Marketing of Metallic and Nonmetallic Minerals
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State of Washington ALBERT D. ROSELLINI, Governor Department of Conservation EARL COE, Director DIVISION OF MINES AND GEOLOGY MARSHALL T . HUNTTING, Supervisor Information Circular No. 39 MARKETING OF METALLIC AND NONMETALLIC MINERALS By DONALD L. ANDERSON STATE PAINTING PLANT. OLY MPIA. WASH. 1963 FOREWORD A prospector, after finding a deposit of mineral that appears to have possible value, commonly asks -can this mineral be sold; at what price; and to whom? The exact answers to these questions change over relatively short periods of time, but we believe the questions are important enought to justify answering them in the form of an Information Circular of the Washington Division of Mines and Geology. To answer these questions the Division was fortunate in obtaining the services of Donald L. Anderson, professor of mining in the School of Mineral Engi neering at the University of Wash ington. The author knows prospecting and mining through firsthand experience as well as through academic training and teaching. This report on marketing of metallic and nonmetallic minerals should serve as a useful companion to an earlier report on prospecting in Washington by the same author and also published by the Division of Mines and Geology. MARSHALL T. HUNTTING, Supervisor Division of Mines and Geology May 15, 1963 iii CONTENTS Foreword -------------------------------------------------------------- iii Introduction ------------------------------------------------------------ 1 Common metals --------------------------------------------------------- 3 Aluminum--------------------------------------------------------- 3 Antimony --------------------------------------------------------- 4 Chromium--------------------------------------------------------- 5 Copper--------------------------------------~------------------- 5 Iron ------------------------------------------------------------- 6 Lead------------------------------------------------------------- 7 Magne~um-------------------------------------------------------- 8 Manganese-------------------------------------------------------- 8 Mercury ---------------------------------------------------------- 9 Molybdenum------------------------------------------------------ 9 Nickel------------------------------------------------------------ 10 Tin -- ---------------------------------------------------------- 10 Titanium---------------------------------------------------------- 11 Tungsten--------------------------------------------------------- 11 Zinc------------------------------------------------------------- 12 Precious metals-------------------------------------------------------- 12 Gold------------------------------------------------------------- 13 Silver------------------------------------------------------------ 14 Platinum---------------------------------------------------------- 14 MI nor metals ----------------------------------------------------------- 15 Beryllium--------------------------------------------------------- 15 V Minor metals- Continued Bismuth------------------------------------------------------------ 15 Boron-------------------------------------------------------------- 16 Cadmium----------------------------------------------------------- 17 Cobalt------------------------------------------------------------- 17 Columbium-tantalum ------------------------------------------------- 17 Germanium---------------------------------------------------------- 18 Lithium------------------------------------------------------------ 18 Rare earths--------------------------------------------------------- 18 Selenium----------------------------------------------------------- 19 Tellurium----------------------------------------------------------- 19 Thorium------------------------------------------------------------- 19 Uranium------------------------------------------------------------ 19 Vanadium----------------------------------------------------------- 20 Zirconium----------------------------------------------------------- 2 0 Selling meta II ic ores ------------------------------------------------------ 20 Smelter schedules --------------------------------------------------- 22 Copper ores --------------------------------------------------- 2 2 Example of payment calculation For copper ore or concentrate --- 2 3 Lead ore ------------------------------------------------------ 2 5 Example of payment calculation For lead ore ------------------ 26 No nm eta II ic minerals ------------------------------------------------------ 2 9 Asbestos----------------------------------------------------------- 31 Bari te -------------------------------------------------------------- 31 Clay--------------------------------------------------------------- 32 Feldspar----------------------------------------------------------- 32 Fluorite ------------------------------------------------------------ 33 vi Nonmetallic minerals - Continued Gypsum------------------------------------------------------------ 33 Limestone---------------------------------- ------------------------ 34 Mica----------------------------------------------------------- ---- 35 Potash and phosphate ------------------------------------------------ 36 Si I ica -------------------------------------------------------------- 36 Sulfur-------------------------------------------------------------- 37 Talc and soapstone ------------------------------------ -------------- 3 7 Selected references ------------------------------------------------------- 39 ILLUSTRATIONS FIGURE 1. Value of metal lic and nonmetallic minerals produced in the United States, 1930-1962 ------------------------------------ 28 2. Value of sand and gravel, coal, stone, lead and zinc, and total value of mineral production in Washington, 1935-J 962 ----- 28 TABLES TABLE 1 . Common metals --------------------------- - ------------------- 4 2. Precious metals-------------------------------- ----- ---------- 13 3. Mi nor metals ------------------------------------------------- l 6 4. Copper, lead, and zinc smelters -------------------------------- 2 7 5. Common nonmetallic minerals-------------------- --------------- 29 vii MARKETING OF METALLIC AND NONMETALLIC MINERALS by Donald L. Anderson I NTRODUCTION A company or individual contemplating the development of a mineral deposit should consider the following questions: Can it be sold? In what form? At what price? And where? This is particularly true of the nonmetallic minerals, for which competition is keen and freight rates important; it is true to a lesser extent for metall ic minerals . Problems in the sale of common base metals such as copper, lead, and zinc are re latively simple . The disposal of nonmetallics is more difficult, and regardless of the type of mineral that is to be marketed, it should be noted by newcomers to the industry that the price of the fabricated metal or processed mineral on open markets does not represent the value of the ore as it comes from the mine. For a metallic mineral, two high-cost items are freight rates and sme lter charges . Except in rare cases of high-grade ore, both of these factors combine to make it economically impossible to ship a raw ore directly to a custom smelter. In general, there is a ready market for the common metall ic minerals at custom smelters throughout the western United States, and the shipper can calculate or estimate returns by referring to current metal prices. The sale of nonmetallics is entirely different. The seller must find or possibly create a market, and, in addition to freight and process charges, he may face keen competition from other producers and may also have to face the hazards of substitutes for his product. It is hardly necessary to say that mineral raw materials play a vital part in the economy of the community, state, and nation. Mining, logging, and agriculture are the three basic industries of our nation, and it is difficult to conceive of manufactured articles that did not originate from the earth's surface or subsurface. Traditionally, the avai lability of minerals has 2 resulted in the growth of industry, as evidenced by the great steel industry of the Lake Ports that feeds on the iron ores of the Lake Superior ranges, the copper smelters of the Salt Lake City area that use ore from disseminated copper deposit s, and, locally, cement plants using limestone from deposits in Washington. National emergencies during the 20th century have spotlighted the need for an adequate supply of strategic minerals, a supp ly that unfortunately cannot be turned on and off as the need dictates. Mineral producers must accept the fact that the demand for their products generally follows the business cycle. However, it should be remembered that mineral raw materials are the first to be affected by a business recession, and, because of manufacturers' inventories, they are the last to be affected by a business recovery . Industry breeds industry; copper smelters produce waste sulfide gases that can be converted into sulfuric acid, and this in turn can give rise to new chemical plants- all depending on the minerals in the ground and whether they can be mined and useful products extracted at a profit. The hi story of the discoveries and production of metal I ic minerals in the western United States is closely associated with pioneering and colonizing. The story of the discovery of gold in California followed by the surging gold rush to that area is common knowledge . Gold historically has been the forerunner of population influx. Australia, British Columbia,