Minerals in Modern Industry

Abstract

THE industrial revolution which began in England spread to the western countries of the Continent and developed because of favourable conditions of mineral resources. These natural conditions were found to be reproduced on a larger scale on the other side of the North Atlantic and the new industries became transplanted there also. Three centres—northern England, the Franco-German district bordering the Rhine valley, and the north-eastern United States—became the world's workshops: they embrace more than ninety per cent of the world's iron and steel-making capacity. Once established, the inertia of invested capital helped to maintain production. Other types of industries, notably the chemical, found it convenient to locate close to the steel centre. The increasing density of population enhances the local market for manufactured products. Raw materials, including accessory minerals, flow to these three centres from all over the globe.

Minerals in Modern Industry.

By Dr. Walter H. Voskuil. Pp. ix + 350. (New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.; London: Chapman and Hall, Ltd., 1930.) 18s. 6d. net.