LEAD 



315 



1,389,358 short tons, 39.4 percent of the world's pri- 

 mary mine production (table 64) . 



Table 64. — Lead consumption in the United States, by 

 products, in 1969 



[Data from U.S. Bureau of Mines Minerals Yearbook, 1971] 



Short tons 



Metal products: 



Ammunition 79,233 



Bearing metals 17,406 



Brass and bronze 21,512 



Cable covering 54,203 



Casting metals 9,918 



Caulking lead 44,857 



Collapsible tubes 12,484 



Foil 5,881 



Pipes, traps, and bends 19,407 



Sheet lead 25,818 



Solder 72,626 



Storage batteries: 



Battery grids, posts, etc 280,386 



Battery oxides 302,160 



Terne metal 1,583 



Type metal 25,660 



Total 973,134 



Pigments : 



White lead 6,617 



Red lead and litharge 79,898 



Pigment colors 14,670 



Other (incl. leaded zinc oxide, etc) 1,201 



Total 102,386 



Chemicals : 



Gasoline antiknock additive 271,128 



Miscellaneous chemicals 602 



Total 271,730 



Miscellaneous uses: 



Annealing 4,252 



Galvanizing 1,797 



Lead plating 406 



Weights and ballast 17,366 



Total 23,821 



Other, unclassified uses 18,287 



Grand total' 1,389,358 



^ Includes lead that went directly from scrap to fabricated products. 



The consumption of lead in the United States is 

 dominated by its use in storage batteries and leaded 

 gasoline and in the construction industry, as shown 

 in table 64. Other important but apparently dimin- 

 ishing uses are in pigments, cable sheathing, type 

 metal, and ammunition. It is significant to note, 

 however, that only the lead used in paint pigments 

 and ammunition and in tetraethyl lead fluids and 

 other chemical compounds is nonrecoverable. Much 

 of the lead used for other purposes, particularly as 

 grids in storage batteries, is recyclable and even- 

 tually returns to the market in the form of scrap. 



From 1951 to 1971, the consumption of lead in 

 the United States increased from 1,185,000 short 

 tons to 1,380,000 short tons, an increase of 16.5 per- 

 cent, whereas increase in world consumption, from 



approximately 2,170,000 short tons to approximately 

 4,563,000 short tons, was 110 percent (U.S. Bur. 

 Mines unpub. data, 1972). The burgeoning world 

 consumption of lead as compared with United States 

 consumption is attributed to the expanding use of 

 passenger automobiles, trucks, and other modes of 

 transportation and to the growth of the communi- 

 cations industry throughout the world, especially 

 in Europe and Japan. 



OUTLOOK 



According to the U.S. Bureau of Mines survey 

 (Paone, 1970, p. 615), projection of population 

 growth statistics, consumption data, and other 

 factors to the year 2000 indicate a continuing in- 

 crease in the United States demand for lead in the 

 production of storage batteries, leaded gasoline, 

 bearings, and possibly in the construction industry; 

 in contrast, only moderate to small increases are 

 forecast for the use of lead in small-arms ammuni- 

 tion, insecticides, packaging, and radiation shields, 

 and decreases are anticipated in the printing indus- 

 try and in the manufacture of paint pigments. As 

 noted by Paone (1970, p. 615), the U.S. demand for 

 lead for storage batteries and leaded gasoline may 

 be expected to triple or quadruple during the next 

 30 years, whereas the demand for other uses is 

 expected to show only a fractional increase or an 

 actual decrease. The current antipollution standards, 

 if rigorously applied during this interval, undoubt- 

 edly will substantially modify the projected increase 

 for leaded gasoline through the greater use of diesel 

 engines, gas turbines, and electric vehicles and by 

 the continued development of low-lead or lead-free 

 high-octane gasolines. Similarly, the successful de- 

 velopment of lightweight sodium-sulfur and lithium- 

 or sodium-water batteries may substantially dimin- 

 ish the demand for the heavier, lead-acid batteries 

 despite the expected increase in the total number 

 of accessorized automobiles and trucks and electric 

 vehicles by the year 2000. 



All things considered, the large domestic resources 

 of lead appear to be adequate to supply an increas- 

 ingly larger proportion of the needs of the United 

 States, at least to the year 2000, despite the rapidly 

 expanding consumption of the rest of the world. 



EXPLOITATION 



Production of primary lead in the world and in 

 the United States and the United States consump- 

 tion of lead from all sources are summarized in 

 figure 39. It is estimated, in part using data pre- 

 sented by Smith (1929), that world production 

 from prehistoric time to 1969 was about 151,162,000 



