The various combinations of British companies to insure British control of the resources of the empire, particularly of Australia and Burma, culminated in the formation of the British Metals Corporation for the sale of the output. A representative of the Imperial Treasury will be on the board of directors and either the Metal Bank of London or the Chemical & Metallurgical Bank may finance its operation, unless it absorbs their functions. This organization is doubtless intended to take the place of the Metallgesellschaft as the dominant factor in the lead industry of the world. It will have much influence, as British capital controls all the production of the British Isles, Australia, Burma, Canada, and normally Siberia, most of that of Italy, part of that of Spain and Mexico, and perhaps of Greece. Probably the British Isles will not in the future desilverize as much foreign lead as formerly, so that the importance of this basis of commercial control will be greatly decreased.
The Société Minerais et Metaux, comprising all producers controlled by French capital, under government auspices is selling and purchasing agent for its members, and controls all the French and most of the Grecian production, more than half of that of Spain and Belgium, besides the ores of northern Africa and of Egypt.
Since the elimination of alien-enemy holdings by the Alien Property Custodian, United States capital controls substantially all the domestic production and nearly all that of Mexico, besides some ores imported from Mexico, Canada, and South America. Notwithstanding large ore reserves and reduction capacity, the United States is expected, after the period of readjustment, to supply its domestic needs, but to export little lead, as was the case prior to the war.
The position of Germany will depend largely upon arrangements for foreign ore supply. Some Mexican ore production may still be under German control. Belgium is wholly dependent on foreign ore, which presumably will be obtained largely from Australia; and with more than half her production controlled by French capital, she will be under British and French domination; but she consumes most of her smelter output. Italy consumes 50 per cent. more than the domestic production, which is chiefly controlled by English capital. None of the states formed by the disintegration of the Austro-Hungarian Empire will be of importance in the lead industry.
The commercial control of the smelter production of lead, calculated from the latest statistics available, is approximately as follows: United States, 48.6 per cent.; British Empire, 17.2 per cent.; Germany, 15.3 per cent.; and France, 12.7 per cent.; or a total for the four powers of 93.8 per cent. of the pig-lead output of the world.
CHAPTER XVI
ZINC
By Frederick B. Hyder
USES OF ZINC
Metallic zinc, or spelter, as the commercial metal is often known in the trade, is chiefly used in the form of rolled sheets; in galvanizing; in alloys forming brass and bronze; and in the desilverization of lead bullion. Rolled sheets are used for roofs, tanks, conduits, and protective linings. Iron and steel objects are dipped into baths of molten spelter and coated with the metal or galvanized, being thereby protected from oxidizing agencies. Other methods of applying this protective coating are also in use.
Zinc and copper unite in all proportions, forming alloys known as brass which are of widespread industrial application. There is only one definite alloy; it corresponds approximately to CuZn2, contains 33 per cent. copper and 67 per cent. zinc, is hard and brittle and of little practical value. All other brasses may be considered as solid solutions of this definite alloy in an excess of one of its constituents. Brasses in use vary in zinc content from 20 to 85 per cent. and differ greatly in their properties according to the composition. Alloys of zinc and aluminum have valuable properties, especially those containing 25 to 35 per cent. zinc. Other alloys used contain, besides copper and zinc, either lead, tin or nickel.
The Parkes process of desilverizing lead bullion has superseded the older Pattinson and cupellation process, except where bismuth is present, owing to the avidity with which zinc robs the bullion of gold, silver, copper and tellurium. This purification may be made as perfect as desired or only to a commercially profitable point, generally being brought down to a content of one-half ounce of silver per ton of lead.