Word: cobalt
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...already alarmingly dependent on imports for many of its most critical industrial raw materials. In all, 98% of America's manganese, 97% of its cobalt, 93% of its aluminum and 91% of its chromium come from foreign ores. More than 50% of its tin, nickel, zinc and tungsten ores are also imported. The supply of several of these materials is susceptible to interruption because they come from either the Soviet Union or from unstable southern African nations that suffer serious internal troubles. The most important minerals include...
...Cobalt. A white metal used in jet aircraft engines as well as mining and machine-tool bits, cobalt is supplied mainly by Zaire, which has 65% of the non-Communist world's reserves. Recurrent civil wars over the past three years have kept the price dancing between $6.40 and $50 per Ib. Other producers include the U.S.S.R. and Cuba. Reports Charles River Associates, a consulting firm in Boston: "The cobalt situation is one of the most serious problems facing consumers of critical materials today...