Mineral Facts and Problems: 1960 Edition Page: 80
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MINERAL FACTS AND PROBLEMS, ANNIVERSARY EDITION
no commercial use has been found. The pos-
sibility of recovering magnesia from it has been
proposed, but no practical method has been
developed.
SUBSTITUTES AND SYNTHETICS
Fiberglass is used as a substitute for asbestos
in some applications, chiefly in the field of heat
insulation. Fabrics woven with a plied yarn
having one strand each of glass and asbestos
yarn are advantageous for some uses where
light weight and high strength are needed.
Glass filaments in submicron sizes made by
highly refined processes involving the use of
platinum dies are technically satisfactory sub-
stitutes for amosite in blanket insulation, but
the cost is five or six times as great as that of
amosite. Fiberglass is not a satisfactory sub-
stitute for asbestos in friction materials or
asbestos-cement products.
Silicone products, organic compounds, and
plastics are used as substitutes in certain limited
applications. The use of calcium silicate, di-
atomite, and magnesia in some instances re-
duces asbestos requirements in end products.
Aluminum sheets are being used as a partial
substitute for asbestos where insulation against
radiant heat is required.
Synthetic asbestos has not yet been made com-
mercially. Its current status is covered later
in the section devoted to research.
RESERVES
In Vermont a reserve of at least 1 million
tons of fiber appears to be assured. A small
proportion of this quantity is of spinning
lengLh. The Arizona reserve is difficult to esti-
mate but is probably small. The U.S. reserve
according to present estimates is far from
adequate to meet current or future demands.
The world as a whole appears to have an
adequate asbestos reserve for at least 25 to 30
years at current or moderately enlarged rates of
output. The chief suppliers of U.S. markets--
Canada and Africa-appear to have ade-
quate reserves for long-range planning. The
U.S.S.R. reserve is probably large enough to
supply its domestic economy in war or peace
for many years.
SOURCE OF STATISTICAL INFORMATION
Statistics on asbestos are available from
many countries. Domestic production figures
are assembled annually by the Bureau of
Mines; imports and exports are collected by the
Bureau of the Census, Department of Com-
merce, and are assembled by the Division of
Foreign Activities of the Bureau of Mines.
Production and international trade figures of
foreign countries appear in official publicationsof the several countries and are assembled by
the Bureau of Mines. Direct canvasses are also
made by the Bureau through the offices of For-
eign Trade Advisers. The principal statistics
thus assembled appear annually in the chapter
on Asbestos of the Bureau of Mines Minerals
Yearbook.
PRODUCTION, CONSUMPTION, AND
FOREIGN TRADE
World production of asbestos by country of
origin is given in table 1. Most of the asbestos
production is chrysotile asbestos, but 100,000 to
150,000 tons of the world's production each
year consists of amosite and crocidolite. Table
2 shows the production of these two varieties
of asbestos by country of origin.
TABLE 1.-World production of asbestos, unmanufac-
tured, by principal countries
[Thousand short tons]
1949-53
Country (aver- 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958
age)
---------- --
Australia _ --------------I 3! 5 6 11 16 16
Canada (sales) -------------- 853 924 1,064 1,014 1,046 925
China (estimate) ....----------- 6 15 23 26 33 39
Cyprus (exports) ........... 17 15 15 15 15 15
Finland------------ --- 12 8 19 8 10 8
France__-- --- - -- 5 14 11 9 11 21
Italy----------------------- 24 26 35 36 38 40
Japan________________ 5 7 7 10 13 , 11
Southern Rhodesia ..... 80 80 105 119 132 127
Swaziland- ......... ....... 33 30 33 30 31 25
Union of South Africa ...-. 99 109 120 137 157 175
U.S.S.R. (estimate) .... 250 375 450 500 500 550
United States (sales)........ 49 48 45 41 44 44
Other countries (estimate)l_ 9 14 17 24 24 24
Total (estimate)-... _ 1, 445 1, 670 1,950 1,980 2, 070 2, 020
1 Includes small production in about 20 countries.
The United States is the largest consumer of
asbestos in the world. Table 3 shows consump-
tion over a period of years.
During the years 1949 to 1953 the United
States consumed on an average about 50 percent
of the total world production. Domestic con-
sumption more than doubled from 1945 to
1951, but thereafter it remained fairly constant,
while world production continued to increase.
In 1958 the United States consumed about 34
percent of the total world production.
TABLE 2.-World production of amosite and crocidolite
[Thousand short tons]1949-53
(average)Amosite:
Union of South Africa_
Crocidolite:
Union of South Africa.
Australia _
Bolivia ..______________
1 Less than 500 tons.48
34
2
(1)1954
46
44
4
(I)1955
50
49
51956
50
62
8
(1)1957
57
75
12
(1)1958
70
78
1380
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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/m1/88/?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.