THE WORLD'S IRON SUPPLIES

Grey River Argus, 23 November 1910, Page 2

THE WORLD'S IRON SUPPLIES

An estimate of the world's available iron supplies was given at the inter- • national Geological Congress at Stockholm by the Swedish Premier, :S. Lindman, who read a summary of sixty special reports compiled for the congress by government departments and scientific institutes in all iron- 1 producing countries! Mr Lindman gave the world's vsible., supply of iron ore ■ at 22,000,000,000 tonsi which means 10,000,000,000 tons of the metal, a quantity, .sufficient to. cover the world's needs at the present; rate .for 20 years. If the consumption continues to grow as^ fast as it. has during the last century tjre stock would only hold for 60 years more. The Avorld's potential supplies, are , put . by Mr Lmdraan at 123,000,000,000 lons of ore, or over 53,000,000,000 tons of metal. He pointed out that the potential supplies are often underestimated.' Ten years ago he visted the" Spanish ' ore region, around Bilbao, : and was then told tliat the supplied would be exhausted in ten years. To-day. it is known that there is still 61,000,000 ton's of ore left, sufficient to keep* the mines going for 13 years to come. Although iron has been discovered lately in Cuba and in Brazil, Mr Lindman' said it was the duty of the'preseat generation to stop the waste tliat was" going an .in *he 'manufacture of iron, a point which he commended to the 'legislature of ' the iron -producing countries. - . ;