59 



years to come. The French obtained what may be called a privileged 

 position, apart from their bauxite deposits, chiefly through their early 

 developed chemical and electro-chemical aluminium industi>', which 

 not only aimed at producing but at finding fresh uses for this new 

 and untried metal."* 



As a result of the requirements for war purposes, up 

 Prices to the date of the armistice, the demand greatly 



exceeded the supply. The principal use was in the 



manufacture of a high explosive called ' ammonal ', a mixture of 



ammonium nitrate and powdered aluminium. Large quantities were 



required for the frame-work of airships, aeroplanes, certain parts of 



machine guns, the points of rifle bullets, etc. As a result of this 



demand, the price of aluminium has been affected to a much greater 



extent than most other metals. The rapid rise in prices occurred in 



1915 as shown by the following: 



AVERAGE PRICES OF CERTAIN METALS, 1895-1919, AT 

 NEW YORK» 



' Average of 1 1 months, no quotations being made in December. 

 *The prices quoted for 1919, are current prices for June 4, 1919. 

 'Official price. 

 ** No average computed. 



* Engineering, August 30, 1918, p. 219. 



t Engineering and Mining Journal, quotations in ai\nual review numbers. 



