Aluminum Resources of the United States

jN November, 1941, the United States Geological Survey estimated our known bauxite reserves at little more than 18,000,000 tons of commercially usable ore, plus about 11,000,000 tons of low-grade ore. From 1936 to 1940 we consumed on the average slightly less than 400,000 tons annually, and in addition imported almost an equal amount. On this basis, known resources then would have met our needs for about 45 years. Even meeting all our requirements from domestic production, known resources would have supplied our needs for 25 years. With approach of war, increased production, and at average annual rate of copsumption during 1941-1945 (2,758,974 tons), they would have been exhausted in seven years. Our average annual imports during the five-year period were nearly one million tons. Meeting our total requirements from domestic reserves would have exhausted them by the end of the period. Obviously something had to be done, and immediately. Three possibilities seemed to present themselves: (1) known resources might be extended by exploration leading to new discoveries, (2) improvement of current processes by which metallic aluminum was produced from bauxite to permit economic utilization of low-grade ores, and (3) utilization of nonbauxitic aluminous materials as sources of alumina and metallic aluminum

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