164 MINERALS YEARBOOK, 1967 
 
Table 26.—Ferrous scrap and pig iron con 
sumption by types of furnaces and 
miscellaneous uses 
 
(Thousand short tons) 
 
Ferrous scrap and pig iron 1966 1967 
charged to— 
Steel furnaces: 
 Scrap 2,592 2,594 
 Pig iron 2,059 2,048 
 Total 4,651 4,642 
 
Iron furnaces: 2 
 Scrap 379 353 
 Pigiron 208 197 
 Total 587 550 
Miscellaneous uses: Scrap 20 13 
 Total scrap 2,991 2,960 
 Total pig iron 2,267 2,245 
 Grand total 5,258 5,205 
 
 1 Includes open hearth, electric furnace, and basic oxygen process. 
 2 cupola, air and direct castings. 
 3 Includes rerolling, copper precipitation, nonferrous, and chemical uses.

 
 
in concentrate form, and 15 million pounds used at Mountain Pass in the production
of cerium and europium oxides, and lanthanum hydrate. The total rare-earth
oxides sold and used were about 4.4 million pounds less than in 
1966. 
 Construction of rare-earth oxide plant facilities, initiated in 1965, was
essentially completed in 1967. Cerium hydrate, lanthanum hydrate, and lanthanum
carbonate circuits were installed at the Mountain Pass chemical plant. 
 
 Silver.—Ores from four Inyo County lode mines—one lead-zinc
(Darwin), one tungsten (Pine Creek), and two lead (Jubilee and Santa Rosa)—yielded
over 92 percent of the recoverable lode silver and 91 percent of all silver
recovered in 1967. Lode silver production declined 24 percent and the quantity
of placer silver (recovered as a coproduct in mining placer gold) dropped
44 percent. Less than 2,000 ounces of placer silver was recovered in 1967.

 Despite the interest in silver on the national level, exploration for silver
ores was reported at only six properties, two each in Alpine and San Bernardino

 
Counties and one each in Kern and Madera Counties. 
 
 Tin.—Production and shipments of tin concentrate increased in 1967.
All pro. duction was from the Meeke-Hogan mine, Kern County, by American
Tin Corp. The entire output was consigned to a New York buyer. 
 
 Tungsten.—Although 30 mines and prospects contributed to the total
output of tungsten ores and concentrates, two mines—Pine Creek mine
of Union Carbide Corp., Inyo County, and Strawberry mine of New Idria Mining
& Chemical Co., Madera County—accounted for most of the production
and shipments. The Pine Creek mine continued as the largest domestic producer.
Union Carbide purchased concentrates from smaller producers in Inyo, Madera,
and San Bernardino Counties, and from producers and former producers in Nevada,
Idaho, Montana, Utah, and Washington. Major purchases also were made from
the Government stockpile. Some of the produced and purchased concentrates
were converted to paratungstate in the Pine Creek plant but the company also
shipped concentrates and paratungstate to customers in other States. 
 A number of small producers in Fresno, Inyo, Kern, Riverside, San Bernardino,
and Tuolumne Counties sold concentrates to a Nevada tungsten carbide plant.
The average price paid for tungsten concentrate was $38 per unit, $6.50 per
unit higher than in 1966. 
 
 Zinc.—Four Inyo County mines that were also the major lead producers
yielded over 99 percent of the zinc recovered in 1967. The Darwin mine was
by far the largest producer, followed by the Santa Rosa. Ores from these
two mines contained about 96 percent of the total recoverable zinc produced
in the State. Overall production rose nearly 32 percent above that in 1966
despite labor strikes at nonferrous smelters. The increase was due largely
to production from the Darwin mine which was idle in 1966, except for exploration
and development.