Siam controls some important tin fields. The very strong British influence on the Malay Peninsula, coupled with the fact that the Siamese ore is smelted in the Straits Settlements, seems to indicate that British policy will largely dominate the tin-mining industry of Siam.
Bolivia, using little tin and producing nearly a quarter of the world’s output, is really the only considerable producer that can act more or less independently. Her mines are mostly controlled by Chilian-Bolivian capital and she has the world for a market. It would seem that Bolivian barilla might be smelted locally, but as Bolivia has no fuel, the tin smelting capacity of Bolivia amounts thus far to almost nothing. Her nearest market at present is the United States, but the future will show whether Bolivian ore will continue to be smelted in the United States, as during the past few years, or will be sent to England and Germany, as before the war.
The relation of political control of tin deposits and tin smelting is shown in the following table, and diagrammatically in [Figure 10].
Table 62.—Political Control of Tin Deposits and Smelters Based on Estimates for 1918
| Country | Control of tin deposits, annual output (metric tons) | Percentage of world output | Control of tin smelters, annual capacity (metric tons) | Percentage of world capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great Britain | 59,900 | 45.5 | 88,300 | 57.3 |
| Holland | 20,200 | 15.2 | 16,000 | 10.2 |
| China | 12,000 | 9.3 | 12,000 | 7.4 |
| Siam | 8,600 | 7.0 | ||
| Bolivia | 28,000 | 21.3 | 2,700 | 1.6 |
| Germany | ... | ... | 16,000 | 10.2 |
| France | ... | ... | 1,500 | 0.7 |
| America | ... | ... | 18,000 | 12.4 |
| All others | 2,000 | 1.7 | 500 | 0.2 |
| Total | 130,700 | 154,000 |
COMMERCIAL CONTROL OF TIN MINES
British capital is the dominant controlling factor of approximately 57 per cent. of the world’s tin output, and through affiliations with capital of other countries it has a partial control of about 15 per cent. more. British capital is dominant in all of the British possessions and Siam, and through buying agencies practically controls the export tin from China. Bolivian tin mines are the only ones in the world in which British control is not strongly felt. The largest part of the Bolivian output is under the financial control of Chilean financiers, with local capital the next strongest factor. French and German money has been invested to a limited extent in Bolivian mines.
Recently the firm of Guggenheim Brothers, of New York, connected with the American tin-smelting industry, has acquired certain tin mines in Bolivia.
COMMERCIAL CONTROL OF TIN SMELTING
British capital controls tin smelters with a yearly capacity of approximately 88,300 tons of tin a year. These are situated in England, Straits Settlements, and Australia. The tin deposits of undoubted British control can produce ore to furnish only 62,550 tons, so that England has a smelting capacity of 15,750 tons a year in excess of her supply.