Nickel, exports of strategic minerals (exhibit 23). O'Mahoney, Senator, press release on S. 2105 (exhibit 40). Р Report No. 709, to accompany H. R. 976 (exhibit 29). Report No. 1135, to accompany H. R. 5725 (exhibit 35). Report No. 958, to accompany S. 240 (exhibit 48). 342 426 329 S. 240, as reported to the Senate by the Committee on Interior and Insular 451 Stock-piling program, administration of, letter from Munitions Board Stock-piling legislation, memorandum of discussion with the President 401 345 Stock-pile report to the Congress dated January 23, 1949, Munitions 350 Strategic materials, their relation to the European recovery program, excerpts from the February 1949 report of the Economic Cooperation Treasury Department, letter from, regarding procurement of strategic 382 342 337 NATIONAL MINERALS ACT OF 1949 WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 1949 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Washington, D. C. The subcommittee met at 10 a. m., Hon. Clair Engle, chairman, presiding. Present: Messrs. Engle, Peterson, Regan, Baring, Marshall, O'Neill, Aspinall, Lemke, Barrett, and D'Ewart. Mr. ENGLE. The committee will be in order. The Subcommittee on Mines and Mining was called today to consider six bills, all relating to incentive payments to stimulate the exploration, development, production, and conservation of critical and strategic minerals and metals. The measures before the committee are H. R. 976, H. R. 1239, H. R. 1962, H. R. 2047, all of which are identical, and introduced respectively by Congressman Engle of California, Congressman Mansfield, of Montana, Congressman Meyer, of Kansas, and Congressman Baring, of Nevada. We are also to consider H. R. 2031 and H. R. 2406, introduced by Congressman Lemke, of North Dakota, and Congressman Mills, of Arkansas, which are measures for the same purpose with a little different language. (The bills referred to are included in the appendix as exhibits 1 through 6, pages 264 to 287.) Mr. ENGLE. We have before us this morning our distinguished colleague from Montana, Mr. Mansfield, who is the author of H. R. 1239 pending before this committee, and in deference to the fact that he has another meeting, we would be gald to hear from Congresman Mansfield as the first witness. STATEMENT OF HON. MIKE MANSFIELD, CONGRESSMAN FROM THE STATE OF MONTANA Mr. MANSFIELD. Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, I should like to say as a preface that part of my background has been in the mining field; that I have worked in the mines of Butte for about 9 years and have also worked in the Coeur D'Alenes and Bisbee. The jobs I held were those of mucker, miner, and mining engineer. Since coming to Congress I have been acutely aware of the difficulties which have faced the small miner. It might be well for the committee to know that, on the basis of statistics, about 1 out of 4,000 prospects pan out. That should indicate the difficulties which the small miner has under the best of circumstances and the need for the continuation of the type of Government aid which was put into effect during the war and was known as the premium price payment plan. The big mining interests are able to take care of themselves, but I submit, gentlemen, that the backbone of this country, as far as the mining industry goes, is the small miner who has to go out, take the chances, spend his money, and try and bring into production something which may be of benefit to the Nation as a whole. Mining is probably the most hazardous of all industries and it is my belief that in view of the critical situation which faces this country at the present time, and may face it for some years to come, that something should be done to alleviate the present shortages in strategic minerals, and that some encouragement should be given to the small miners to produce either in a new prospect or in marginal production enterprises. This bill, which was originally introduced into the House by Congressman Engle of California, who has always been an outstanding friend of the small miners, and in the Senate by my colleague from Montana, Senator Murray, is, I think, the answer to the difficulties which the small miners face. The bill is known as the National Minerals Act of 1949 and the bill declares the policy of the Government shall be to stimulate the exploration, development, mining, and production of strategic and critical metals and minerals by private enterprise; and it establishes the machinery and authorizes the funds to effectuate such a governmental policy. The bill creates a new Mine Incentive Payments Division within the Department of the Interior, headed by a Director, who shall determine production and exploration payments according to the needs of each mine. Production payments are proposed to be made to producers of ores, metals, and minerals determined strategic or critical by the Munitions Board, and shall be made within specified limits which are to be adjusted up or down according to changes in the Bureau of Labor Standards Wholesale Commodity Index. Production payments shall be made only to producers whose operations require such assistance, and shall be based upon efficiency of operation. Exploration payments shall be made on application to any producer of strategic and critical metals or minerals to be spent in the search for new ore deposits or extension of known deposits; such payments shall be held in separate accounts, and shall be subject to postaudit. The provisions for exploration payment follow the principles of the wartime premium-price plan, small operators on simple application may be allocated up to $1,500 a month and larger sums may be made available to any operator upon approval of particular projects. No royalty shall be paid on exploration payments and in the case of production payments no allowance shall be made for royalties in excess of 10 percent. All additional production dependent upon production payments shall be purchased and transferred to the national stock pile by the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, which shall be reimbursed out of stock-pile funds for the market value of the material transferred. The idea has been supported by this committee in previous hearings held during the Eightieth Congress. Bills have been reported out, notably the Russell bill of last year, but have not seen the light of day upon the floor of the House. It is true that previous to that time, the so-called Allen bill, which was a skeleton-like bill insofar as it would apply to the small mining industry was concerned, was reported out, passed by the House and Senate and vetoed by the President. In my opinion, that was a mistake on the President's part because at that time and as a result of the veto, many small mines in the Rocky Mountain area of the country was forced to close down. I know that there are gentlemen on this committee who are familiar with the mining game and who recognize the fact that once you shut a mine down, a good deal of decay and deterioration is bound to set in, due to the fact that timbers will fall, rocks will cave, and the shafts or tunnels will fill up with water. To reopen those mines is a difficult and expensive proposition. In my particular state, a good many small operators had to shut down. because they could not compete with the big companies on the basis of their production. I refer to one company in particular, the North Butte Mining Co., located in Butte, the only independent producer in the town, employing about 300 men. Because of the fact they could not receive a continuation of the premium payments, that mine was forced to shut down. The 300 men were laid off and at the present time, of course, the shaft has been flooded, timbers have come down, the rock has caved, and it is in a very precarious situation. There are other mines in my district in the same situation, mines in the vicinity of Bozeman, Drummond, and Sheridan and elsewhere. These miners have put their own capital into these enterprises and have opened up deposits which could become significantly useful to the welfare of our country. Of course, as you know, there has been a National Strategic Stock Piling Act passed and some three millions of dollars, as I recall, has been appropriated for the acquisition of the critical and scarce minerals for that stock pile. I think if you will look on the record you will see that in hearings before the Subcommittee on Interior Appropriations last year that when Secretary Krug of the Interior Department was asked about the status of that stock pile, he said that they had practically nothing at all in it. In other words, the minerals, like copper, lead, zinc, chrome, and manganese, which we can produce in this country, which we can develop among the small-mine operators, are still in extremely short supply and we have nothing in our stock pile to speak of to help us in a defensive way should the need ever arise. I know that in my particular State after the Government spent something like $20,000,000 in developing the chrome operations in Stillwater County, that they practically closed those properties down and transferred a lot of the buildings and machinery until they were stopped away from these properties. Chrome is a very important product. We have to import it from Turkey, north Africa, and also, I believe, a certain amount comes from Russia. There is no reason why this low-cost producer should not be given some opportunity to be reopened again. I should not say low |