PROCUREMENT OF METALS NEEDED BY YUGOSLAV RAILROADS AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000700030091-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: R
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 17, 2011
• Sequence Number: 91
• Publication Date: November 16, 1951
• Content Type: REPORT

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SECURITY INFORMATIO ~~?
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CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY 9
STAT
INFORMATION FROM
FOREIGN DOCUMENTS OR RADIO BROADCASTS CD NO.
Yugoslavia
DATE OF
INFORMATION
1951
SL'3JECT
HOW
Economic - Metals, telecommunications
Transportation - Railroad
Month'_r periodical DATE DIST. /6
Nov 1951
WHERE
NO. OF PAGES
5
DATE
LANGUAGE
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO.
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THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
PROCUREMENT OF METALS NEEDED BY YUGOSLAV
RAILROADS AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM
1. Iron and iron alloys, especially various types of structural, tool, and
special steels, principally those alloyed with elements available in Yugoslavia,
such as carbon, silicon, manganese, chromium, vanadium, molybdenum, aluminum,
and copper.
2. Copper and copper alloys, especially various types of regular and spe-
cial brass and tombac, red castings, tin and lead bronze, tt Tuc -Turf bronze,
and German silver.
3. Zinc and zinc alloys, especially alloys that can substitute adequately
for eluminum and brass.
4. Lead and low-melting-point alloys, such as various types of white
metals with tin and lead as the base and variou3 soft solders and alleys for
use as metal plugs and low-melting-point fuzes.
5. Aluminum and magnesium alloys, especially those used in transportation
and telecommunications (duralumin, silumin, alumian, and aldrey L'aluminum sulfat7)
because of their mechanical resistance, chemical stability, and electrical con-
ductivity.
In addition .o the above metals and alloys, certain quantities of the fol-
lowing are ne-1-d: wolfram (ior use in light bulbs, high-speed steel, and other
special steels;; alumino-Thermit manganate (for production of special brass and
bronze alloys, and for deoxidizing certain copper alloys); cobalt (for produc-
tion of special tool steels, hard magnetic steel, various alloys with high elec-
trical resistance, etc., nickel (for production of special structural and non-
magnetic steel, alloys for rheostats, for stoker copper, for refined white metals,
German silver, etc'., silver (for manufacture of special electric terminals and
AIR
STATE
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fuzes, production of silvered copper rods used for welding copper stoker parts,
and manufacture of silver solder; antiucny (for production of white metals, low-
melting-point alloys, and plug alloys); arsenic (for stoker copper and refining
white metals) cadmium (for refining white metals and production of tt bronze);
phosphorus (for production of alloying compounds used for deoxidizing nonferrous
metals and alloys, and injection of phosphorus into bronze); mercury for thermom-
eters; selenium; platinum (for manufacture of special thermobatteries,electric-
current terminals, and laboratory receptacles); and rhodium (for platinum-rhodium
alloys and manufacture of thermobatteries).
The metals and alloys which would cover almost completely the needs of trans-
portation and telecommunications are:
a.
Light metals: aluminum
b.
High-melting-point metals: iron and copper
c.
Low-melting-point metals: zinc, lead, tin
d.
Precious metals: silver and platinum
e.
Hard metals:
'wolfram
f.
Liquid metal:
mercury
g.
Metalloids:
selenium
a.
Light metals:
magnesium
b.
High-melting-point metals: nickel and cobalt
c.
Low-melting-point metals: antimony and cadmium
d.
Hard metals: manganese, chromium, vanadium, and molybdenum
e.
Precious metals: rhodium
f.
Metalloids: carbon, silicon,. phosphorus, and arsenic
Many of these metals and metalloids are produced in Yugoslavia from domestic
minerals. Furthermore, conditions are fa?mrable in Yugoslavia for producing
other :seeded metals from domestic minerals; therefore, only a few metals would
need to be imported.
The 1? metals and other elements needed in Yugoslavia in the largest
quantities are iron, carbon, manganese, aluminum, copper, zinc, silicon, chromium,
nickel, magnesium, lead, and tin. The need for wolfram, molybdenum, vanadium,
cobalt, cadmium, arsenic, and phosphorus is much smaller, and the need for silver,
mercury, ana selenium, quite slight.
Of the 12 metals and metalloids needed in large quantities, nine are pro-
duced in sufficient quantities in Yugoslavia; the nine are iron, carbon,
manganese, aluminum, copper, zinc, silicon, chromium, and lead). Yugoslavia
does not yet produce magnesium, but can do s.. Consequently, Yugoslavia lacks
only two of the 12, nickel and tin.
Of the seven elements needed in smaller quantities. two, molybdenum and
var:tium, are available in Yugo~;lavia in sufficient quantities. Yugoslavia
produces cadmium also, but not in sufficient quantities. Yugoslavia should also
produce arsenic and phosphorus. Practically, this means that only two of the
seven, wolfram and cobalt, are lacking.
The requirements for platinum and rhodium for transportation and telecom-
munications are so small they need not be mentioned. The lack of nickel and tin,
which are needed in large quantities, and wolfram and cobalt, needed in small
quantities, make it necessary for the transportation and telecommunications
network, and ferrous and nonferrous metallurgical industries, to find ways and
means to reduce to a minimum the consumption of these metals.
RESTMUTE
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RESTRIC GESTRUSTED
Yugoslavia's metal requirements can be achieved by the following methods:
increasing and developing domestic metal production, decreasing metal consump-
tion, efficiently organizing the salvaging of scrap metal, substituting domestic
metals for scarce metals
i
i
,
mprov
ng the quality of, and standardizing, metal
products and parts, and by inmorting only much needed metals.
Yugoslavia c.a increase and develop domestic note
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on
The need is urgent for launching the domestic production of an extremely
important alloying metal, magnesium, which is used in large quantities for pro-
ducing various aluminum and magnesium alloys, and as an alloying element for
tt bronze production. Ctherwise, to fulfill its needs for this metal, Yugoslavia
would have to depend solely on import.
c No less important is the production of aluminum shot and Thermit. Aluminum
shot is used in producing ferroalloys by the alumino-Thermit process. These
alloys are highly important to the production of certain types of high-quality
tool steels needed by workshops and metal industries, as yell as for the manu-
facture, from domestic minerals like iron, aluminum, and chromium, of rheostats
for electric furnaces. Aluminum shot is used also for producing pure manganese,
which is used in turn in various copper and other alloys. In this way Yugoslavia
will be able to reduce the consumption of wolfram, cobalt, and nickel. Produc-
tion of domestic 'ihermit will make possible mass production of rail constructions,
thereby reducing the need for small rail equipment, and diminishing wear on roll-
ing stock..
To avoid further imports, Yugoslavia should begin producing arsenic, phos-
phorus, and sulfur, and increase the production of cadmium.
Reduced domestic consumption of metals can be realized mainly by reducing
waste in the production and processing of metals, using metals sparingly in
the preparation of designs and projects for various metal constructions and
parts, and applying and strictly enfc ciag methods for preventing corrosion of
metal parts. Corrosion alone destroys more metal constructions and parts in
Yugoslavia than cnything else, for it makes them unservicc4ble, no that they
must be replaced.
To reduce metal consumption, Yugoslavia should explore all the possibilities
of substituting nonmetals, especially synthetic materials. Yugoslav prod-action
of synthetics is in its inicial stages at present; it should be developed and
expanded as soon as possible, especially where metal substitutes are concerned.
Polyvinyl compounds of Vinidur type are promising substitutes for stainless steel,
pure lead, and tin. They may also be used for enamelware.
To reduce lead consumption, the possibility of substituting lead-tellurium
alloy for pure lead should be explored. Tellurium, added to lead in proportion
of some ten thousand Harts to one of lead, makes an extremely hard and resistant
alloy. In many cases, the use of this alloy as a substitute for lead would
reduce the consumption of lead on: third to one fifth.
Another way to reduce metal consumption, especially by railroads, is to
substitute steel of low silicon content for carbon steel with a hardness of
37 kilograms per millimeter, for bridges and other steel constructions. Steel
of low silicon content has 25 percent higher tensile strength than ordinary
steel, and its use would reduce iron fsteel?7 consumption considerably. Produc-
tion of this steel woulu not be difficult: At the same time, the problem of
manufacturing electrodes suitable for welding this steel should be solved.
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Another problem is the production of railroad rails, cast railroad switches,
and intersection rails from austenite-manganese -steel. By using these rails in-
stead of the ordinary carbon-steel type in places where the traffic is heavy,
Yugoslavia should be able to reduce iron consumption considerably.
Simultaneously Yugoslavia must solve the problem of producing Grover `pis-
to] rings domestically from low-alloy manganese-silicon spring steel. This
problem could be solved rather easily, as it is pure waste to have to import
this steel in large quantities.
A generally satisfactory solution of these and similar problems cannot be
found if laboratories, experimental stations, and telecommunications establish-
ments are left to do the job unaided. Consequently, the closest collaboration
between rail and telecommunications establishments and the metal and chemical
industries is necessary.
Efficient scrap-metal salvage must be systematically organized and enforced
strictly in all industrial enterprises and workshops, at building sites, and
everywhere it is necessary. In organizing scrap collection, the technical and
monetary value of scrap metal depends mainly on the nat+:.re and contents of the
scrap and the possiblity of nonmetal and other impure elements being present,
the form and shape of the scrap, and the degree of its uniformity. Collection
priority should be given to tin, nickel, aluminum, copper, zinc, and iron, in
that order.
The value of scrap metal scales downward as follows: piece metal, turnings,
clinkers, and ashes. Uniform scrap of the same metal has a higher value than
nonuniform (a mixture of large and small pieces, a mixture of various types of
turnings, etc.). Scrap obtained from processing new metals is usually relatively
pure. The same is also true for scrap obtained from processing used metals
from various metal constructions and old machinery. In practice, however, scrap
metal is regularly obtained which contains additional metals or elements that
not only lower its value, but also make its reprocessing difficult, and increase
its refining cost considerably. It is important therefore that the above be
kept in mind when organizing the collection and grading of metal scrap and waste.
Scrap should be retained no longer then necessary at collection depots and
warehouses, and shipped immediatel; 'or furtberutilization in its present form,
or for reprocessing, melting, etc.
The difficulty of substituting domestic and more plentiful metals for scarce
metals is due to the fact that no Substitute is completely equivalent to the
metal substituted. For instance, the problem of substituting for tin in making
tin foil is quite different from substituting for tin in the production of white
metals, or as a component part of low-melting-point soldering alloys, or in the
manufacture of printing type, etc. On the other hand, n8ne of the methods
successful in the above cases may be applied in substituting for tin in bronze
manufacture or the like. Consequently, each instance where one m tal is sub-
stituted for another must be considered individually and treated accordingly.
These problems are further complicated by the fact that sometimes no general
method may be found 'Cr using a particular substitute. For instance, lead foil
may be substituted for tin foil for some purposes; yet it cannot be substituted
by the food-packing industries, where aluminum instead of lead foil must be
used. Likewise, in a great many cases lead may be used instead of tin for the
production of white metals; in other cases (the manufacture of housings for high-
rotation bearings exposed to high pressure), lead cannot be used. Sometimes
tin can be entirely eliminated by using white metals made from a lead base ;+ith
the addition of small quantities of calcium, ;odium, and lithium, or even by
using lead bronze. Tin used in bronze and red?castings production may be partly
or even completely substituted by using extracted red castings for pure tin-
bronze; silicon-tombac or aluminum-bronze for red castings, etc.
4+-
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PESTRIC ES1'RICTEC
Another diffi.culty in scarce-metal substitution is that it increases the
number of scrap-metal types to be salvaged and reprocessed.
Therefore, the problem of using substitutes for scarce metals should not
be left to individual production branches and enterprises for individual solu-
tion in each case, but should be treated as a whole and according to plan,, with
the closest collaboration of all production branches concerned.
It must be emphasized that, in transportation and telecommunications, Yugo-
slavia In primarily interested in finding substitutes for wolfram, cobalt, and
nickel, which axe used in p_o';icing high-speed rutting steels and other medium
and high-alloy tool steels. A substitute i 'needed for nickel used in alloys
for electric resistors and steels for'cemen 1ng. A substitute is also needed
for tin in producing white metals, soft solder, and low-melting-point alloys and
bronzes.
Improving and standardizing the quality of metal constructions and parts
can contribute considerably to assuring a supply of necessary metals. Pointing
to this is the excecsively large percentage of rejects in Yugoslav foundries;
the production defects that necessitate early replacement of various parts in
metal constructions, machinery, and rails; and the high replacement rate of
parts whose service is shortened unduly because of poor wear resistance, etc.
These deficiencies are commas to all branches of the metal industry and where-
ever metal is utilized.
For railroads, first priority should be given to improving the quality of
cast parts made from gray, red, bronze, or brass casts and parts manufactured
from light alloys. Simultaneously, the quality of production of tool factories
should be improved.
The following should be standardized: the quality and number of types of
various metal constructions and their shapes and measurements; machine and elec-
tric equipment; various elements of metal constructions; signal, telegraph,
telephone, and radio parts and installations; railroad equipment, tracks, and
switches; and all ether constructions, installations, equipment, and structures
where metal parts are used.
RESTRR Ten-.
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