196 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1945 



an improved "have" status for iron ore, barite, nitrogen, potash, and 

 possibly fluorspar if such status were desirable. On the other hand, 

 greater dependence on foreign sources of zinc, lead, cadmium, mercury, 

 bauxite, vanadium, tungsten, platinum, and block mica is indicated. 

 Little change can be anticipated in the remaining commodities which 

 are chiefly imported. Submarginal resources of our deficient minerals 

 that give us a potential "have" status under emergency conditions and 

 at high prices are those of bauxite, manganese, vanadium, flake graph- 

 ite, chromite, nickel, and mercury. As previously noted, our sub- 

 marginal resources of manganese, vanadium, and off-grade bauxite, 

 and other aluminous minerals are relatively large in terms of prewar 

 consumption rates. 



MINERAL POLICY CONSIDERATIONS 



From the foregoing analysis, and assuming our appraisal of do- 

 mestic resources to be reasonably correct, it is apparent that our de- 

 pendence on foreign sources for supplies of certain minerals will be 

 greater in the future than it was before the war. The question thus 

 arises as to the significance of these changes and what alterations in 

 national policy should be made to meet them. Time does not permit 

 discussion of all policy aspects of the mineral-supply problem so I shall 

 confine my remarks to a brief discussion of those involving national 

 defense, assurance of peacetime supplies, . . . and conservation. 



National defense. — A major responsibility of the Nation is to main- 

 tain its ability to defend itself from aggressors, and to this should be 

 added, in anticipation of postwar international political cooperation, 

 the assurance of its ability to carry out such responsibilities as may 

 be assigned to it. As our self-sufficiency declines, our military power 

 is adversely affected, and the problem of strategic minerals becomes 

 more acute. Thus, the need for large-scale stock piling is of utmost 

 importance; because stock piling is a device for supplementing our 

 domestic resources, the stock piles should be made up largely from 

 foreign materials, for that is the only way we can add to our basic 

 mineral resources. It is the surest way of guaranteeing our basic 

 security in minerals in time of need. It has been suggested that, in 

 view of the impending "have-not" position in certain minerals, we 

 should shut down our mines and preserve the resources remaining in 

 the ground for future emergencies. From a theoretical viewpoint this 

 argument has appeal, but from a practical standpoint the cost is too 

 great. It imposes too severe a burden on the present generation by 

 asking it to swap a bird in the hand for only one crippled bird in the 

 bush to be saved for the use of future generations. The program 

 would result in resource waste because much of the unmined portions 

 of deposits now developed probably never could be recovered after 



