IC 8225 - State of Arizona Department of Mines and Mineral ...

SUPPLY AND DISTRIBUTION 217to 1945 imports rose substantially; the duty didnot apply in this period because the Governmentwas purchasing all the wpper broughtinto the United States. Requirements weredrastically reduced after the war ended in 1945,and imports fell to 396,000 tons. Im ortstrended upward from 1947 to 1950 and a ? mostreached wartime levels as 690,000 tons enteredthe United States in 1950. The large increasewas due to anticipated defense requirementsafter the outbreak of hostilities in Korea inJune 1950.The continuing shortage of domesticsuppliesresulted in large quantities of foreign materialsin 1952 and 1953. Imports fell 12 percent in1954 and remained at approximately the 1954level, except for 1958 through 1962.For a number of years before 1940, entrieaof refined copper were no more than 5 percentof the imports; in 1941 the refined class accountedfor 47 percent of the total. This wasdue to the unprecedented requirements for copperin the United States and to the disruptedstate of ocean transportation; both factorscaused metal that normally would have gone toEurope to be shipped to t'he United States. Inthe next 4 years (194245) refined copper receiptsexceeded imports of all unrefined classes.Thereafter, except for 1948,1949, and 1952, theunrefined classes accounted for most of the imports.Between 1926 and 1962, imports of theunrefined classes accounted for 63 percent of thetotal; refined classes, 36 percent; and scrap,1 percent.Chile supplied virtually all the refined copperfrom 192644, exce t for 1931 and 1932 whenCanada furnished a P most 50 percent. In mid-1944 with the United Kingdom in a moreabundant suppl position, increased quantitiesof refined meta 9 began to come from Canada,and in 1945 important quantities came fromBelgian Congo and Northern Rhodesia. Morethan 50 percent of the refined metal continuedto come from Chile until 1955 when it accountedfor only 33 percent of the total and was displacedby Canada. Since then, most of thecopper from Chile has been shipped to Europeancountries, and Oanada has continued as thechief supplier of refined metal to the UnitedStates.Of the unrefined classes, blister copper hasbeen the principal class, accounting for 45 percentof the total receipts in 35 years. Recordreceipts were established in 1929. WesternHemisphere countries supplied most of the blistercopper; Mexico and Peru outranked Chileas a supplier in 1926-28; Chile was first in 1929,dropped to fourth place in 1930, ranked firstfrom 193546, fell to second in 1946, and roseto iirst in 1948-a position that it has held eversince. The large receipts from Be1 'an Congoin World War I1 years were destine&argely forthe United Kingdom after refining. Perudropped from the list of principal sources in 1949but rose to second place in 1960, becoming amajor supplier from the newly opened Toquepalallnit of Southern Peru Copper Corp. Canadawas a major source until 1944, and Rhodesiabegan sending important quantit'ies in 1950.Ore and concentrate account for 16 percentof the total foreign materials with the concentrateclass the largest-13 percent of the total.Canada has been the principal source of thismaterial, followed by Chile and Cuba. Substantialquantities have been furnished by thePhilippines since 1950. Other important suppliersare Mexico and the Republic of SouthAfrica.Imports of scrap copper are usually negligibleand have ranged from less than 200 tons to13,000 tons. In 1950, however, scrap totaled39,000 tons, because unusually largo tonnageswere received from Japan-26,000 tons.Data on United States imports are given intables 4548.Exports.-Most copper exported is in advancedforms of manufacture, and the coppercontent cannot be measured. From before1900 to 1944 refined copper was the principalexport class by a substantial margin until it wasdisplaced by the wire class in 1944. The sharpgains in exports of insulated wire and cable furnisheda guide to either the war contestants orto the war areas. The principal destinations ofthis class of exports are shown in table 49 for193948.US. exports of refined copper through 1929reflected the expanded business activit in tbelate 1920's. Shipments reached a zigh of475,000 tons in 1928, only 8 percent below therecord of 515,000 tons in 1917. Germany, theUnited Kingdom, and France received 59 percentof the total. Exports fell ra idly duringthe depression; shipments droppe cf' to 111,000tons in 1932. The principal destmation was theUnited Kingdom; France and Germany werenext. In 1933 the copper industv began torecover from the depression and exports rose 12percent above 1932. In the following yearsexports increased substantially; refined coppershipments averaged 282,000 tons annually from1934-38. During this period Japan was thechief recipient, followed by the United Kingdom,Germany, and France. The prewar peakwas reached in 1939 when shipments to foreignconsumen totaled 373,000 tons. Japan continuedto be the largest importer, followed byFrance, Italy, and Sweden.