OCR Text |
Show DECREASE SHOWN IN MANGANESE OUTPUT WASHINGTON, Aug. 23. Reports Bent by operators of manganese mines to the L'nited States geological survey, department depart-ment of the interior, covering the first three months of 1019, show that the shipments ship-ments of manganese ore during that quar-! quar-! ter were much smaller than during any 1 other quarter since 1917. The shipments of high-grade ore were 23,937 tons, against ! 75,415 tons during -the last quarter of 1918 and 305,81.19 tons during the entire year. The number of shippers was only twenty-four, against 247 during the year 191 S. The shipments of low-grade ore, containing contain-ing 10 to 35 per cent manganese, were 35,510 tons, against 320,455 tons during the last, quarter of 1918 and 916,163 tons during the year. The extraordinary decrease "in ship-ments ship-ments is due to the unwillingness of the makers of ferromanganese to increase further their large stocks of ore. which were purchased at high prices, especially as there is now only a small market for the alloy. Early in November, 191S, the stocks of high-grade ore and ferromanganese were equivalent to nearly nine months' supply, the price of 50 per cent ore ranged from SCO to $67 per ton, and the price of SO per cent ferromanganese was $290 a ton. In June, 1919, the prices offered for 50 per cent ore by the few furnaces that were making purnhases ranged from ?25 to $35 a ton and the price of SO per cent ferromanganese ranged from $110 to $125 a ton. The market for ferromanganese since January lias been controlled by the surplus sur-plus supply of the alloy, which is largely in the hands of steel makers, who prefer to soli their stocks" and hear the loss rather thn n hold them tonger. The willingness of several large consumers con-sumers of ore to continue to accept material ma-terial offered under old contracts has permitted per-mitted a few fortunate operators to carry on their work, but the repudiation of contracts by several companies has been a source of hardshin and great loss to many operators in the United Staves, as well as to some in Cuba and Porto Rico. The outlook of the domestic ore Industry is gloomy, and there is no reason to change an enrher estimate that the shipments ship-ments for the year will probably not exceed ex-ceed 00,000 tons. A bill recently introduced in congress provides for a tariff on manganese ore of 35 cents per unit of manganese, or $17.50 per ton for 50 per cent ore, and a tariff on ferro manga nose and sniegeicisen of 75 cents per unit of manganese, or $i)0 per ton for SO per cent ferromanganese. The minimum tariff is fixed at $50 a ton on ferromanganese and at $30 a ton on spie-geleisen. |