METALS GERMANS LACK

Evening Star, Issue 23724, 4 November 1940, Page 11

METALS GERMANS LACK

FOR STEEL TOUGHEKING Discussing the success of the British blockade in the first year of the war, the British Minister of Economic War fare. Dr Dalton, remarked that both Germany and Italy were seriously deficient in such key commodities as oil, alloys for hardening steel, rubber, lead, copper, and textiles, without which it was impossible to carry on a modern war. One of the romances of the metallurgical industry in comparatively recent times has been the progress in the making of special hard alloys by the addition of various metals to crude steel. In the manufacture of weapons of war such alloys are essential for tho production of the high-quality metals needed.

There are seven key metals which are used for toughening steel; manganese, chromium, tunghten, nickel, molybdenum, cobalt, and vanadium. Perhaps tho most common of these is manganese. Sir Robert Hadfield, whose death occurred recently, first used steel alloyed with from seven to 20 per cent, of manganese for the manufacture of dre-orushing machinery. Its strength, relates G. S. Bishop, in the ‘ Geographical Magazine,’ led to its adoption for “ tin hats ” in the last war. Seven or 1 eight millions of these helmets were made, and because of the superior steel used in their construction the British helmets were much stronger and yet much lighter than those of the Germans, who were starved of manganese.

Germany’s output of manganese is negligible, and therefore she had to set out to build up supplies before the war. Most of it came from British territory, principally India.' However, the occupation of Czecho-Slovakia gave Germany control of considerable ore reserves in that country. The world’s principal producer of manganese is Russia, with India, the Gold Coast, South Africa, and Germany (with Czecho-Slovaikia) following in that order.

Germany imported 554,169 tons in 1937 and 425,874 tons in 1938. The output of Czecho-Slovakian manganese in 1936 was 93.000 tons, but the Germans have doubtless been busy developing this source of supply, and Mr Bishop concludes that these deposits may bo sufficient for two-thirds of their

needs. However, manganese is only one of these steel-hardening metals of which Germany has access to substantial supplies. CHROME AND NICKEL. One very important member of the group is chrome ore, widely known because of its use in chromium plating. Between 1933 and 1938 Germany quadrupled her imports of chrome ore. She has no native resources, and the world’s main sources of supply are Southern Rhodesia, Turkey, South the Philippine Islands, Cuba, and Yugoslavia. Greece also produces some. Chrome ore is probably one of the things which the busy German economic agents in the south-east of Europe are anxious to buy._ Next comes nickel, one of the commoner metals used for the hardening of steel. In the production of nickel it is almost a case of Canada first and the rest nowhere. Two Canadian firms control 90 per cent, of the world output, and in 1937, out of a world production of 113,000 tons, Canada produced 101,900. The next largest producer is the French Pacific island of New Caledonia, which has rallied to the banner of General de Gaulle. In 1937 this island produced 6,000 tons. Small deposits are found in India, Norway, Finland, and Russia. The last available figure of German domestic production was 268 tons. The other three metals in the group are not so extensively used. Cobalt comes mainly from the Belgian Congo, where a British economic mission has just arrived, with French Morocco, Northern Rhodesia, Canada, and Burma the next, most important sources. World production in 1938 was only about 5,000 tons, and the price was £670 a ton. Cobalt steels are very important for the production of electrical applumces dependent on powerful magnets. Vanadium is growing in value fertile manufacture of certain high-grade alloys. They are specially valuable forwelding and repairing worn railway lines. World production is only about 1,700 tons, and tire four countries which provide almost all of this are Peru, South-west Africa, the United States, and Northern Rhodesia. Molybdenum steel alloys are used particularly in the manufacture of aircraft and Diesel engines. Ninety-two per cent, of the world output comes from the United States, so hero again Germany will find it difficult to obtain any supplies. PROBABLE RESERVE. Mr Bishop concluded his survey by saying that Germany probably Irad a reserve supply of alloy steels approximately equal to one year’s consumption, which was an inadequate margin. He therefore thought that the Germans would be apsious not to wage ' a long land war, with its wastage of shells and ammunition, in the making of which the high-grade alloys are necessary.

On the other hand, Germany’s main strength in metals lies in aluminium and magnesium, extensively used in aircraft construction, which led him to think (writing last April) that Germany might concentrate largely on aerial warfare, in which case her operations would he limited only by shortage of oil and petrol. Apropos of this, Dr Dalton remarked that his experts believed that Germany had nearly exhausted the oil supplies captured in occupied territories.