1Q24 
MINERALS YEARBOOK, 1978-79 
 
 Table 3.—United Kingdom: Imports of mineral commodities —Continued
(Metric tons unless otherwise specified) 
Commodity 
1977 
1978 
Principal sources 1978 
MINERAL FUELS AND RELATED MATERIALS — 
 
 
 
Continued 
 
 
 
Coal and briquets: 
Anthracite and bituminous coal — thousand tons — 
2,414 
2,352 
Australia 1,028; United States 421; Poland 
414. 
Briquets of anthracite and bituminous coal_do_ — - - 
85 
77 
France 54 Federal Republic of Germany 
 
~ 
Ligniteandlignitebriquets                  
Cokeandsemicoke —                        Hydrogen and rare gases
 
                    
Peat, including peat briquets and litter 
thousand tons - 
Petroleum: 
109 
9,112 
1,811 
 
152 
223 
2,917 
 
158 
NA. 
Netherlands 627; United States 618. 
~ 
Ireland 141; U.S.S.R. 13. 
Crude and partly refined 
thousand 42-gallon barrels. — 
507,681 
492,759 
Saudi Arabia 103,197; Kuwait 81,962. 
Refinery products: 
 Gasoline, including natural do. — — — 
 Kerosine and jet fuel do — — — 
: 
 Distillate fuel oil do — — — 
 Residual fuel oil do.. — — — Lubricants do.
— —
— 
40,994 
 
9,469 
 
16,602 
32,713 
 
2,641 
49,012 
 
5,069 
 
12,744 
27,092 
 
11,954 
Italy 12,196; Netherlands 9,923; U.S.S.R. 7,458. 
Netherlands 1,808; Belgium-Luxembourg 606; Italy 558. 
U.S.S.R. 5,222; Netherlands 2,410. Netherlands 11,937; Belgium-Luxembourg
4,577; Italy 2,918. 
Belgium-Luxembourg 4,653; Denmark 1,942; Netherlands 1,800. 
Other: 
 
 
 
Liquefied petroleum gas do.. — — — 
Mineral jelly and wax do. — — — Nonlubricating
oils, n.e.s
      do — — — Bitumen and other residues and
bituminous

15,818 
295 
147 
41,971 
274 
NA 
Norway 32,960; Algeria 6,203. Netherlands 213. 
 mixtures, n.e.s do. — — —Pitch, pitch coke,
petroleum
coke do. — — — 
1,045 
1,555 
1,273 
1,851 
United States 682; France 341; Canada 3. United States 1,273; Netherlands
394; Federal Republic of Germany 25. 
Total do.....~ 
121,279 
151,240 
 
Mineral tar and other coal-, petroleum-, or gas-derived 
crude chemicals                           
259,333 
342,861 
United States 106,750; Netherlands 92,797; France 64,753. 
NA Not available. 
1lncludes cement copper. 
2Value only reported at $582,000; the 1978 value was reported at $97,000.

3Value only reported at $2,366; the 1977 value was reported at $1,665. 
4Value only reported at $681,000; the 1978 value was reported at $610,000.

 
COMMODITY REVIEW 
 
METALS 
 
 Aluniinum.—Prospects of an expanding aluminum market in the 1980's
caused the three major British producers to consider expansion. The major
obstacles were considered to be the high cost of electricity and the reluctance
of the British Government to authorize subsidized lower rates. 
 Anglesey Aluminium Ltd., at Holyhead, Wales, a joint subsidiary of Kaiser
Aluminum Co. of the United States (66.7%) and Rio Tinto Zinc Ltd. (33.3%),
had sought to double its capacity of 100,000 tons per year at a cost of £150
million. However, the Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB), a Government
entity, refused to negotiate a contract for new supplies at a rate as advantageous
as in the original contract, which was tied to the costs of 
nuclear generation, and Anglesey abandoned its plans early in 1979. It was
reported that the CEGB had lost over £200 million under the original
contract. 
 The British AluminiumCo. Ltd. (BA), also abandoned plans to expand its 100,000-tonper-year
smelter at Invergordon, Scotland, because cheap electricity was not available.
BA concentrated on expanding its small plants at Lochaber, Fort William (at
a cost of £20 million), and at Kinlochleven, also in Scotland.
The
Lochaber plant was scheduled to be expanded from its capacity of 28,000 tons
to 37,000 tons per year by late 
1981 at a cost of about £35 million. It was anticipated that the
expansion
would also permit a reduction in the work force from 518 to 337 persons.

 BA reverted to its original U.K.-owned status when Reynolds Metal Co. of
the