COPPER 



165 



1950 CURRENT 



Figure 20. — U.S. supplies and uses of copper, 1950-71. (From U.S. Department of the Interior (1972). 



Table 36. — Copper supply and demand data, 1950-71, and 

 projections for the year 2000, in thousands of short tons 



[Data from National Commission on Materials Policy (1972), U.S. De- 

 partment of the Interior (1972), and U.S. Bureau of Mines (1970] 



^ Preliminary. 



- Not available or estimated. 



3 Unrefined. 



often is expressed as withdrawals or apparent con- 

 sumption. 



With few exceptions, the United States has been 

 a net importer of copper each year since 1939. De- 

 pendency on foreign sources of supply has ranged 

 from a high of about 60 percent in 1945 and 1946 

 to 6 percent in 1971. 



The major sources of copper imports in 1971 

 were Canada, 37 percent; Peru, 29 percent; Chile, 

 15 percent; and all other countries; 19 percent. 

 Major destinations of copper exports in 1971 were 

 West Germany, 26 percent; Italy, 11 percent; 

 France, 10 percent ; Canada, 9 percent ; and all other 

 countries, 44 percent. 



The sources of 1971 imports differ markedly from 

 the sources for the 1967-70 period, when 27 percent 

 originated in Chile, 23 percent in Canada, 21 per- 

 cent in Peru, 7 percent in the Republic of South 

 Africa, and 22 per from all other countries. The 

 nationalization in 1971 of mines owned by U.S. 

 firms in Chile disrupted world trade patterns in 

 copper, as is evident from the preceding data. 



The possible effect of industrialization of develop- 

 ing countries on the world copper market is best 

 illustrated by the Peoples Republic of China. Present 

 per-capita copper consumption in China is about 

 one-half pound per year, and many recent studies 

 of the world metal situation have pointed to the 



impact of the increase that is sure to come with 

 advancing industrialization in that and other popu- 

 lous, mostly agricultural, countries. Even though 

 Chinese copper production may increase rapidly, 

 consumption may well outrun it for many years, and 

 China probably will become a major importer in the 

 short term, though self-sufficiency may be possible 

 at a future time. The 4-year agreement for Chinese 

 purchase of copper from Chile is an example of this 

 kind of change that is sure to have widespread effect 

 on the world copper market. 



EXPLOITATION 



The introduction of new domestic sources of cop- 

 per, important new developments, and other events 

 having significant impact on the supply of copper 

 are shown in relation to primary copper production 

 in figure 21. 



Development of foreign deposits also has had its 

 impact on the copper industry. The more economi- 

 cally important developments were the following : 

 1912, Braden Copper Co. began operations in Chile. 

 1916, Chile Copper Co. started production at Chu- 



quicamata. 

 1924, Katanga in Zaire (Congo) started production. 

 1950, 1960's, Large deposits developed in Chile and 



Peru. Substantial production started and reserves 



added in Canada, Zambia, Zaire, Yugoslavia, 



Poland, Ireland, Finland, Bulgaria, U.S.S.R., 



Australia, and the Philippines. 

 Among the foreign developments begun in the 

 1960's and expected to be in production in the 1970's 

 are those in Indonesia (West Irian), New Guinea 

 (Manus Island, Bougainville), British Columbia, 

 and Iran. 



Two factors of paramount importance to the cop- 

 per industry are the grade of ore mined and the 

 price per pound. The steady decline in average grade 

 of domestic ore mined and the wide range in prices 

 are evident in the following summary: 



