Document jBBLLL5pxg2RzzG56wakEKNMy

4 MINERALS YEARBOOK, 1981 s tfSSft 88SSSS8S A t SiSSnS * Table*4.--U.S. asbestos consumption by end use, grade, and type (M etric tone) 348.800 ij i <* s ss 8 <E s 41 P (J 35 * A I i|::: ::::: :g : I S8B8S 18SSS888 1 Jfcsss " 52------ 1 o v> I Ot*- M ::::: ' mi mu as g a'c'a's " s'= * 3 Cv tf) 1 1 6 iu 1 C3 So" 1--1 :rg-' : 'uls --l : as 1Os 8m-*J u : aVss as 1 s' i 1 :|| 1 :|I;: a | o$ > 1 O * i 5f -S ; :g| ;g ; ;gsg | ::;:: s 11C lljij II 1 t 1 1 i ijf i i i i 11 11 1 iliHlglpl i i! 1 Jul*i 1g < rt a on.n .ifn 0002881 ASBESTOS 5 used in asbestos-cement pipe and crocidolite the rest. Flooring products with 20%, fric tion products with 14%, roofing products with 9%, and asbestos-cement sheet and packing and gaskets with 6% each, were the other major uses. One percent of the chrysotile used was spinning grades 1, 2, or 3. Of the rest, the grade Ts were the most used at 63%, the 4's next at 24%, the 5's at 16%, and the 6's at 6%. PRICES Cassiar Resources, Inc., started the year optimistically with price increases that averaged 12% higher than those of 1980. Most other Western Hemisphere producers raised their published prices by varying amounts. The depressed markets and high producer inventories, though, made for a buyer's market with much selling below the listed prices. Because most of the asbestos used in the United States came from Cana da, Quebec prices set the pattern. Quebec prices are given below Quotations for Asbestos Corp. (Quebec) chrysotile, f.o.b. mine, as of January 1,1981, follow: Grade 32 to SF_____ 4Tto4A___ 52 to 5D____ 6D................. TTStoTD___ Drwhption Spinmnc fiber- Ajibeatofrcement fiber. Paper fiber_____ Paper end ahinfle fiber. Short* Value per metric ten ChnSl.32542.lM 937- 1.384 548- 757 450- 470 138- 278 African asbestos producers privately ne gotiate sales, thereby ruling out market quotations. The following tabulation shows the average value per metric ton of imports from the Republic of South Africa, regard less of grade, calculated from 1981 and previous U.S. Department of Commerce data: Type Amjeite _ Croetdohle___ Chryaotile ... 1977 1589 582 485 1978 $569 624 451 1979 8577 686 679 1980 $902 689 <92 1961 1725 676 595 FOREIGN TRADE There was a 2% increase in the value of asbestos and asbestos products exported from the United States in 1981 over that of 1980. The fiber share of the export dollar remained at 13% in 1981. All of the gain was accounted for by a 2.4% increase in the value of manufactured asbestos products. There was a 23% decrease in the unit value of imported fibers to (430 in 1981. In 1981, the United States recovered 160% of the cost of imported asbestos by exporting and reexporting fibers and prod ucts. Canada remained the largest user of U.S. asbestos and products accounting for 34% of the value of exports of these products in 1981, followed by Mexico, 14%, and Saudi Arabia, 7%. Other major buyers of U.S. asbestos and products were, in descending order, Japan, Venezuela, Australia, the United Kingdom, the Federal Republic of Germany, Colombia, and the Netherlands. Canada provided 94% of the asbestos fiber imported into the United States in 1981, and the Republic of South Africa provided 5%. Several countries provided the remainder^ Chrysotile again dominated the imported types with 98% of the total. The dollar value of imported fiber in 1961 was 13% higher than that of 1980. CAPCO JEN ASBESTOS 7 Table 7.--U.S. imports for consumption of asbestos fibers by type, origin, and value Type 1979.. Canada Quantity (metric tons' Value (thou sands) 495.914 1123.673 Republic of South Africa Quantity (metric tons' Value fthou- aands) 16.328 111.135 Other Quantity (metric tons) Value (Chouaandsi 842 *402 Total Quantity (metric tons) 513.084 $135.2)0 II! I960. Crocidolite (blue) _ Amoiite__________ Total_____ 129 5.424 309,886 '52 l49 315.540 20 4.571 78.371 12 302 83.276 360 2,041 7.545 315 10.261 338 1,379 5.201 284 7.202 29 567 899 -- 1,495 32 576 721 -- 1.331 158 6.351 312.826 7.597 364 327.2% $2 5,487 80.471 5.213 586 91.B09 1981 Amoaite__________ Total_____ 4,450 313.917 318.367 4.124 86.704 90.828 957 47] 7.802 1,376 506 17.112 554 175 4,762 4.988 367 10.846 90 _ .1.875 174 2.139 91 2.000 . 128 2^19 957 5.011 323.594 7.376 680 337.618 554 4.390 93.466 4,988 495 103.893 'Transshipment from the Republic of South Africa WORLD REVIEW A wide-ranging survey of asbestos-cement use was reported at an industry meeting and described in a trade publication.* The trends are detailed in figure 1, which shows a decline in use in Western Europe and North America and increases in the rest of the world after 1970. These curves illustrate what has become increasingly apparent in the last decade. The growth areas for asbes tos consumption are in the less developed portions of the world. Figure 1.--Asbestos consumption by geographical area. nAorn .IPN 0002883 8 MINERALS YEARBOOK, 1981 Australia.--Woodsreef Mines, Ltd., in Barraha received enough funds from its parent company, Trans Pacific Asbestos, Ltd., of Canada, to retire its bank loan and come out of receivership. It still owes large amounts to the Australian Federal Govern* ment and the New South Wales govern* ment. In midsummer, the recession forced reduction in work from a normal 3 shifts per day 5 days per week to 1 shift per day 5 days per week. Canada.--As of October, the Quebec as* bestos producers had inventories of about 200,000 tons. This was in spite of many layoffs and temporary mine and/or mill closures. In late November, a Canadian mining paper described the past 12 months as harder on the asbestos industry than any previous period in its history.' The article cited an 11% downturn in sales for the first 7 months of 1981 when compared with the already low sales of 1980 and saw no appar ent improvement for later in the year. An anomaly during the first part of the year saw sales of the short fibers (40% by weight of the production) grow by 0.8% while the others declined by 15.1%. In November, the Quebec government and General Dynamics Corp. finally agreed to the terms under which control of the Asbestos Corp. would be transferred from the latter to the former.1 The first phase, effective immediately, called for the trans fer of 51% of the voting stock of General Dynamics Canada, Ltd., which owned 54.65% of Asbestos Corp., to the Quebec government. The price was Can$16 million. The agreement allows further acquisition at 2- and 5-year intervals. After a temporary closure in August, Advocate asbestos mine near Baie Verte in Newfoundland was scheduled for perma nent closure on December 31, 1981. The principal owners, Johns Manville Canada, Inc., and Compagnie Financiere Eternit S.A. of Belgium, said that the decision to close was mainly a problem of cash flow and the economics of an overburden-to-ore ratio of 6 to 1 compared with that in Quebec of 3 to 1. Trans Pacific Asbestos, Ltd., showed late-year interest in acquiring Advocate to showcase their Woodsreef wet milling pro cess. The Newfoundland government, inter ested in maintaining the more than 500 jobs, said that at least three other firms were interested in the acquisition of Advo cate. Greece.--On April 17, 1981, the asbestos mill at Kozani and mine at nearby Zidani were officially opened. Full production at a 100,000-metric-ton-per-year capacity was ex pected in 1981 with production of grades 4, 5,6, and 7. South Africa, Republic of.--General Mining Union Corp. (Gencor) made an ofTer for the former Cape Asbestos, Ltd., asbestos properties acquired in 1979 by Transvaal Consolidated Land and Exploration, Ltd. Gencor was already South Africa's largest asbestos producer through its 31% owner ship of Griqu&land Exploration and Finance Co. and Ms&uii Asbestos, Ltd. Turkey.--A recent report cited in an international magazine from the Union of Chambers projected the value of Turkey's asbestos production to rise 37% from 1979 to $1.7 million in 1981.* U.S.S.R.--'The U.S.S.R. reported that the second stage of the Lenin asbestos plant in the Tuva Autonomous Soviet Socialist Re public reached full production. Design ca pacity was 120,000 tons per year. A translation from the Russian gave a thumbnail sketch of the Uralasbest com bine." It produced 62.4% of the Soviet asbestos output. It also provided all the asbestos exported from the Soviet Union. The combine incorporated 20 sections and subsections, including two asbestos mines, three asbestos milling plants, anthophyllite asbestos mining, an asbestos millboard fac tory, mechanical works, and factories for large building panels and other structural building materials. The total personnel numbered about 19,000, including 15,000 of labor force. Zimbabwe.--Data on the production of asbestos and other minerals during the years of unilaterally declared independence (UDI) became available. For the UDI years 1966-79, inclusive, asbestos was the primary revenue-producing mineral with a value 32% above the next highest revenue pro ducer (gold) and 23% of the total mineral value. Asbestos production maintained a healthy growth rate during that period. Amiantos of Switzerland closed, in April of 1981, its P&ngani, Vanguard, and Buss Mines. The no-longer-viable mines produced only 5% of Zimbabwean asbestos. rtAPCO JEN 0002884 ASBESTOS 9 Table 8.--Atbcsloi: World production, by country1 (Metric ton*) Country* 1971 1978 1979 1980* 1981* North America' Canada fihipmentj)______________ .. United State* <*old or u*ed by producer*). Brazil_____ Europe: Italy................................................. .............. U-S S R *....................................................... Y ugoelavta.... N^ozambique_____ ____________ _ South Africa, Republic of Zimbabwe______________ ______________ Aaia Afghaniatan___________________________ China*......................................................... Cypru*_____ _________________ _________ Thailand - _......_______________ . Oceania Australia---------- ---------------- - Total....................................................... 1,517,360 92,256 686 92.773 0 149.327 1,900.000 9,066 476 380.164 38.046 '273,194 13.000 200.000 36.684 22.171 6.307 6,180 673 4 3,975 50.601 '4,793.451 1,421.808 93.097 1.069 122.815 700 135.402 1.945,000 10.360 1,492.719 93.354 1,371 138.457 600 143.931 2,020,000 10.041 349 257.325 '36.951 '248,861 238 789 249.187 34.294 259.891 *13.000 250.000 34.342 '24.623 5,746 13.616 2.031 4 13.312 62.744 4.000 250.000 35,472 32.094 3.502 14.804 2,957 17.210 19.721 '4.693.221 4,884,732 1,323.053 *60,079 1.261 169,173 652 157.194 2.150.000 12,106 316 800 276,759 32.833 250.949 250,000 34,535 31.253 3.891 9.B54 683 8.800 92.418 4.881.215 *1.133.000 >75.618 1.400 180,000 700 142.000 2,220.000 *13.591 325 900 *236,999 34,000 253.000 250,000 34.000 32.000 3,500 10.000 _2.600 10.000 92.000 4,725.533 'Estimated ^Preliminary 'Revised 'Table include* dsts available through Apr 21,1982 *!n addition to the countries listed, Czechoslovakia. North Korea, and Romania also produce asbestos, but output u not officially reported, and available general information is inadequate tor the formulation of reliable estimate* of output levels 'Reported figure 'Export* TECHNOLOGY Examination of an EPA document pub lished in 1981 left no doubt about that agency's interest in asbestos." It described 49 different asbestos related research proj ects taking place in 20 laboratories under the guidance of 4 EPA offices. Of further interest is that 19 (39%) of the projects had to do with waterborne asbestos. Funding from Trans Pacific Asbestos, Ltd., parent company of Australia's Woodsreef Mine, was intended to bring into oper ation a prototype mill to demonstrate its revolutionary wet milling process. At least one U.S. company was showing great inter est in this process. Substitutes.--A paper at a national glass conference gave some details about the asbestos uses in a glass plant and the hunt for substitutes." The author conceded that to eliminate all asbestos one must be will ing to accept lower operating efficiencies and higher operating and maintenance costs. He identified 72 separate kinds of equipment in all parts of the plant that contained asbestos. Another paper detailed one company's very novel approach to a (ess hazardous substitute for asbestos." Reasoning that, if condensed phosphates were degradable in cellular enzymes, fibrous condensed phos phates would be biodegradable and less capable of cellular damage and carcinoge nicity; they produced such fibers. Analysis of the paper indicates that the following questions were not addressed: (1) Would the fibers that have much larger diameters be compatible with present asbestos manu facturing processes? (2) How would further fiberization to produce smaller fibers affect the physical parameters of the fibers? (3) Could long lasting cement products be made using these ``fairly resistant to alkali" fi bers? If asbestos continues to be deemed a controllable hazard, then, because the less costly reinforcement will prevail, asbestos could likely win any economic battle. Fig ure 2 shows the efficacy of several rein forcing agents in plastic matrices. Asbestos is by far the least co6tly. CAPCO JEN 0002885 10 MINERALS YEARBOOK, 1961 `Phyiieal scientist, Division oflndustrisl Minerals. Cranelli, J The Asbestos Case Explosion. Nat Law J., v.4.No 6. Oct 18.1981. pp 1-9. `Businem Week Suita That Are Staring Asbestos No. 2883. Apr. 13, 1981. pp 166-167. `Journal of the American Modkal Aaaociation. Council on ScienUfic Affaire--1Carcinogen Regulation!. V. 246, No 3. July 17.1981. pp 253-256 "Asbestos V. 63. No 8. September 1981. pp. 26-21. `Domer, R. The Aabaatoa Users--World Survey of AsbestoaCement Praa. at Aabaatoa Internal Aaaoc 3d Biennial Conf. London. May 27-28, 1981, Aabaatoa Bull. (Astei Pub Co., Surrey, England), v. 22. No. S. SeptemberOctober 1981, pp. 94-9(Abstract). TKnoU, K. Aabeetoe--Producer* Look for Better Dan. Tha Northern Miner, v. 67, No. 38, Nov. 26,1981, pp BSO31. `Chemical Marketing Reporter. Quebec Government To Control U.S.Owned Asbestos Unit V. 220. No. 20. Nov. 16, 1981, p 9. `Industrial Minerals (London). No 168. September 1981, PP-13.17. "Korolev, A. A. (Uraiaabeet in the Pinal Year of the Currant 6-Yaar Plan.l Aabaatoa Bull. (Aatei Pub. Co., Surrey, England), v. 22. No. 1, Jamiary-February 1981, p. 8 (English aba.). "Environmental Protection Agency, Offiot of Research and Development Aabeatoa/Aabeatiform Research in EPA ORD. Rept No. EPA 600^7-81-032, March 1981. 80 pp Single copy available from Center for Environmental Research Information. US Environmental Protection Agency, Cincinnati. OH 4S268; also available from Nation al Technical Information Semes, 5285 Port Royal Road, Springfield. VA 22161. Document No. PB 81-191876. **Haney, J. C. Aabaatoa Elimination in a Clam Plant Ceram. Eng and Sd. Pm.. 4 let Conf. on Glam Problems. Nat Inst of Ceram. Eng., January-February 1981, pp. 3034. 'Griffith. E. J. Cryctalline Calcium Polyphosphate Fi ber*. Praa. at Internal Syrep on Phosphorous Chemistry, Duke Univ., Durham. N.C., June 1981,27 pp. Figure 2.--Strength and modulus of selected fiber*. CAPCO JEN 0002886