105
Extensive iron and copper deposits of considerably
higher grade do exist in foreign lands. A considerable
amount of the copper imported into the United States
for domestic consumption has come from these sources in
the recent past and probably will come in the future.
Imports of iron ore, which began to grow large in the
lpUOs, have expanded almost without pause since then
and by 1969 amounted to 40,758 thousand long tons of
usable iron compared to domestic production for that
qO
year of 88,260 thousand long tons. Most iron
imports came from Canada and Venezuela, where heavy
investments by United States companies in mining properties
had been made previously. These countries, together with
Liberia, furnished 35891 thousand long tons of usable
iron for use in the United States.
United States investment in overseas mining
39
ventures has been substantial both in iron and copper,
and while such sources are very much needed, they are
not entirely secure.
^Minerals Yearbook, 1969 pp. 557 559
39
^The share of total ore reserves owned either
directly or indirectly by United States firms is very
difficult to determine because of a lack of published
data. However, in 1947, three United States firms,
Anaconda, Kennecott, and Phelps-Dodge, owned 41.25
percent of known copper reserves. Cf. Walter H.
Voskuil, Minerals in World Industry ^New York: McGraw-
Hill Book Company, 1955)  P^ 211.