftlKGh
NEWS
tiie n e w s m a g a z i n e a»f the chemical w o r l d NfOtUMiE 36* DUMBER 4 1
\
OCTOBER 13, 195S
W h y t h e A d m i n i s t r a t i o n Feels Q u o t a s Are N e e d e d UNMANUFACTURED
LEAD
Thousands of Short Tons
UNMANUFACTURED
LEAD—ZINC MINE, MILL EMPLOYMENT
ZINC
in Thousands
Thousands of Short Tons
1OO0
12-
\ I m p o r t s for C o n s u m p t i o n
Est. Closed on Jam—June rate! U.S. Bureau o f Mines
I
Î
]
I
I
1950
J
L
1952
J
J
Est. (Based on Jar» —June rate) U.S. Tariff Commission
U.S. Bureau of Mines 1
J
L 1954
1556
1958 1950
1952
1
1954
1956
1958
Lead-Zinc Quotas Blasted Hot words from around the w o r l d follow U. S. quotas on lead-zinc,· bilateral agreements seen L HIS WEEK the U . S. will probably
agree t o join a n international study group i n talks o n t h e lead-zinc crisis. T h e aim: multilateral agreements with producing nations on limiting world lead-zinc production. Meanwhile, t h e furor created when t h e U. S. slapped import quotas on these metals (C&EN, Oct. 6, p a g e 54) waxes h o t a n d heavy. World reaction ranges from stunned silence t o angry condemnation. Hottest protests come from Peru, top South American producer. Peruvians see quotas costing
them u p to $20 million, possibly a 15*% cut in their mine work force. Canada. Mexico, a n d Australia also rapped the U . S. action, with sources in these countries predicting d i r e consequences for their mining industries. U . S. industry, while n o t completely happy—lower quotas and higher tariffs were asked b y m a n y producers—found some satisfaction in t h e fact that something was at last being done. Charles Schwab, chairman of industry's Emergency Lead-Zinc Committee, sees quotas as a welcome but partial solu-
tion, says industry's real h o p e is a continuing upswing in the U . S. economy, as p r e d i c t e d b y Secretary of t h e Interior Fred A. Seaton. • S c r e a m s of Anguish. Apparently, friendly neighbors to the north and south aren't in a waiting mood. C a n a dian government officials label the quota move "deplorable" a n d "untimely." C&EN's Canadian correspondent, S . J. Cook, reports C a n a d a will take a "strong s t a n d " i n trying t o get t h e U. S. t o reconsider—perhaps in a bilateral a g r e e m e n t . OCT.
13,
1958 C&EN
1 9
Mtwicro, too. eau see no good coming from U. S. quotas. Its lead exports to the U. 3 . stand to be cut 3 3 ' * under 1957 levels, zinc as much as 46f ^. Since these two metals account for 60* * of the value of all mineral exparts, the impact is great. Mexico has suspended lead-zinc exports pending clearing of the confused state of its industry. And the farther sot*th you go, the hotter grows the comment. Lead is the most important mineral produced in Peru, with zinc ranking fifth. Peru's lead exports to the U. S. could be cut 44*7*- and zinc exports 54 r f. Hotter tempers there propose negotiating with the Soviet Union as one out. Lead looms large in Australia, with zinc relatively minor. These metals make u p nearly 25''< of all Australian exports to the U. S. in dollar value. Australia tags the quotas as "ruthless** (lead exports could be cut as much as 539c). Observers expect Australia to try for a bilateral agreement with the U. S. soon. • U. 5 . Industry "Desperate." But nearly everyone agrees that the domes tic lead-zinc mining industry is in bad —even desperate—shape and that strong steps axe called for. Production has trended downward almost steadily since reaching a peak during 1925-29.
Charles Schwab not throwing rocks The slide was arrested temporarily by World War II demands for metals and similar demands during the Korean War. But 1954 saw mine production of both metals hit 20-year lows—about 5 0 ^ under 1925-29 levels. A slight upturn came along in 1955 and 1956— thanks mainly to stockpiling by the Government. The end of lead-zinc stockpiling started the ball rolling downhill again. Prices, though, rose during the im mediate postwar period, thus helping somewhat to balance low output at the mines. The average price of unmanu
factured zinc rose from a bit over 8 cents a pound in 1943 to over 18 cents in 1931; lead went from an average 6 V 2 cents to over 17 cents. But then came Korea, shortages» and qualms that U. 3 . producers couldn't meet demands. T h e Government sought to ease the strain by encouraging production both in the U. S. and abroad, using loans and long-tenn con tracts. T h e expansion plan worked—too well. Foreign producers, ewfoying the advan tages of low labor costs and higher grade ore, and attracted by high mar ket prices, started pouring lead and zinc into the U. S. Lead imports jumped from 22S,00O tons in 1951 to 644,000 tons in 195:2, while zinc im ports leaped from 334,000 tons to 699,000. And the trend has continued u p . T h e surge of imports, coupled with domestic output, adds up to more than U. S. consumption can eat up. Result— a big supply of metal overhanging the market, and skidding prices: Zinc has slipped to 10 cents a pound, with lead hovering between 11 and 12 cents. These price levels—below costs for many U. S. producers—add u p to wide spread layoffs and outright shutdowns. One hint as to the depth of the lead-zinc industry's depression: Tariff Commis-
• ~V
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What the World is Saving Aboutt U.s. Lead - Zinc Import Quotas IUSS1INDUSTRY5 Amencan Smeltinq & Refïnïnq
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Other Industry Comments
Quotas should be smaller ihould work? GovernmentVisi undei writing ; survival or industry-
20
C&EN
OCT.
Î3,
1958
HtSSGOyERNJAENS Interior Department
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sacKMabonfitsMauasMare» State Department
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rpfojiittffi quotasiareijrior.e $
faësîSbie^ai^târîffri welcome, the prospect* of ; multilateral^ actions
sioîi figures on n u m b e r of employees in lead a n d seine mines and mills show a d r o p of 35^> b e t w e e n 1952 a n d 1 9 5 7 . T h e brief recession just « n d e d served to a g g r a v a t e matters. • P a t h t o Q u o t a s · S e e k i n g relief u n d e r U . S* trade laws, t h e lead-zinc industry petitioned the "Tariff Commission for " e s c a p e clause** action in 1 9 5 3 . T h e Commission unanimously found injury a n d r e c o m m e n d e d a boost in d u ties. President Eisenhower* t h o u g h , chose the stockpiling a p p r o a c h as a remedy. Cutoff of stockpiling b r o u g h t another petition to t h e Tariff Commission in S e p t e m b e r 1957, this t i m e asking for higher duties and q u o t a s . Again, t h e Commission unanimously found injury. This time the Administration p u t off action, offering instead a minerals stabilization p l a n ; Congress failed to a p p r o v e t h e p l a n , a n d t h e s t a g e was set for quotas. • O n t h e H o r i z o n . Best h o p e for settling t h e lead-zinc fracas is t h e u p coming series of talks at t h e international level. An international agreem e n t stabilizing production a n d prices is t h e goal. To many observers, such a h a p p e n i n g is not just a r o u n d t h e corner. I n Washington circles, talk is m o r e along the lines of bilateral agreem e n t s w i t h individual countries.
FOREIGN [Canada Ino mstificatioo what ^ye* untimely deplorable Mexico! bad mwKttisiàm éôuId^meànCâîpfic^nse inànyifirimrTOaiSclose £P.ero s jjieonceivabl^Y^£?^?.;ixecOi ^ftïiimë^aeSressîon^^^^&SËœ m i l l i o n loss alnsaMtMoym
Australia
premeaadous^onse^ Quence sennrssiettectlon? economv
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No Barriers for Science M e e t i n g in the W e s t e r n H e m i s p h e r e for t h e first time, t h e Inteniational Council of Scientific Unions took a firm s t a n d on the subject of politics a n d scie n c e . Delegates at I C S t f s triennial m e e t i n g in Washington» D . C», last w e e k approved a policy of political nondiscrimination for t h e international organization. I n a five-part policy statement, I C S U affirms the right of scientists to a d h e r e to o r associate with international scientific activity without regard to race, r e ligion, or political philosophy. Principal points in ICSU*s policy: • ICSU is p r e p a r e d to recognize b o n a fide scientific groups representing scientific activity of a n y country acting u n der a government, de facto or de jure, t h a t controls it. * Meetings of I C S U o r its committees should b e held in countries that let representatives of every national m e m ber of ICSU participate, a n d allow free a n d p r o m p t dissemination of information related to t h e meetings. I n calling for a p p r o v a l of the nondiscrimination policy, I C S U president Lloyd V. Berkner said that ICSU is founded on the principle of political nondiscrimination. O n e of t h e reasons ICSU*s predecessor, t h e International Research Council, foundered was its r e fusal to recognize G e r m a n y more than a q u a r t e r century a g o . And, h e w a r n e d , the same fate could overtake ICSU "if decisions are m a d e b y special committees of ICSU t h a t in any way compromise our nonpolitical standards." • Other Actions. T w o countries, Argentina and Bulgaria, were approved as national m e m b e r s of ICSU. M e m bership is n o w m a d e u p of 13 scientific unions, including t h e Union of P u r e a n d Applied Chemistry, and 45 national members. T h e delegates also approved formation of a n e w committee for international cooperation in space research. Called the C o m m i t t e e on Space R e search ( C O S P A R ) , t h e new group will function until the e n d of next year a n d then report its recommendations for furt h e r action to I C S U . Plans were a p p r o v e d to w i n d u p t h e activities of t h e International Geophysical Year, d u e to end in D e c e m b e r . Operation of IGY is directed b y a committee called C S A G I , which will g o o u t of existence J u n e 3 0 , 1959. A n e w g r o u p , the Special Committee for I n ter-Union Cooperation in Geophysics ( S C G ) , will take over w h e n CSAGI
expires. Purpose of S C G : to collate., calculate, a n d publish all the inftonnaHon gathered during IGY. And the executive board approved! publication of a new quarterly international foumal to b e called the ICSU Review. Purpose: t o keep scientists informed on t h e work of ICSU aund its m e m b e r unions. First issue is scheduled to a p p e a r next January.
Petrochemicals in Austria X H E LONG expected petrochemicals industry in Austria (C&EN MarxA IS» 1957* p a g e 6 6 ) is now fact: ÎMontecatini and Stickstoffvverke are joining t o form a company to m a k e polypropylene a t a rate of 11 million pounds a year in a plant to be built at Scliwecliat. Montecatini will furnish 40r/o of t h e capital of the new Italian-Austriacn comp a n y , with Stickstoffwerke to supply t h e same amount. T h e 20Vc [balance will b e distributed to private /Wustriaxi investors by the Austrian government, (Stickstoffwerke is Austria's largest chemical company a n d is governmentowned. ) Initially t h e new plant will imse r a w materials imported from Italy, However, Austrian interests are to fcuild a large oil refinery at Schwechat, nand siubsequently domestic petroleum will feed this refinery, whose by-products will supply t h e feed for t h e new polypropylene plant. T h e plant's thermoplastic resin will b e marketed in Austria under tlie trade n a m e D a p l e n . In Italy the jproduct is called Moplen. P a r t of tlier plant's output will go to other markets i n E u r o p e after the Austrian deraaand is supplied. T h e agreement creating thae n e w company comes after long negotiations between the representatives o*£ Montecatini a n d Stickstoffwerke. Several other foreign companies compeared wirJi Montecatini for the new venture i n Austria. T h e agreement was; signed by Piero Giustiniani, managing director for Montecatini, a n d Viktor Huber, general manager of Stickstoffwerke, C o m m e n t i n g on tlie agreement in Vienna, Giustiniani said that fche n e w venture is a step toward a European union, which must b e built gradually through a chain of such industrial alliances b e t w e e n the European countries. T h e n e w company will hav«e Italian technical m a n a g e m e n t and use skilled workers from Italy. OCT.
13, 1958
CiEN
21
