50 
TABLE 15.—WORLD MINE PRODUCTION AND RESERVES 
{Thousand short tons of copper] 
Mine production 
Country 1973 19741 Reserves 
United:Stateses 20s 2ik eee Ree Pe piv dn Pee RE eee 1,718 1, 588 90, 000 
Canadaen so. oe ee et ee eS ee eee 899 900 40, 000 
Chileme Tie oikee SOF eee eerie Pee ees SIs eee ee 819 910 70, 000 
Perdese esis no Ne 2s. Po ANE eS See NR en nee ae ee AU 241 240 30, 000 
Zaire eae a ee ee POs atl a Pe ee ee 538 560 20, 000 
Dam Diane e cere ie ie ALY it es ah ae ae einem PERL Sale Ae 779 760 30, 000 
Othersfrees worl dee eee RE ey ot ee Nene eet eee AC Cy 1, 683 1, 742 95, 000 
Communist countries (except Yugoslavia)_____.___-___--------------- 1, 180 1, 240 55, 000 
Worlditotalissecs neurts * eR Sl ete ee ae Sere 7, 857 7, 940 430, 000 
1 Estimate. 
Source: Tbid., p. 45. 
The Bureau of Mines estimates hypothetical resources, located near 
known deposits, probably contain an additional 480 million tons of 
copper and a speculative 320 million tons is assigned to areas not yet 
prospected. It would appear that copper produced from managanese 
nodules would have only a minimal effect on copper supply and no 
effect on price. 
At an increase in demand of 4 to 5 percent per annum as projected 
in the U.N. Secretary-General’s report, world production would 
amount to nearly 15 million short tons or roughly twice current pro- 
duction by 1985. Consequently, nodule production is expected to have 
a very minor impact on the copper market, yielding only 200,000 tons 
or 1.3 percent of the total consumption (Table 9). Imports of copper 
by the industrial countries are likely to remain at around one-third of 
their consumption by 1985. The U.S. Bureau of Mines projects domes- 
tic demand for copper to increase at an average annual growth rate of 
3.5 percent through 1980. 
MANGANESE 
_ More than 90 percent of the world production of manganese is used 
in steel making primarily as a scavenger for removing sulfur, oxygen, 
and trace impurities. Used as an alloy, manganese makes steel more 
resistant to shock or abrasion. Metallurgical ore and ferromanganese 
are the manganese materials most commonly used in steel making. The 
market for refined manganese metal is relatively small. Because of 
processing difficulties, pure manganese metal is the only form of 
manganese expected to be marketed from nodules. 
_All of the manganese consumed in the United States in 1974 was 
either imported or released from government stockpile. Domestic pro- 
duction ceased in 1970 and there is essentially no recycling of manga- 
nese metal. During the period 1970-73 the major import sources of 
manganese ore were: Brazil 35 percent, Gabon 33 percent, Republic of 
South Africa 9 percent, Zaire 7 percent, and others 16 percent. During 
the same period import sources of ferromanganese were: Republic of 
South Africa 40 percent, France 24 percent, India 10 percent, and 
others 16 percent. Total producer and consumer stocks are estimated 
by the Bureau of Mines to be about 1,500,000 short tons of manganese 
ore, which typically ranges from 35 to 54 percent manganese, and 
