Mineral Facts and Problems: 1960 Edition Page: 35
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ALUMINUM
The increase in aluminum consumption has
resulted, in part, from the decrease in the price
of aluminum in relation to other metals. His-
torically a 1 percent decrease in the ratio of
the price of aluminum to the composite price
of copper, lead, and zinc has increased alumi-
num consumption by 1.4 percent.
SECONDARY SOURCES AND RECOVERY
The recovery of secondary aluminum, from
1954 through 1958, as reported to the Bureau
of Mines, averaged 16 percent of the apparent
consumption of primary and secondary alumi-
num. The scrap from which secondary alumi-
num is recovered is designated as either "new
scrap" or "old scrap." New scrap is generated
from (1) fabricating operations such as alloy-
ing, stamping, forging, extruding, machining,
and casting and (2) rejected semifabricated
and manufactured items. Old scrap is alumi-
num that has been used in end products and is
collected for metal recovery after the products
are worn out or discarded. New scrap con-
sumption and metal recovery data are based
on quantities treated outside of the generating
plant and do not include "run-around" scrap
consumed in the generating plant.
New scrap is the source of nearly 80 percent
of the secondary aluminum recovered. The
relatively small recovery from old scrap re-
flects the fact that the aluminum industry is a
new and growing industry. Moreover, the
high ratio (4:1) of new to old aluminum scrap
shows that old aluminum-containing products
are not being replaced as rapidly as new ones
are going into use. The tonnage of aluminum
in use represents a growing reservoir of old
scrap for the future.
Consumers of scrap aluminum are divided
into four major categories: (1) Secondary
smelters, (2) primary producers and fabrica-
tors, (3) foundries and miscellaneous manu-
facturers, and (4) chemical plants. The sec-
ondary smelters accounted for 72 percent of
the scrap consumed from 1954 through 1958.
During this period smelters produced an aver-
age of 270,000 tons of secondary aluminum
ingot annually. Much of this was consumed in
the production of castings.
As indicated by the data in table 7, small
quantities of aluminum are recovered from
nonaluminum-base alloy scrap and some of the
aluminum recovered is consumed in the pro-
duction of such alloys and also in ahuninous
chemicals.
RESERVES
Reserves and resources of bauxite are tab-
ulated in the Alumina and Bauxite Chapter.35
TABLE 7.-Aluminum recovered from scrap processed in
the United States, by kind of scrap and form of re-
covery [Short tons]
1957 1958
KIND OF SCRAP
New scrap:
Aluminum-base--- --- 288, 682 224, 983
Copper-base------------- 124 64
Zinc-base ---------------- 326 240
Magnesium-base--------- 228 141
Total______________ 289, 360 225, 428
Old scrap:
Aluminum-base _ _ _ _ _ 71, 655 62, 995
Copper-base----_ _-_ -115 105
Zinc-base --------------- 275 653
Magnesium-base --------- 414 374
Total__ _72, 459 64, 127
Grandtotal-----------361,819 289, 555
FORM OF RECOVERY
As metal________________ 9, 218 7, 924
Aluminum alloys--------__ 346, 775 277, 197
In brass and bronze_ 397 217
In zinc-base alloys------____ 2, 880 2, 001
In magnesium alloys --------- 320 242
In chemical compounds-- __. 2, 229 1, 974
Grand total--------_ 361, 819 289, 555
SOURCES OF STATISTICAL INFORMATION
Data on production, shipments, stocks, and
value of primary aluminum are obtained
monthly from all domestic producers by the
Bureau of Mines. Alumina consumption is ob-
tained annually. The Bureau also canvasses,
on a monthly basis, secondary smelters and
other scrap consumers to determine stocks and
receipts of scrap from which monthly con-
sumption is calculated. Production of ingot
by secondary smelters is calculated from their
monthly reports of stocks and shipments.
Coverage of the secondary aluminum industry
is estimated at more than 80 percent. Data on
the operations of the members of the Alumi-
num Smelters Research Institute are obtained
from that association. The data on both pri-
mary and secondary aluminum are published
monthly and annually; the secondary data in-
clude an estimate for full coverage of the in-
dustry.
The Bureau of the Census collects and pub-
lishes monthly data on net shipments of alumi-
num wrought and cast products. The Bureau
of the Census also obtains monthly informa-
tion on imports and exports of all forms of
aluminum. The 1954 Census of Manufacturers
included statistics on employment, materials
consumed, electric energy purchased, and ex-
penditures for plant and equipment.
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United States. Bureau of Mines. Mineral Facts and Problems: 1960 Edition, report, 1960; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc38790/m1/43/?rotate=90: accessed March 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.