Algeria.
—Algeria produced 82,256 tons of zinc ore in 1913. Of the 78,973 tons whose origin is known, 31 per cent. of the total was extracted by Belgian companies and the remainder was produced by French operators.
Japan.
—The only important zinc-producing district in Japan is the Province of Hida. The principal companies are the Osaka Zinc Mining & Smelting Co., Takata & Co., the Rhuara Mining Co., and the Mitsui Mining Co. The largest producer is the Kamioka Mine of the last named, which produces annually about 10,000 tons. The Osaka Mining Co. also produces from Korea (Chosen) about 15,000 tons of ore annually.
The annual smelting capacity in Japan, with all projected construction completed, is estimated at 300,000 tons of zinc ore, whereas the domestic output of ore is about 50,000 tons. The difference has been imported chiefly from Siberia, China, Tonkin and Australia. In the future it is expected that the foreign ores will come chiefly from China and Siberia. The domestic spelter production has reached about 60,000 tons annually and the domestic consumption 29,000 tons.
Spain.
—Zinc ores are produced in the provinces of Santander, Murcia, Tereul, Biscay and Guipuzcoa. The only district of importance is that of Santander, where there is a zinc smelter owned by the Compagnie Royale Asturienne des Mines (French). Some of the ore is smelted in France. Most of the Spanish ores are calamine and occur almost without exception in limestone. Eighty per cent. of the Spanish production comes from Santander and Murcia. In the latter the mines are worked primarily for lead.
Russia.
—The zinc output of the Russian Empire was derived from Russian Poland, eastern Siberia, the Altai Mountains in southwestern Siberia, and the northern Caucasus Mountains. The Polish deposits are part of the Silesian field. The ores are largely carbonates and silicates. Some of the mines and plants were owned by the Russian government, others apparently by French companies. In eastern Siberia, the Tyuticha mine has a calamine orebody containing at least 200,000 tons averaging 48 per cent. zinc. Some ore has come from the Ussurisk district. It is believed that the Mitsui Mining Co. has made arrangements to ship ores from this district to Japan for treatment.
In the Altai Mountains of southwestern Siberia the Ridder Mining Co., controlled by the Irtysh Corporation, Ltd., of London, has developed two large deposits on the same mineralized zone, with ore reserves estimated in 1917 at over 3,500,000 tons. The possibilities of this property are immense. The company has acquired the Ekibastus coal fields, constructed about 165 miles of railroad and provided river transport, thus bringing the ore and coal together at a smelting plant having a capacity of 15,000 tons lead and 5,000 tons spelter annually.