| Show Rep McKay warns of US U.S. metals crisis America is eyeball to eyeball with a mineral minerai crisis said Congressman Gunn McKay Utah D last week as ashe ashe ashe he warned of a metals shortage potentially more staggering than even our struggle for tor energy independence In a speech at the groundbreaking groundbreaking ground ground- breaking ceremony for tor the Salt I Lake Metallurgy Research f r Laboratory in Salt Lake City Rep McKay said the shortage H is not so much natural as man made In recent years we have grown increasingly dependent on raw materials from foreign sources In 1950 we imported 16 W percent Today over 27 percent of our raw and processed minerals comes from outside B 9 our borders 0 If the trend continues the United States will slowly change its industrial base B Light manufacturing and services will dominate and we will become increasingly V vulnerable to the whim of ot ofA A mineral suppliers from abroad ft Our economy and our very lives depend on our mineral minerai independence he said McKay blamed Americas America's conspicuous consumption for tor part of ot the problem A Americans today consume four billion tons of minerals a W year In 1950 it was only two billion tons By the year 2000 mineral consumption may well V reach ten billion tons a year America with only 5 percent of ot fc the worlds world's population and 7 percent of its land area con con- almost 25 percent of the theA A entire worlds world's mineral mineraI production W McKAY I Y asserted another r reason ason for our increasing foreign dependence is our 9 national lands policy Our nation is bent on making it itA A harder than ever to get at our J domestic mineral resources From 1776 when our nation A began to 1968 the Federal government had withdrawn only about 17 percent of all Federal lands from mining and exploration That's only 17 percent in years But the It trend has dramatically y 1 I 1 I reversed Today some million acres an area the size of ot every state slate east of ot the Ule Mississippi 67 percent of ot all Federal lands are off oft limits to miners Stacked against the withdrawals of ot the last years that's a percent Increase increase increase in In- crease in only 10 years I In our zeal to protect the great natural wonders of this land we have closed the doors of ot our mineral treasury McKay remarked that some government officials have gone beyond the notion of multiple use and now seek to preserve natural beauty at all cost even that of ot our security and independence TilE THE UTAH Democrat suggested greater production increased recovery and recycling are the keys to mineral minerai independence and that the new Metallurgy Center in Salt Lake City would be significant in averting the crisis McKay cl cited ted accomplishments accomplishments accomplishments ac ac- of ot the Metallurgy lab Jab currently located on the University of ot Utah campus He commended them for their expertise in recovery of ot copper uranium and silver from secondary sources like flotation tailings tailing and automobile and for their work in pollution control recycling of scrap automobiles decontamination of ot waste water and stabilization of ot mine dumps Some will say we are spending too much money on a anew anew anew new Metallurgy Center said McKay citing the 10 million price tag My response to that thatis thatis is a simple question do we need another crisis I think the answer is no With this Center we demonstrate that we no longer need crises to move us to action It shows we are willing willingto to invest today to avoid the terrible costs of ot national dependence tomorrow If we have learned anything in recent years it is that America must be independent be-independent to be strong I |
