49 
This degree of market penetration may depress prices somewhat but 
may not seriously affect traditional producers. High cost projects 
may not be developed. The working paper of the U.S. delegation 
to the Law of the Sea Conference pointed out that even with seabed 
mining, land based production will need to increase nearly 70 percent 
from the 1972 production level to meet anticipated demand by 1985. 
The U.S. working paper suggests that such a large increase in demand 
can be expected to result in increased prices such that a number of 
high cost land deposits which were marginal may become economically 
feasible. Furthermore, 30 percent of the increase in land production 
would come from developing countries. 
COPPER 
Because of its electrical conductivity and corrosion resistance, copper 
is used extensively in electrical equipment, wire, tubing and sheeting, 
and in alloys. World wide demand for copper has been increasing at 
an average annual rate of 5 percent for the past 2 decades. Prospects 
for a continued increase in demand on the order of 4 to 5 percent per 
year are considered good through the end of the century.*? Copper is 
mined in 56 countries. Industrial countries are the largest producers 
and consumers with 46 percent of the total mined in 1972 coming from 
the United States, Canada, and the Soviet Union. Developing coun- 
tries are the leading exporters, producing 42 percent of the 1972 world 
mine tonnage. In 1972, the United States produced 23 percent of the 
world production of copper and imported 2.4 percent of the world 
production. 
Preliminary data indicate the United States imported 19 percent of 
the 2,300,000 short tons of refined copper this country consumed in 
1974. An additional 252,000 tons was released from the Government 
stockpile in 1974. During the period 1970-73 the major import sources 
were: Canada 34 percent, Peru 26 percent, Chile 18 percent, Republic 
of South Africa 6 percent, and others 16 percent.*? Imports from Can- 
ada have been increasing while imports from Chile and Peru have 
declined. Approximately 20 percent of the copper consumed by the 
United States in 1974 was recycled from scrap. Producer stocks of 
refined copper are estimated by the Bureau of Mines at about 45,000 
tons. Under authorization to dispose of the entire amount, the Gov- 
ernment stockpile of copper was reduced to zero in 1974. Sources of 
supply for the United States are relatively secure. Shortages of copper 
relative to demand in the United States have developed in the past 
due to a number of factors including: (1) A surge in world demand, 
(2) disruptions of production in Chile, Canada, and Belgium, (3) 
some curtailment in domestic output to meet air quality standards, 
(4) transport problems in Canada and Zambia, and (5) the effect of 
U.S. economic controls coupled with increasing world prices. 
A summary of world production and copper reserves is listed in 
Table 15. 
2 Ibid. p. 36. 
33 Commodity Data Summaries 1975, op. cit., p. 44. 
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