NONFERROUS METAL SCRAP PROCUREMENT IN THE USSR

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000600320440-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 31, 2011
• Sequence Number: 440
• Publication Date: June 29, 1950
• Content Type: REPORT

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/31: CIA-RDP8O-00809AO00600320440-7
f C!1~S' il.lt',i G14:''YL;{^iI'3r 50X1-HUM
REPORT
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE f.GEh
INFORMATION FROM
FOREIGN DOCUMENTS OR RADIO BROADCASTS CD NO.
COUNTRY USSR
SUBJECT Economic - Nonferrous metal scrap
HOW
PUBLISHED Book
WHERE
PUBLISHED Moscow
DATE
PUBLISHED 1947
LANGUAGE Russian
THIS HE DOCUMENT CONTAINS ' WITHI NATION AFFECTING THE G OF SPIOIONAL NAG DEFENSE
U. S. NC.. S1 AND 15.05 ANSNDED. T StONI
ITS THAN,aNISSION OR TAR REVELATION AhY NIB CO ST TLAW. I NSPNOOO TNOIII OP THIS FOSS ISi PNOHISITSD. IS PRO
DATE OF
INFORMATION 1946
DATE DIST.9,9 Jun 1950
NO. OF PAGES 5
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO.
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
SOURCE Cha ter III Vtorichnyye tsvet metall (Secondary Nonferrous Met-
E_ y Part I, edited by V. la. Below, State Scientific Technical Pub-
lishing House of Literature on Ferrous and Nonferrous Metallurgy.
NONFERROUS METAL SCRAP PROCUREMENT IN THE USSR
Approximately half of all the copper consumed in the USSR, more than
one third of the aluminum, and more than one third of the zinc is obtained
from processed scrap and waste metal. Procurement of nonferrous scrap has
continually increased each year; and in 1943, had already exceeded the pre-
war, 1940 level. The increase in the procurement of nonferrous scrap and
waste metals in the USSR, in percent of 1926 - 1927 figures, is as follows:
Year Percentage.
1926-1927 100.0
1928-1929 120.5
1932 205.9
1937 355.9
1938 475.1
1939 541.7
1940 625.4
1943 639.0
1944 673.8
Expenditures of basic raw materials, auxiliary materials, and metal in
processing scrap are considerably lower than in smelting primary
ore. Consumption of fuel in smelting copper scrap is one-fifth as much as
for one ton of primary metal. In processing aluminum scrap, several hundred
times less electric power is consumed than in producing one ton of aluminum
from bauxite. Transport needs are also reduced. Thus, for sm31ting one ton
of aluminum from cuttings, only 1,400 kilograms of raw and auxiliary materials
need be transported as compared with 7,260 kilograms for production of one
ton of primary aluminum from bauxite. The differences in consumption of fuel,
raw materials, etc., between secondary and primary aluminum is illustrated in
the following table (from selected data):
CONFIDENTIAL
- 1 -
CLASSIFICATION CONFIDENTIAL
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/31: CIA-RDP8O-00809AO00600320440-7 U-
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/31: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600320440-7
Per ton of per ton of
Unit of Primary Secondary
Materials: Measure Aluminum Aluminum
Basic kg 6,140 1,200
(bauxite) (cuttings)
Auxiliary kg 1,120 200
Electric power kwh 20,000 50
Generator gas (calorific value of ,u in 2,300 1,600
1,200 cal/cu m)
Steam ton 24.5 ---
(Pressure
of 7 and 15
atm)
The scrap salvaged from waste products of industry can be divided into
the so-called turnover waste products and commercial waste. Turnover waste
products are those occurring in metallurgical plants and rolling and foundry
shops which are re-used by these enterprises. Utilization of these wastes
for the needs of the enterprise must be provided for in its schedule of metal
reserves. Commercial wastes include all the remaining waste products, which
are delivered to offices of "Glavvtortsvetmet" (Main Administration of Sec-
ondary Nonferrous Metals). Only certain ministries are allowed to return
these waste metals to their own enterprises, and the list of these ministries
is established by the government.
On the whole, waste products and nonferrous. metal scrap fall into two
basic groups -- full-value and unclassified (established as such by defini-
tion of the State All-Union Standard 1639 - 42). Full-value scrap includes
all wastes which can be reprocessed-directly into standard secondary nonfer-
rous metals, and alloys without preliminary metallurgical conversion. Un-
classified scrap includes waste products and scrap which do not have the nec-
essary metallic properties or are highly impure, needing preliminary metal-
lurgical conversion. This group includes slags, rubbish, scale, ash, impure
scrap, scrap containing less than 55 percent copper, and others.
The resources of waste products of current production are determined by
the total amount of work done in processing nonferrous metals, by the nature
of consumption, i.e., the way they are used and the specific methods of pro-
cessing employed, and by the coefficient of waste products in various stages
of processing individual metals. The coefficient expresses the relationship
between the quantity of metal consumed in a given product (semimanufacture),
and the weight of the finished product (semimanufacture). Thus; if the con-
sumption of metal is 1,000 kilograms and the weight of the product is 900
kilograms, then the coefficient is one tenth or 10 percent. The coefficient
is sometimes reckoned not by the quantity of consumed metal but by the weight
of the product, as in metallurgical production, so that the coefficient in
the above product would be 11.1 percent. The coefficient also depends on the
organization of supply and on the nature of the technological process, which,
if it permits defective production, will result in an increased coefficient.
It can truthfully be said that the. work of an enterprise is characterized by
its coefficient of waste products.
The relationship between scrap and waste metal products determines the
nature 'of the resources of nonferrous metals. The following table shows the
change in the nature of these resources in the USSR during the war years:
Secondary Nonferrous Metal Resources of USSR
(percentage of the total)
.1942
1944
Current wastes
73.6
68.5
Scrap
26.4
31.5
CONFIDENTIAL
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/31: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600320440 7
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/31: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600320440-7
CGIFL IUEyTieiL
The increase in the relative proportion of scrap in total resources de-
veloped as the result of intensive collection of military scrap, which in
1944 increased almost three times over 1941.
The collection of scrap in the USSR is carried out in accordance with
government-approved annual and quarterly plans for scrap procurement. Com-
pulsory quotas for delivery of scrap and waste products to "Glavvtortsvetmet"
are established for ministries and organizations. Only certain ministries,
listed with government approval, are allowed to distribute part of the waste
metal products from the place of their origin to other enterprises within the
ministry. All other branches of the national economy are compelled to de-
liver scrap and waste products to "Glavvtortsvetmet" exclusively. At the
same time, scrap and wastes above the set quotas must also be delivered to
"Glavvtortsvetmet." In this way, all reserves are channeled into a single
procurement system and are allotted according to the state plan for distri-
bution of nonferrous metals.
"Glavvtortsvetmet" operates through a network of procurement offices
which collect scrap throughout the USSR. Each office or department has pro-
curement centers, to which its agents or representatives are attached, in
the region of its operation.
Scrap collection in rural areas and from the public in cities is accom-
plished through a network of usable-junk procurement organizations ("Tsen-
troutil'," "Soyuzutii'," Industrial Cooperatives, and others). Special scrap
collection programs are established for these organizations, which are con-
tractors of "Glavvtortsvetmet." All metal procured by these contracting
agencies is delivered to bases of "Glavvtortsvetmet."
The government has also approved the following measures in connection
with scrap procurement: (a) Fixed quotas for storage of scrap and nonfer-
rous wastes in enterprises have been established, and accumulation of re-
serves above the norm is forbidden; (b) Transport of scrap to railroad sta-
tions and docks must be handled by the enterprise's own transport facilities;
it also must provide necessary manpower and facilities for loading scrap into
railroad cars at plant sidings; (c) A system of awards has been set up to
encourage plant workers employed in collecting and delivering scrap in enter-
prises.
Contracts concluded between the enterprises and the offices of "Glavv-
tortsvetmet" provide for certain sanctions to be enforced against any enter-
prise which fails to observe the laws regarding collection, storage, and uti-
lization of scrap and waste products. The minister is responsible for ful-
fillment of the fixed plans for scrap collection and delivery within the min-
istry. Chairmen of oblast or kray executive committees, and chairmen of the
councils of ministers of the Union and autonomous republics bear the respon-
sibility for fulfillment of the procurement plans in oblasts, krays, and re-
publics. Party and soviet agencies give constant; assistance to "Glavvtort-
svetmet" offices in carrying out the procurement program. These agencies ob-
serve the fulfillment of the plans by individual enterprises, and take nec-
essary measures against plants which are not meeting plans.
The government has also set up special standards which strictly regulate
the collection, storage, and delivery of scrap in an effort to maintain its
quality. It is not allowed, for example, to mix waste products of different
alloys, and storage must not be permitted under conditions which result in
losses of metal. A system of scrap delivery accompanied by a document (pass-
port) indicating the chemical content of the scrap has been established. The
increasing number of alloys makes it necessary to observe particularly care-
ful collection of wastes at the point of origin. In enterprises, shops, and
at individual machine tools, scrap collection must bc so organized that there
is absolutely no mixinj pf various types of wastes, thereby preventing mass
COIF ENTIAL
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/31: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600320440-7
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/31: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600320440-7
CI EN II AL
CONFIDENTIAL
deterioration of different groups of alloys by harmful elements. Mixed waste
products also cannot be utilized for production of analogous or closely re-
lated alloys.
The All-Union Committee on Standards, which has clearly outlined the
principles and methods of correct collection and storage of scrap and waste
produced in current production, has ordered compulsory marking of nonferrous
metal parts, making it easier to discern the alloy composition of worn-out
parts in the total mass of scrap.
Primary processing of scrap and waste products includes all conversion
processes preparatory for resmelting. Almost all scrap undergoes primary
processing as do those waste products which are contaminated, those which
contain oil and moisture, and those which cannot be transported.
Primary processing by machine methods includes magnetic separation, crush-
ing, degreasing in centr.'.?uges, cutting on mechanical saws, separating by
gasoline-oxygen cutters, and pressing. Processing of the so-called unclassi-
fied wastes by concentration (screening, washing) occupies a particular place.
Primary processing also includes sorting, weeding out the nonmetallic from the
metallic, breaking the scrap into necessary dimensions, and determining differ-
ent metal and alloy contents in machine parts by spot tests, etc.
Primary processing is carried out in special bases, at the point of ori-
gin of the scrap and waste products, and in the charging shops of the second-
ary nonferrous metal plants. The special bases chiefly handle scrap from pub-
lic nr military Lources, while nontransportable scrap (airplane scrap) should
undergo resmelting where conditions permit. Enterprises which continually
amass large quantities of waste products should have such machines as crushers,
magnetic separators, packet-presses, centrifuges, etc. They should also pro-
vide for the removal of oil, emulsions and moisture, where the content of
these impurities averages 10-12 percent of the total weight, from metal cut-
tings. The government has given enterprises the right to spend up to 10 per-
cent of the proceeds from delivering scrap and nonferrous wastes for such
equipment as is necessary for collection, primary processing, and storage of
scrap.
Prices on scrap and wastes are regulated according to classifications set
by the All-Union Standard No 1639-42, and are so fixed as to provide the maxi-
mum incentive for delivery of high-quality scrap. Pure wastes, delivered with
the document indicating their chemical composition command a much higher price
than the same wastes which have been allowed to deteriorate and have no such
documentation. The differences in prices paid for the two is shown in the fol-
lowing table:
Procurement Price per
Ton in Current Prices
(rubles)
Difference in
Price per Ton
(rubles)
Pure Waste
With Document
Impure Waste
Without Document
Duralumin cuttings
2,230
1,440
790
Silumin cuttings
2,380
1,440
940
L68 brass cuttings
2,180
1,550
630
LS-59-1 brass cuttings
1,950
1,550
400
Copper cuttings
3,000
2,650
350
Bronze (tin) cuttings
3,800
2,710
1,090
0
01, nn 41! r'.~ A
J ..~:~1~ cis~y
COVFIDENTLAJ,
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/31: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600320440-7
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/31: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600320440-7
tiUiirIiDEN JAL
part of the scrap collected by "Glavvtortsvetmet" is sent to be repro-
cessed in secondary nonferrous metal plants and part is sent directly to met-
alworking plants (metallurgical and foundry enterprises, chemical plants).
Almost all aluminum scrap, and the greater part of bronze and lead scrap is
reworked in secondary alloy plants of "Glavvtortsvetmet." Supplies of scrap
and waste products and also of secondary alloys are allotted to industry in'
strict accordance with the state plan for distribution of nonferrous metals.
rONF E 1AL
cofit mum !AL
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/31: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600320440-7