Much of t h e world's sorely needed shipping is now devoted t o gathering f r o m t h e four corners of t h e earth the strategic metals which will influence t h e outcome of t h e current wars. T o those responsible for raw-material procurement this scattering of civilization's necessities m a y seem most regrettable. However, t h e pitifully sparse deposits of metals which m a n must first discover, usually i n t h e wilderness, a n d t h e n mine, smelt, and refine a t great length, i n reality represent a n enormous degree of natural concentration f r o m t h e minute percentages existing throughout t h e earth's crust. This concentration is due t o geochemical processes which act in rocks, water solutions, and living organisms to produce our varied world f r o m the originally homogeneous globe. -- From the Industrial Bulletin o f Arthur D. Little, Inc., June, 1941
