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COMPARATIVE OIL TRAFFIC
1960
19 79
As the maps illustrate graphically, the import of foreign oil
by
Western
countries has made South Africa's geographic locat ion at the
southern tip of Africa a strategic keystone for the Free World. In
1978,
it is est imated some
936
milli on tons of crude oil were transported
around the Cape of Good Hope sea route.
SOUTH AFRICA' S VITAL ROLE IN
WORLD MINERAL RESERVES
Calculated as percentage of !he West and
1
or
World Reserves
RAW MATERIAL
WESTERN
WOIILD
WDRLD
RESERVES
PDSinDN
.,.
POSITION
.,.
Vanadwm
90
49
PlatlnurnGroup
89
75
ChromeOre
84
81
ManganeseOre
93
78
Gold
64
51
Fluorspar
48
35
A.luminum,Silicate,
F~re-resistant
ma·
terials,(Anda·
lusite, Cyanrte)
45
34
01amonda
23
2
21
Venniculite
30
2
29
AnlilftOIIY
18
3
5
Uraflium
18
NA
NA
Asbestos
8
4
5
ZIIIC
10
5
8
lead
4
5
5
4
Nicbl
5
8
7
6
Hanium
5
8
6
Silver
6
6
4
Coal
10
6
6
lronOre
6
3
Copper
11
2
13
the 3.7000 million tons of known
chrome reserves in the world,
3.6000 million tons are in Rhode–
sia and South Africa. More criti–
ca! yet, geologists feel that in 20
years,
al/
remaining chrome re–
serves will 'be in the same two
countries.
.
Chrome is considered so vital
that for years, the United States
specifically exempted chrome
from the list of embargoed im–
ports from Rhodesia.
4
Chrome is so indispensable
that, according to Mr. Andrews,
"we would have to revert 40 to 50
years in our standard of living and
our technology in order to do
away with chrome completely. "
Chrome is more than any other
metal , the Achilles heel of the
U.S. economy. Without it , Amer–
ica would be brought quickly to
its knees.
Manganese.
This metal is es–
sentía! to the production of steel.
Without its qualities to capture
impurities, steel would tear , crack
and break. "When we can do
without steel , we can do without
manganese," reports the U.S.
Department of In terior. "We
don ' t know how to make steel
without manganese," adds Al–
legheny-Ludlum's Andrews.
"It
has no substitute."
The 'United States ha s no
recoverable manganese deposits.
Statistics vary considerably
about the primary deposits and
reserves of manganese (as they
do concerning most metals) but
acco.rding to one source, 50 per–
cent of the world's known recov–
erable reserves of manganese lie
in South Africa- with the other
50 percent inside the Soviet
Union. South Africa presently
supplies 78 percent of world
production.
Representative James Santini
of Nevada, a congressional expert
in strategic minerals, believes
that in manganese alone, the
industrialized West could not
survive without South Africa for
more than six months.
Coba/t.
Tbis space-age metal is
necessary for the superhard alloys
used in the aerospace industry.
Every jet engine requires 200
pounds of the metal. Cobalt is
also essential in the manufacture
of integrated circuits.
The United States, the world's
aerospace leader, must import 97
percent of its cobalt supply, most
of it from Shaba province in
Zaire, which produces two thirds
of the entire Free World supply.
Zaire twice, in 1977 and 1978,
almost fell to invading Commu–
nis t-backed forces striking out
from Angola. Rumors abound
that a third try will soon occur.
Alumina and Bauxite .
The
United States, despite being a
major world producer of alumi–
num metal , relies 93 percent on
imports for both of these two raw
materials for aluminum. The ma–
jor suppliers are Guinea and
J amaica, both facing unstable
política! futures.
Without low-weight , ,high–
strength aluminum, the aerospace
industry simply cannot exist.
Platinum.
This high-priced
metal, usually considered in the
precious metal category, is an
essential ingredient in the manu–
facture of catalytic converters
that reduce automobile pollu–
tants. South Africa again leads
the world in the production of the
platinum group of metals.
Go/d.
South Africa dominates
the world gold scene. Its yearly
output of more than 700 tons
contributes 51 percent of world
production. The Soviet Union is
second with about 30 percent. All
other producers are pygmies by
comparispn. The United States,
for example, contributes only 2.2
percent, Canada, 3.8 percent.
One cannot overexaggerate the
impact upon the world monetary
scene if South Africa's gold pro–
duction were to be withheld from
the market. The price of gold in
circulation would zoom to dizzy-
(Continued on page 43)
The
PLAIN TRUTH