The Tungsten Industry of the U.S.S.R. Page: 18
iv, 50 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 28 cm.View a full description of this report.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
18
The relationship between North Korea and the
U.S.S.R. with regard to tungsten trade is not so clearly
defined as that between China and the U.S.S.R. North
Korea has long been regarded as a substantial producer of
tungsten concentrates, although statistical substantiation
of this output has been almost nonexistent. Thorough
review of trade statistics of potential importers among
market economy countries reveals only occasional receipts
of tungsten concentrates to North Korea during the years
1960-86, and the quantity of such receipts has never
totalled more than 140 metric tons in any one year, an
amount that can be contrasted with an annual production,
estimated to range between a low of 1,000 metric tons and
a high of 4,600 metric tons of concentrates (gross weight)
within the years 1947-86. Thus, even at the lowest level of
production, a very substantial quantity of tungsten con-
centrates has been produced in each year for which there
is no evident market. It must be presumed that if produc-
tion estimates are correct, a fairly large proportion of this
output must have been directed to the U.S.S.R., for there
certainly is no large internal demand for tungsten in
North Korea, and it would seem unlikely that any major
amount would be shipped to China for use there, because
of that country's pre-eminence among world tungsten
producers. Of course, shipments may have been made to
China in repayment for goods obtained from the Chinese,
but such material would be in addition to that country's
own production, creating an even larger exportable supply.
It is also possible that a part of North Korea's produc-
tion has moved to the CMEA countries that do not report
tungsten concentrate imports specifically but available
information on their receipts of materials in the broad
categories of metallic ores are insufficient to judge
whether tungsten is included or not.
It is known, however, from Soviet import returns on
the broad category of metallic ores and on detail on
shipments of lead and zinc bearing materials into the
U.S.S.R. from the North Korea, that Soviet imports of
tungsten concentrates from North Korea had to be nil in
the six years 1961-66 inclusive. Aside from this period,
however, it is apparent that the U.S.S.R. imported some
metallic ore and/or concentrate from North Korea during
1950-60-something other than lead- and zinc-bearing
material, and the obvious possibilities are tungsten con-
centrate, a limited amount of copper-bearing material,
and possible titanium-bearing materials. For this report,
it has been assumed that a significant share of North
Korea's estimated tungsten concentrate output has been
directed to the U.S.S.R., as indicated in table 5.
The Soviet Union also has imported tungsten in the
forms of tungsten concentrates and tungsten middlings
from Mongolia. There are official Soviet data on such
imports only for the years 1972-75 inclusive, but general,
non-statistical reporting suggests that shipments began
as early as 1961 or before, and that they have continued to
the present. Indeed, there is no evidence to suggest that
any of Mongolia's production has been destined for any
market other than that of the U.S.S.R., although it could
be debated that portions of this production could have been
sent to other CMEA countries that do not report imports of
tungsten concentrates as separate line items. For many
years, up through those for which the U.S.S.R. reported
imports, output, and therefore exports, were undoubtedly
small, but by 1981, production was estimated to have
reached about 2,000 metric tons of concentrates on a 60%
WO basis. There is no evidence of any processing of this
material to any more advanced state within Mongolia,hence there is no domestic consumption in that country,
and lacking any indication of deliveries elsewhere, it is
assumed that the entire output has been exported to the
U.S.S.R.
Examination of export statistics of all major market
economy countries that produce tungsten concentrates in
significant quantities, as well as export statistics of mar-
ket economy countries that engage in entrepot trade in the
commodity, produced data on shipments to the U.S.S.R. by
only nine countries between 1949 and 1986-Australia,
the Federal Republic of Germany, Hong Kong, the Neth-
erlands, Peru, Singapore, Spain, the United Kingdom and
the United States. The data collected for these countries is
shown in table 6. It should be noted, however, that export
statistics are not the best means of measuring actual
receipts, for once a shipment has left the country of origin,
there is no way to record its ultimate destination, and
re-sale of such relatively low-volume, relatively high-value
materials as tungsten concentrates cannot be regarded as
unlikely. Hence, these shipments to the U.S.S.R. may not
have ultimately reached that country, and conversely,
shipments originally destined for other countries may
have been subsequently diverted to the Soviet Union. The
figures obtained by this "backwards" trade method thus
may be regarded with some suspicion, but they are all that
is available for all years save 1972-75, when the U.S.S.R.
reported total imports of tungsten concentrates (not just
imports from China).
Although it is considered that the foregoing repre-
sents a reasonably reliable measurement of deliveries of
tungsten concentrates from China to the U.S.S.R., data are
wholly inadequate to formulate estimates of similar trade
in more advanced forms of tungsten-ammonium para-
tungstate, tungstic oxide, tungstic acid, tungsten carbide,
tungsten-bearing ferroalloys, and tungsten metal and
other alloys, whether unwrought or wrought. No official
Soviet import statistics on these materials have been
published, but it is known that China exports each of some
in fairly substantial amounts, to the United States and to
other market economy countries, but the total amount
exported is reported only in the case of a category de-
scribed as "tungsten metal" (which is not clearly specified
as to whether it represents simply unwrought metal or
includes semimanufactures). This reporting is also limited
in time span, covering only 1981-86, as follows in metric
tons: 1981-494, 1982-183, 1983-65, 1984-79,
1985-156, 1986-365. Relatively little of these tonnages
can be accounted for in import statistics of market econ-
omy countries, hence it seems likely that significant
shares of the foregoing totals are delivered to the countries
of Eastern Europe, including the Soviet Union, but there
is no way to reliably quantify such deliveries by destina-
tion. Likewise, it is suspected that quantities of the totally
unreported products such as the others itemized previ-
ously may indeed be marketed by China in the U.S.S.R.
and other CMEA countries, but available information is
inadequate to formulate reliable estimates of the levels of
such shipments.
Beyond the possibility of Chinese exports to the
U.S.S.R. in these more advanced forms of tungsten, there
may well be an appreciable delivery of such materials from
other countries, but available information is too spotty to
discern any patterns or trends. The lack of information on
direct shipments is complicated further by the possibilities
for re-direction of exports once they leave the country of
origin, and further still be inadequate and/or nonexistent
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This report can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Report.
Rabchevsky, George A., 1936-. The Tungsten Industry of the U.S.S.R., report, 1988; [Washington D.C.]. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc40315/m1/24/: accessed April 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.