MANGANESE AND NONFERROUS METAL RESERVES IN SOVIET ASIA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000700030601-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: R
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 6, 2011
• Sequence Number: 601
• Publication Date: January 5, 1952
• Content Type: REPORT

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/10/17: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700030601-9
CLASSIFICATION RESTRICTED RESTRICTED
SECURITY INFORMATION
INFORMATION FROM
FOREIGN DOCUMENTS OR RADIO BROADCASTS CD NO.
COUNTRY USSR
SUBJECT Economic - Metal reserves
HOW
PUBLISHED Monthly periodical
WHERE
PUBLISHED Hamburg
DATE
PUBLISHED Feb 1951
LANGUAGE German
}~~f .cvi.lf coral.. n,nnno. unrn0. n9 unoau eInw
..m9 rno nn~o int Dora.. 01 Ono.... Kr N
U. s. e.,a..o n.u u..eu. mwunualoo 0o n.^
. ~o
iioins r u nunooimoi OF M. 1. nnwiuiisIs
DATE OF
INFORMATION
DATE DIST. c Jan 1952
NO. OF PAGES 4
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO.
SOURCE Wirtschaftsdienst, Vol XK%I, No 2, published by Hamburgisches
Welt-Wirtschafts-Archiv.
MANGANESE AND NONFERROUS METAL
RESERVES IN SOVIET ASIA
Manganese
Soviet Asia is poor in manganese ore. While Ukrainian manganese deposits
amount to 522 million tons (in Nikopoll) and those in Chiatura, Georgian SSR,
to 175 million tons, the Urals, Siberia, and Central Asia have very few
manganese-ore deposits.
In the Urals, deposits of low-grade manganese ore totaling 14 million tons
are known. Kazakhstan has the richest deposits, totaling 37 million tons. The
manganese ore mined in this region during World War II was able to compensate
for the lose of the Nikopoll manganese mines occupied by the Germans. Manganese-
ore deposits in Siberia so far have been discovered totaling only about 6 million
tons.
In 1937, the Urals, Kazakhstan, Bashkiria, and East Siberia (Krasnoyarsk)
supplied 144,700 tons, or 7 percent, of the total Soviet manganese-ore output.
The current manganese-ore output of the Urals and the remaining eastern regions
of the USSR probably amounts to not more than 10 percent of the entire Soviet
manganese-ore production.
Copper
In 1938, about 95 percent of Soviet copper was found in Asia, especially
in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Armenia, and the Uralo. According to recent geologi-
cal investigations, the largest copper-ore deposits are in Kalmakyr, near Almalyk,
Uzbek SSR, and near Dzhezkazgan and Kounrad, Kazakh SSR. The largest Soviet cop-
per smelter is in Almalyk; its present capacity is estimated at 250,000 tons
(130,000 tons in 1940). Next in importance is the copper smelter at Karsakpay
(Dzhezkazgan Combine), with a capacity of 200,000 tons, and the Balkhash copper
combine near Kounrad, with a capacity of 100,000 tons.
The largest copper smelter in the Urals is in Pyshma, Sverdlovsk Oblast,
with a yearly capacity of 100,000 tons; then follow the smelters at Blyava (Orck-
Khalilovo) with 50,000 tons, Revda, and Krasnoural,sk with 40,000 tons each,
Kirovgrad with 38,500 tons, and Karabash with 25,000 tons per year.
Q
RESTRICTED
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/10/17: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700030601-9
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/10/17: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700030601-9
RESTRICTED
West Siberia has only the Irtysh Copper-Smelting Plant in Glubokoye, East
Kazakhstan, vi-.h a capacity of 20,000 tons, while Armenia has modern smelting
plants in Alt..verdi, Zangezur, and Yerevan with considerable capacities.
In 1940, the USSR had a copper output of 166,200 tons and occupied the
sixth place among all other countries. The 1942 plan provided for a copper out-
put of 221,500 tons. It has probably increased since then. It is entirely
possible that further copper deposits are being found in eastern regions, so
that the Soviet Union will be able to export copper in the future.
The main zinc deposits are also found -n eastern regions. The largest
deposits are in East Kazakhstan, '.c the Leninogorsk. (formerly called Ridder)
area, and are estimated at -,4 million tons (35.2 percent of Soviet zinc re-
serves). Other zinc deposits are in Solar, Kirovgrad, and Degtyarka, with one
million tons each, sc that the Urals have about 15.5 percent of the total zinc
reserves. The Novosibirsk area has about 1.7 percent of the zinc deposits.
Recently, the deputite at Akty z and tue au (Chu Valley), in Kirgizia, as well
as Almalyk and Leninabad, in Tadzhikistan, have gained in importance; however,
their reserves are not definitely known. In East Siberia and the Far East, the
zinc reserves are estimated at 2 million tons, of which 500,000 tons are in
Tetyukhe, 330,000 tons in terch:;.skiy Zavol, and 95,00 t.,,ns in Gazimurskiy
Zavod. As far as we know, .iie production rapacity of zinc smelters in 1938
amounted to 50,000 tons in Leninegor-'., ,x,000 tone in Chelyabinsk, and 18,600
tons in Kemerovo-Belovo (Kuznetsk be- in); these capacities have teen increased
since then.
For many years, the Soviet zinc industry was handicapped by the absence
of smelting installations in the main zinc-!ninin, areas. This situation has
changed since construction of the _in:: plane: at Leninogorsk and Ust'-
Kamenogorsk. In 1936, the Sevlet zinc output. was 84,2Oj tons, i.' , eight times
more than the 1913 figure of 1G,5:' tors, Zinc production has undoubtedly in-
creased in recent years, so as eliminat- !h- necessity of -inc imports from
foreign countries.
Tin is now ac ever a crib al nnte.l_et, despite Soviet enders-ors to find
adequate tin deposits. The latgcot tin deposits of the Sovier Unizn (37.2 per-
cent) were discovered in 1F. in '. ak?tti,, in the area of Ege-Khaya (Verkhoyansk
Mountains, near the source of the Dulgalakh River); a tin cxbiue has been
bud't in this location. ,lc-rordirg t?, investigations :cede in 19?9, ether tin
dep?ositc existed is the areas of Khapcheranga, Chita, and the Onon River. Since
1935, 90 perccat. V, i,t _tu was obtained from iv,apcheranga. Other deposits
have been found neart.e por'. :, Tet,p:khe on the Sea of Japan (14.7 percent);
along the upper course e the irr._zt 3iver in the Kalba-Rarymskiy mountain areas,
where, a Lin-stneltin;; plant has been put, into operation in Kalbolovo; and re-
cently in the Turkestan mountains, an.: of Tashkent, at, 'well as in Aktyuz,
Kirgizia, where mining ,,pt-retions haw,- !-gun. Through considerable efforts of
the Soviet armaments ind,:;try, tin production between 1932 and 1938 was raised
from 4,000 tons to 13,000 tins. Eves: In 1918, the Soviet Union was forced to
import up to 5,000 tons of ilelol an tin annua i''y.
With lead reserves of apprexi:nat^ly t million tons, the USSR is among the
leading lead-producing countries. The most important deposits are in South
Kazakhstan, in the Achisay area of the Karatau Mountains. The lead reserves in
Achisay and Tekeli. (South Kazakhstan), Kizyl and Leninogorsk (Altay), and
RESTRICTED
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/10/17: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700030601-9
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/10/17: CIA-
RESTRICTEC
Lelousovo-Berezovo, west of the Kuznetsk Basin, are estimated at 4.5 million tons
(80 percent of Soviet lead reserves). The remaining lead reserves are near Chita
and Tetyukhe with 400,000 tons, and the Kirgiz deposits of Karamazar. Aktyuz,
Buurdu, and Talass. The largest Soviet lead smelter is in Chimkent, Uzbekistan.
In the mid-1930's its annual capacity already reached 60,000 tons (49 percent of
the total USSR output). The Leninogorsk smelter has a capacity of 31,000 tons
and the UJst'-Kamenogorsk pant is believed to have a similar capacity (25 percent
of the total capacity of the Soviet Union); these are followed by the lead smel-
ter a' Sadon (Caucasus), which has percent of the total capacity of the
Soviet Union, and the smelter at Tetyukhe,wit.h. 12.5 percent of the total Soviet
capacity. For many years, Soviet lead production was below the plan (only
55,100 tons in 1937 instead of tone); however, production increased to
69,000 tons in 1938 and has g_-::?r. on=iderably since then, as nothing has been
known in recent years regarding 3'?'let icad imports.
The USSR has made great efforts to in :`ease the production of nickel. Since
1937, large new deposits have been discovered or the Kola Peninsula and the
northern part of the Kareio-Firnih SSn, as well as in the Urals and northern
Siberia. The new deposits are beginning to be developed. The largest deposits
are in the Norilsk region, near the mcu'h of the Yenisey River, which region
is connected by railroad with the Arctic port of Dudinka. According to esti-
mates of Soviet geologists, these deposits have placed the Soviet Union in the
second place among countrie, of the w.: id. in the Urals, the largest deposits
are found near Orsk-khaliicvo fn-), Aktyubinsk ; ~.1C tons and
Ufaley (24,000 tons). The nickel combine in Nori1'sk, as well as that in Orsk,
are believed to have a capacity of lt,000 tons each, Rzhev and Ufalev have n
capacity of 3,500 tons each, and no data are available on the t'hkalov plan',.
In 1937, Soviet nickel production 'amounted to 2,500 tons and revered only 20 per-
cent of Soviet requirements: by 1940, the output had risen to 9,tOO tons and was
supposed to reach 28,000 tons at the era of the 'hard Five-Year Plan. At pres-
ent, it is estimated that the seven 3ovtet nickel plants in operseion produce
at least 41,50C tons, which would make icr-r'e. from other countries :necessary.
New deposits have recently bet-iifound the ':hu Valley, in Kirgizia, north of
Lake Issyk-Kul'; however, n, far'.h, r do's ar'e known to date.
Chromium
The most important :hrcmium ncare in the Urals, in the region of
Krasnoufimsk, Gologorsk, and Orsk-F::.a'.il ^,c Reserves are esti-mated at 14 mil-
lion tone and should be suffioic-,t to meet Soviet requirements for the next 30
years..
Tungsten
Because of the Treat smpo: ?. tungsten for steel refining, especially
in the armaments induetry, the So,'fet Union has male considerable efforts to be-
come independent of foreign c-,un,.ries However, as in the case of tin, this has
not yet been possible. The must itrtortant tungsten deposits of the So-Jet Union
are near Dzhida, Buryat-Mongol ASSR. Reserve; in this location amount to about
37 percent of the tota'i soviet. reserve-. c:,;reas he regions of Bukuka and
Belukha, Chita Oblast, supply about 0.; percent of the total. In 1936, the
Transbaykal area supplied 60 1;_?r cnr of all tuns ten ore, out only 50 percent
in 1939, since, in the meantime, new depo-its Load been mined in the Urals, the
Altay, Central Asia, and espectall;: in the hurt): Caucasus.
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/10/17: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700030601-9
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/10/17: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700030601-9
There is still a shortage of aluminum in the Soviet armament industry and
machine-building industry, even though large new bauxite deposits have been dis-
covered and the newly built aluminum punts have been almost able to meet Soviet
requirements. The largest deposits, i.e., about 90 percent of total reserves,
are :n the Urals r r Krasnaya Shapochka (Sverdlovsk Oblast) and are estimated
at 9 million tons. Lther important deposits are near Sokolovskoye (2.6 million
tons), in Bashkiria (1.5 million tons), and Oka-Aymak, Buryat-Mongol ASSR.
Between 1933 and 1937, the aluminum output of the USSR increased from 4,400
tons to 45,000 tons. In 1940, the output was 54,900 tons, and it was supposed
to reach 200,)O0 tons according to the plan for 1942. Bauxite mining increased
from 50,600 tons in 1933, to 250,000 tons in 1937, and to 560,000 tons in 1938.
Since then, it has been further increased end the current Soviet aluminum pro-
duction should amount tc approximately 250,000 tons. The most important plants
in the eastern USSR are is Kamensk-Ural'skiy and in Kemerovo, each with a
capacity of 100,000 tons, and Cheremkbovo Irkutsk Oblast, with 250,000 tons,
Conditions in the Irkutsk industrial regri : favor a further development of the
aluminum industry, especially after the construction of the large hydroelectric
power station on the Angara River has teen completed.
Mercury and Rare Metals
During the recent years, mining of mercury has greatly increased, as this
metal also is of great importan^.e to he armaments industry. The largest Soviet
mercury deposits are in Khaydarken ana Kadamdzhay, Kirgiz SSR, where reserves
are estimated at 100,000 tons. Further deposits have been found in the Altay
region and in the Oyrot Autonomous Oblast. The USSR is not dependent on imports
of mercury from other countries.
On the other hand, molybdenum is still a critical material. It is obtained,
together with other nonferrous metals, from the copper mines of Kounrad (Kazakh-
stan) and Dzhida, Khatcma, Ul'mata /possibly Umal'ta7 and Davenda (Transbaykal).
Vanadium, which is obtained in 'he regions of Molotov and Orsk in the Urals,
as well as in Central Asia, i- not surr!cient to meet the requirements of the
armaments industry.
The supply of cobalt is apparent:y >ufficient to meet the growing demands
of the Soviet aviation industry. cobalt ore is obtained from nickel deposits
in the Urals and Kazakhstan.
RESTRICTED
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/10/17: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700030601-9