UNITED STATES TARIFF COMMISSION VANADIUM ORE (PAR. 1719) Tariff Status Par. 1719. Vanadium ore or concentrates are classified as "minerals, crude, or not advanced in value or condition by refining or grinding, or by other process of manufacture, n.e.p.f."; as such they were free of duty under the Tariff Act of 1922, and are free of duty also under the Tariff Act of 1930. Their duty-free status was bound in the trade agreement with Peru, effective July 1942. A ruling of the Treasury Department had held that "vanadium concentrates containing approximately 12 percent to 16 percent vanadium and resulting from the concentration of a mixture of vanadium ores of substantially different vanadium contents by processes producing no chemical changes not incidental to the removal of the gangue" were free of duty under paragraph 1719; and the treatment accorded these products pursuant to this ruling was specifically bound against change in the trade agreement with Peru. Trade Statistics Table 1.- Vanadium ore or concentrates: United States production, and imports, in specified years, 1933 to 1947 1/ Represents mine shipments of carnotite and vanadium ores and complex ores and concentrates as reported by the U. S. Bureau of Mines. 2/ All from Peru except in 1943, when 1,878 short tons of ore or concentrates, valued at $263,749, containing 247 short tons of vanadium was imported from the Union of South Africa. 3/ Not available. Source: Production, official statistics of the U. S. Bureau of Mines; imports, official statistics of the U. S. Department of Commerce. Note.- Exports are small and were not separately reported before 1941 (see text). Comment This summary covers vanadium ores and concentrates but excludes vanadiumbearing flue dust and boiler scale recovered from steamships burning Venezuelan oil. Although during World War II considerable quantities of vanadium were recovered from flue dust and boiler scale, vanadium obtained from these sources is ordinarily of minor significance. The most common ore minerals of vanadium are carnotite, patronite, roscoelite, and vanadinite. The ores are concentrated and the vanadium in the concentrates is converted to vanadium pentoxide (V205) by chemical processes. While some of the pentoxide is consumed directly, more than 90 percent is converted to ferrovanadium, SUMMARIES OF TARIFF INFORMATION VANADIUM ORE (PAR. 1719) Consumption of vanadium--and hence demand for vanadium ores and concentrates— is small but of strategic importance. Consumption fluctuates in rather close conformity with production of steel. Over 95 percent of the vanadium, primarily in the form of ferrovanadium, is consumed in the manufacture of special alloy irons and steels to which it imparts high tensile strength, hardenability, and shockresisting qualities. The remainder of the vanadium is consumed in the nonferrous metals, high-octane aviation gasoline, chemical, glass, ceramic, and pigment industries. Based on the vanadium content of ores and concentrates produced in this country and those imported, domestic industries consume in peacetime between 1,000 and 1,500 tons of vanadium annually. Vanadium ores, including carnotite, are mined in Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Idaho, and New Mexico. Most of the United States production as well as the processing is controlled by two domestic companies. There are also many small operators (about 30 or 40 at the present time). One of the large concerns also operates the active vanadium deposits in Peru. In the years immediately preceding the outbreak of World War II United States output increased steadily, rising from 543 short tons (vanadium content) in 1937 to 992 tons in 1939 (see table 1). In 1941 production amounted to 1,257 tons, and the United States displaced Peru as the world's leading producer. Largely as a result of special assistance by the Government, United States production continued to increase sharply during the war and reached an all-time high of about 2,800 tons in 1943. With the termination of the Government vanadium-ore-purchasing program in 1944 output declined, and in 1946 it totaled 636 tons. It exceeded 1,000 tons in 1947. The United States has relied on imports for a substantial part of its domestic needs for vanadium. Before the war from one-half to two-thirds of the total supply in the United States was obtained from abroad. During World War II imports contributed about 30 percent of domestic requirements; in 1947 they supplied 32 percent. Imports showed an upward trend before the war, increasing from 629 tons (vanadium content) in 1937 to 1066 tons in 1939 (see table 1). reached a peak of 1,287 tons in 1940 and receded to slightly above the 1939 level during the war. Imports declined sharply after the end of hostilities. In 1947 they amounted to 492 tons. They Peru has been the only foreign source of supply except during the war, when small amounts of vanadium ore and concentrates were imported also from the Union of South Africa. Exports from Peru are subject to an export tax 1 and other charges. United States exports of vanadium ore or concentrates were not separately reported in official statistics before 1941 but are known to have been negligible. In 1943, the vanadium content of vanadium ore and concentrates (together with some fused vanadium) exported amounted to 19 short tons valued at $147,000. In 1946 and 1947, exports amounted to 3 short tons valued at $41,000 and 4 tons valued at $16,000, respectively. Exports have gone to Australia, Canada, India, Iran, Italy, Switzerland, France, and the Soviet Union. Under Peruvian law (Law No. 8077, Mar. 30, 1935), the ores and concentrates, chemical and physical, of vanadium which are exported, whatever the grade, pay a tax of $1.50 per ton net weight when the price of the metal in ferrovanadium is $3 per pound or less in the United States market. When the price is between $3 and $4, the duty per ton increases by 50 cents for each 10 cents in excess of $3; and when the price exceeds $4, the duty per ton increases by $1 for each 10 cents in excess of $4. UNITED STATES TARIFF COMMISSION ZIRCONIUM ORE Tariff Status Par. 1719. Zirconium ores and concentrates, crude, or not advanced in value or condition, which were free of duty under the Tariff Act of 1922, are free of duty also under the Tariff Act of 1930. Their duty-free status was bound in the trade agreement with Brazil, effective January 1936, and in the Geneva agreement. Trade Statistics Table 1.- Zirconium ores and concentrates: United States exports (foreign value) Australia Brazil India All other Value (dollars) 3/ 3/ 3/ 7,805 17,285 25,583 24,137 129,576 62,138 49,919 697,704 453,458 958,783 571,161 77,897 2,700 22,557 418,306 387,190 688,456 414,817 Imports from Australia contain considerable quantities of ilmenite and rutile. 2/ Preliminary. 3/ Not available. Less than one-half short ton. Source: Official statistics of the U. S. Department of Commerce. Note.- Statistics on United States production of zirconium ores are not avail SUMMARIES OF TARIFF INFORMATION ZIRCONIUM ORE (PAR. 1719) Comment This summary covers zirconium ores and concentrates. The commercial zirconium ores are zircon and baddeleyite. Zircon, a silicate of zirconium, occurs in pegmatites, but the chief sources of supply are beach sands where the mineral is associated with monazite, ilmenite, and rutile. Baddeleyite (zirconium oxide) also occurs in beach sands as well as in inland deposits. At present Australia is the world's chief source of zircon, whereas Brazil is the only source of baddeleyite. as Zircon is the principal raw material for the production of zirconium metal, zirconium oxide, and other zirconium compounds. The oxides and other compounds are widely used as opacifiers in enamels, supplanting antimony and tin oxide; ingredients in the manufacture of special porcelains and glassware such as chemical equipment, where they impart resistance to shock, heat, and corrosion; as ingredients for a nonpoisonous coating applied to tin cans to resist corrosion by citrus fruits and juices; in the manufacture of abrasives, spark plugs, and electrical heating units; in gas mantles, "calcium lights," and X-ray photography; and in the rubber, dyeing, and tanning industries. Pure zirconium metal 1 is marketed in the form of wire, sheet, and powder. The wire is used in the manufacture of electric bulbs and radio tubes; in the production of electrodes for spot welding; in filaments in Nernst lamps; and as a substitute for platinum compounds in the strip decorating of glassware. Zirconium sheet is used in the manufacture of rayon spinneret cups. In powder form zirconium metal is used in blasting caps and primers, and in flashlight powders, Commercial and military flares, tracer ammunition, and fireworks. Baddeleyite is used mainly in the production of ferro zirconium alloys. 2/ These alloys are used as scavengers, deoxidizers, and grain refiners in the production of steel with high ductility and resistance to shock and fatigue. Other essential uses are for special welding-rod coatings and for special refractories. Both zircon and baddeleyite are strategic and critical materials listed for stockpiling. The United States is dependent upon imports for most of its requirements of zirconium ores. There are no known domestic deposits of baddeleyite, and zircon has been produced to a limited extent only since 1940. Florida is the only State producing zircon currently, although some was produced in Oregon during the war. Statistics on domestic output are not available, but it is known that production in 1948 amounted to several thousand tons. United States imports of zirconium ores fluctuated greatly in prewar years; they averaged about 4,800 tons annually, valued at $80,000, in 1937-39. They increased sharply during the war and in 1943 amounted to 28,400 tons, valued at close to $700,000. Imports have remained at a high level in recent years and for 1946-48 averaged annually about 22,800 tons, valued at $661,000. The average unit foreign value of imports increased from $16.71 per ton during 1937-39 to $29.02 per ton in 1946-48, which explains in part the increase in the average annual total value of postwar imports in comparison with prewar years. See separate summary on barium, boron, columbium (or niobium), strontium, tantalum, thorium, titanium, uranium, vanadium, and zirconium metals, paragraph 302(n). 2/ See separate summaries on ferro zirconium and zirconium ferrosilicon, paragraph 302(m); and zirconium silicon, paragraph 302(n). UNITED STATES TARIFF COMMISSION ZIRCONIUM ORE Australia, British India, and Brazil have been virtually the only sources of imports. Imports from Brazil consist almost entirely of baddeleyite, those from British India of zircon, and imports from Australia are mixed concentrates containing ilmenite and rutile as well as zircon (see footnote 1, table 1). Statistics on domestic exports of zirconium ores from the United States are available beginning with 1941, but it is believed that prior to that year exports were negligible or nil. Exports since 1941 have been small and in 1948 amounted to 312 tons, valued at about $24,000. |