The Position of the lndustry in Canadian Non ... Ferrous Mineral the World Economy
S INCE the beginning of this century the non-ferrons mineral industry has contributed $1'7,809,- 000,000 to the economy growth of Canada. To contemplate the vast amount of investment capital required and the resultant beneficial distribution of these billions of dollars for labour, transportation, supplies, taxes and dividends, challenges the imagination. It is the purpose of this paper, (a) to trace the development of the industry since its formative period to the present; (b) to discuss the eurrent situation and problems; and ( c) to attempt to peer into the hazy future. Although there a re 21 metals currently being produced in Canada which are classified as non-ferrons, or as alloying metals, copper, lead, zinc, nickel-the metals which will be discussed in this paper-constitute almost 60 percent of their total value. ;The story of Canadian copper, lead, zinc and nickel since the turn of the Twentieth Century has been {)ne of steady growth to a World War I peak; a post-war depression to a peacetime boom in the late Twenties; follow ed by the world depression of the Thirties, and again steady growth to World War II; war effort production at a high level; and boo mining post-war development. From a small combined value of $9.2 million in 1900; to a peak of $74.0 million in 1918; to a post World War I depression low of $19.1 million; growth was steady until 1929. The depth of the depression year of 1932 saw another low of $32.0 million. A consistent World War II level of about $170.0 million was the base from which a remarkable growth to a 1960 production rate of $725.6 million has taken place. (Table I , Ch art 1) . In order to present a realistic picture, in terms of 1939 dollars these are $14.6; $44.2; $13.2; $170.0 and $312.1 million $36.5; respectively
Keywords:
Atlantic Coast Copper Corp. Ltd., Canadian, Eastern Canada, Nic/cel Nickel, Zinc Zinc, Canadian, copper, Mine, Mines, nickel, Production, zinc
