NONFERROUS MEDALS INDUSTRY REPORTS 1949 GAINS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000600300236-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 8
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 7, 2011
• Sequence Number: 236
• Publication Date: April 25, 1950
• Content Type: REPORT

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CLASSIFICATION SECRET J 6fi 3
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY REPORT
INFORMATION FROM
FOREIGN DOCUMENTS OR RADIO BROADCASTS CO NO.
COUNTRY USSR
SUBJECT Economic - Nonferrous metals
HOW
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WHERE
DATE
LANGUAGE
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DATE OF
INFORMATION 1949 - 1950
DATE DIST. a?'rApr 1950
NO. OF PAGES 8
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO.
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
Numbers in parentheses refer to appended source.-.7
In late 1949 and early 1.950, the nonferrous metals industry reported a
general rise in production and the adoption of many new and improved tech-
niques in production. In the Armenian copper ioduatry, the Zangezur Mine
Administration in Kafan fulfilled the 1949 pl%n for ore output by the end
of December and throughout the year mined 24 percent more ore than in 1948.(1)
In accordance with the Mcecow drive for more effective utilization of
the resources of enterprises, the Mine Administration is making further ef-
forts to improve operations.(2) The improvements over the part 2 years have
been substantial. They include the building of the main tunnel, introduc-
tion of new electric mine locomotives, and mechanization of basic production
processes. These measures have helped to increase transport of ore by sev-
eral hundred percent during those years and to provide continuous operation
of the flotation factory. The factory is now producing twice as much con-
centrate. Over the past 4 years, gross-production output has doubled as
compared with February 1946, labor preducti.vicy has increased 42 percent, and
wages paid to workers have increased 5(, percent.(3)
As for the current improvements, in Mine No 5-6 all mining operations
will be concentrated on one level, increasing labor productivity 20 percent.
The old narrow-gauge lines and cars in the main tunnel will be replaced with
new equipment.
By modernizing the electrical equipment at the flotation factory, running
speed of machinery will be increased 15 percent. Mechanization of the supply
of concentrating oils will result in a l-l3 percent increase in the recovery
of copper and a saving of 7.8 percent in electric p .re .
The machine shop will release 120 square meters of production area by
decreasing the area occupied by each machine tool which produces spare parts
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CLASSIFICATION
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for pneumatic hammers and by combining the repair division with the divi-
sion producing spare parts. Labor distribution will be reorganized in
order to increase the operation of the machine tools from 16 to 24 hours
a day.
Combining the repair shop with the capital construction shop will
release 220 square meters of production area and will also reduce trans-
port expenses. The achievement of all these measures will make possible
a production increase of 8 percent above plan and an increase of 17.5
percent in the productivity of the flotation factory.(2)
Another Armenian copper enterprise has made substantial improvements.
The Shaming Mine Administration has expanded the working front and opened
new faces. In order to 'nsure continuous operations, workshops for light
repair of mine equipment have been set up directly in the mine sections.
Transport facilities have been considerably improved. The mine has ob-
tained new large-capacity cars which should double loading speed. One and
a half kilometers of electric car track have been replaced in the main tun-
nel and all lines have been put in good order. Mechanization of labor-con-
suming processes has helped to increase the productivity of miners and
drillers by 6 percent, and the cost of one ton of ore has decreased by 1.7
percent more than planned. In comperison with 1948, the production cycle
has been shortened by 11 days and 667,000 rubles have been saved between
January and December 1949 by mechanization, efficient expenditure of mate-
rials, and better care of equipment.(4) The mines were 3 days ahead of
schedule in completing the January mining plan.(5)
The Alaverdi Copper-Smelting Plant, also in Armenia, completed the 1949
gross-production plan on 11 November (6) and by 21. December had fulfilled
the 1949 plan 110 percent.(7)
In the Kazakhstan copper industry, the Balkhask Copper-Smelting Plant,
Karaganda Oblast, completed the 1949 plan for smelting blister copper on
26 December.(8) A campaign for heavy high-speed melts has been initiated in
the plant. The leader of the campaign has pledged to increase the melt 0.6
ton abov^ the norm for each square meter of furnace hearth and to reduce
fuel consumption and the loos of copper in residue slags.(9) In January,
the plant's metallurgical shop achieved a high production level. The Janu-
ary plan for smelting blister copper was completed ahead of schedule.
The Vostochno-Konrad Mine in the some Oblast completed the January
mining plan on schedule.(10) The Kounrad Mines are working to increase ore
output 11 percent in 1950 over 1949.(11) The Dzhezkazgan miners have ex-
ceeded the January plan (10), having attained the 1950 mining level in Decem-
ber.(12) The Karsakpay Copper-Smelting Plant exceeded the augmented January.
production plan on schedule and achieved the highest level of blister-copper
smelting of its career. In January, the plant produced as much copper as it
had during the entire first quarter of 1949. Theme achievements were the re-
sult for the most part of excellent p:erarations for difficult winter condi-
tions. In January too, the plant produced only first-grade metal. The metal-
lurgical shop has adopted a number of measures for modernizing production
processes. The Irtysh Copper Smelting Plant, Vo;tochnc-Kazakhstan Oblast,
also exceeded the January smelting plan.(13)
In 1949, the Moscow Copper-Smelting Plant imeni Molotov produced 11 per-
cent-more blister and electrolytic copper: than in 1948.(14)
The major USSR manganese enterprises have pledged substantial production
increases for 1950. Or. 19 December, the Georgian "Chiaturmarganets" Trust
completed the 1949 plan for mining manganese. The year 1950 will see a sig-
nificant increase in the output of manganese and the trust is new undertaking
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many preparations to ensure this increase. Particular attention is being
given to the introduction of new technolow- in concentrating manganese in
an effort to reduce the metal loss to the minimum and to improve its quali-
ty. In order to do this, it has been planned to install newly designed
machinery in the concentration plants and to improve concentration processes,
for which large sums will be spent. High-frequer - jiggi.g machinery and
magnetic separators, in particular, will be installed.
In order to meet he 1950 plan, all mine administrations in the trust
are making efforts to open up new and e_xpd existing work fronts. In the
first quarter 1950, reconstruction of the underground transport syste.a in
the Mine imeni Lenin will be completed. The mine will have, for the first
time in the Chiatura Basin, new 3-ton cars and heavy-duty electric locomo-
tives. Three new compressors will be installed in the Dines imeni Lenin and
Stalin and the degree of mechanization in loading the ore will be doubled.
To improve operating control, all production will be put on a complete dis-
patcher basis.
New housing and community construction projects will plan an important
part in 1950 operations. It is also planned to start construction of a com-
bine at the Mine imeni Lenin, the administration building of the trust, a
passenger cableway between Chiatura and Perevisi, and also highway improve-
ment in Chiatura is planned. In 1950, considerably larger sums, including
5.- million rubles for housing construction, will be spent on the technical
reorganization of production and capital construction than were spent in
1949.(15)
The trust's Mine imeni Stalin (director, L. Goshkhoteliani) in the third
quarter 1949 increased mining of manganese 44.1 percent over the third quar-
ter 1948. The mine completed the 1949 plan on 15 December. Three concentra-
tion plants handle the ore put out by the mine and these are supervised by
engineers A. Gabechav, I. Tadumadze, and P. Gvelesiani. All processes except
loading are ::chanized. Pneumatic drills are used in the faces and hoists
and electric locomotives are used for hauling the ore. Electric drills are
used for drilling blast holes. Loading is done partially by scraper con-
veyers.(16)
The Nikopol'-Marganets Manganese Basin in Dnepropetrovsk Oblast com-
pleted the 1949 plan on 28 December (l?) and its workers have pledged to in-
crease the mining of manganese by 30 percent during 1950.(18)
New mining methods are being adopted of necessity in the basin. The
manganese ores lie in blanket deposits with a capacity of from 1.8 to 2.2
meters. Mining conditions are extremely difficult because of the extremely
high 'ater content of the rock, the tremendous mine pressure, and the low
stability of the workings. For these reasons, the inadequate system of work-
ing the mine by approaches (zakhodka) is used widely throughout the basin.
The ore block is prepared for exploitation by driving panel haulage drifts
off which mi:iing drifts are driven every 15-20 meters. The pillars left by
the cutting of the drifts are mined by single or double approaches *3 or
5 meters wide respectively. The face is advanced from each mining drift by
'.alf the width of the pillar. The ore is extracted by pneumatic drill, then
loaded by shovels into half-ton cars which as pulled by hand to the haulage
drift. There, the ore-filled cars are removed by continuous cable to the
stockyard. All development workings are strengthened by complete door sets.
Incomplete door sets are installed in the approaches where the ore is re-
moved in 2-3 days. The brigade working in one approach usually consists of four
men -- the miner, car handler, and two loaders. The brigade mines as much
as 40 tons per shift. .
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The nature of the deposit and this inadequate system of working it
lead to a scattering of mining points and to a low volume of hauling.
The properties of the Nikopol' ore (dampness and adhesiveness) make mech-
anization of ur.derground transport difficult. The lack of mechanization
in turn results in a large waste of manpower, considerable lowering of
productivity, and reduction in the speed of advancing the faces. This
last is harmful to the condition of the faces and workings, necessitates
excess expenditure of manpower for timbering, and, in a number of cases,
leads to losses of ore as a result of the impose'.bility of hauling the
cars through extremely narrcw mining drifts. For these reasons, the prob-
lem of mechani-ing underground transport, particularly in the working
faces and mining drifts, is of extreme importance.
Utilization of the usual series band and scraper conveyers, used in
the coal industry, is not suitable to the Nikopol' basin since this type
of conveyer is heavy, cumbersome, and its productivity is in excess of
that needed in the Nikopol' mines. Specially designed conveyers are needed.
The Chair of Mine Transport of the Dnepropetrovsk Mining institute
has developed a new type of scraper conveyer, the DGI, for hauling the wet
and sticky ores of the Nikopol' Basin. A number of structural deficiencies
of the ST-2-6, STS-3, and ST-6 scraper conveyers have been corrected, and
the size and weight have been considerably reduced, the difficulty in re-
assembling has been diminished, and the use of either electric or pneumatic
drive is provided. The DGI and the DGI-2, which is even lighter, began tc
be used in the basin for transporting the less sticky ore in 1947 - 1948.
The DGI conveyer is used in mining the approach, A band conveyer,
installed in the drift, has a flat rubberized band up co 120 meters in
length which can be shortened as the old approach is filled in and as work
is begun in the new one. The brigade serving one approach consists of four
or five men, including a miner, loader, who also does timbering, an elec-
trician, and two men for loading ore into cars in the haulage drift (one of
these is the operator for the conveyers which are operated by remote control
by signals from the face). Primary installation of the conveyer in the ap-
proach and removal of it when extraction of ore has been completed is done
by a 4-man brigade in 12-2 hours. These same brigades also shorten the band
conveyer in the drift, an operation which takes 4-6 hours.
The conversion to mechanized loading of ore has helped to increase the
average monthly output of a face by 40-50 percent as compared with hand load-
ingt and also to increase the productivity of the worker at the face as high
as 40 percent and of the worker in the mining section as high as 25 percent.
The DGI scraper conveyer, as it is now, is not able to be operated in ex-
tremely sticky ores. The DGI is excellently adapted not only to manganese
ore mining, but to mining of other minerals such as the iron ore in the Tula
and Lipetak 'eposits, Ukranian lignite coal, and. in all conditions which re-
quire compact, quickly maneuverable, light-duty -,onveyers.(19)
There has also been a change in mining methods in the Mazul'skoye Man-
ganese Deposit, Krasnoyarsk Kray. This deposit consists of a number of iso-
lated ore bodies, the largest of which coincide with zones of crumbling rock,
occurring for the most part in association with limestone formations. Until
1948, the deposit was worked mainly by the open-pit metl:;d. In the second
half of 1948, because of the reduction in the extent of open-pit operations,
almost 52 percent of the total output was mined by sublevel caving with shal-
low blast holes, a system made difficult by the instability of the ore and
the crumbling tendency of the rock. The productivity of labor per worker in
underground operations was only 83 percent of the average productivity of the
mining division, and the cost delivered to the warehouse was 111.8 percent of
the average.
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Beginning in January 1949, it was planned to make a complete change-
over from open-pit mining to underground. It was estimated at the time
that the productivity of the subsurface workers would decrease 16.5 per-
cent as compared with 1948 and the cost would increase 11.8 percent.
These estimates made it necessary for the directors of the Mine Administra-
tion to discover new and more productive methods of working the deposit.
In the fourth quarter 1948, tests were made of mining by deep-blast holes,
and the results were so favorable in increasing labor productivity and de-
creasing costs that the mine was scheduled to use deep-blast-hole mining
in 65 percent of all mining operations.
In 9 months of 1949, the use of deep-blast holes in mining resulted
in considerable cost reductions and increase in labor productivity, par-
ticularly in the second and third quarters when this method was used in
nearly 80 percent of all mining operations. Productivity of the driller
in the first quarter was 125 percent of that of the second half of 1948,
in the second quarter 144 percent, and in the third quarter 192 percent
of the second half of 1948. The volume of cutting operations per ton of
ore in the first quarter was 99 percent of that of the second half of 1948
and only 42 percent in the second and third quarters. Consumption of
blasting agents per ton of extracted material in the first quarter 1949 was
only 83 percent of the second half of 1948, 79 percent in the second quar-
ter and 76 percent in the third quarter. Consumption of support timber in
the three quarters was 70, 75, and 48 percent respectively of the second
half of 1948. The cost of one ton of ore delivered to the warehouse in the
three quarters was 94, 85, and 83 percent respectively of the costs in the
second half of 1948. The use of this system also enabled the mine to con-
vert its operations from three shifts to one shift without reducing the
volume of mining.
To sum up, mining by deep-blast holes considerably expanded the limits
on using such highly productive methods as the shrinkage system and the
system of open rooms, even in mining these sufficiently unstable ores. The
safety of the driller was made more secure, since drilling is conducted in
large and well-equipped rooms. Savings amount to 50 percent per ton of
mined material as a result of the decrease in sinking operations. The
method also increased the productivity of the underground workers by concen-
trating mining operations in individual blocks, making easier supervision
of work and full utilization of manpower.(20)
In zinc a_id lead mining and processing, the Ust'-Kamenogorsk Zinc Plant,
Vostochno-Kazakhstan Oblast, upped its zinc output in 1949 to 182 percent of
the 1948 output, and produced only the highest grade zinc. The plant com-
pleted its 1949 plan ahead of schedule. Recovery of metal exceeded the plan
by 3 percent and its cost has been decreased 3 percent more than planned.
Labor productivity is 15 percent above the plan. In 11 months, the plant
saved 7 million kilowatt-hours of electric power and realized 15 million
rubles' profits.(21)
The past 4 years have seen great changes at the Tekeli Lead and Zinc
Combine, Teldy-Ku-gan Oblast in Kazakhstan, including improvement in methods
of mining and increased use of machinery. Prcductivity of labor during this
period increased 300 percent.(22)
The Chimkent Lead Plant, Yuzhno-Kazakhstan Oblast, is taking measures
to increase production. Reconstruction of smelting furnaces has begun and
will result in a considerable production rise when completed. Expansion of
the present molding area will increase the output of iron castings by 23 tons
per month. Measures are also being taken to speed car turnover time in intra-
plant transport.(23)
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In October, the Donskiye Chromate Mines, Aktyubinsk Oblast, Kazakh
SSR, completed the 1949 mining plan and in November, attained the 1950
production level. The nines are now exceeding daily plans by 20-30 per-
cent.(24)
In previous years in the winter months, the Aktyubinsk Ferroalloy
Plant has decreased metal output. This winter, under difficult condi-
tions, the metallurgical and auxiliary shops, the TETs, and all produc-
tion sections are operating at full capacity. The TETs exceeded its
January plan for electric power production and saved more than 300 tons
of coal.
The "Ubaredmet" (rare metals) Mine, Kazakh SSR, has been exceeding
its plans from month to month. A new method of drilling, arising from
one of the engineer's changes in the drill, has increased ore output.
The machine shop is introducing new methods in reconditioning truck
parts (6)
In the Kirgiz SSR mining and metallurgical industry, labor produc-
tivity in 1949 increased 16.2 percent over 1948. The Khaydarken Combine,
Osh Oblast, has fulfilled the Five-Year Plan for volume of production, (27)
The Mining and Metallurgical Combine imeni Frunze (director, Drozdov) com-
pleted the 1949 plan on 24 December. The plan for output of higher grades
of metal was exceeded 17 percent. -he combine has also exceeded the rro-
duction level planned for 1950.(28)
The "Krasnyy vyborzhets" Plant in Leningrad is making tests of an
innovation which combines two smelting furnaces into one apparatus. The
result is a more effective utilization of the heat of waste gases and a
considerable saving in fuel. Four years ago, restoration of the produc-
tion of rolled copper strips was a notable achievement, whereas at present,
the plant has completely mastered production of plates, bars, and forgings
from the complex alloy, chromo-zinc bronze.(29) Another innovation at the
plant developed by the workers and scientific associates of the Polytechni-
cal Institute is a process of rolling on a wide six-roll mill. Wooden
bearings instead of bronze have been adopted and water instead of oil is
used for lubrication, with the resultant savings in metal and lubricating
oil. Under the direction of Chief Metallurgist Shabashev, foundry workers
have started casting large ingots in horizontal water-cooled molds, a proc-
ess which has resulted in substantial improvement in the surface of the
ingots and a large saving in copper. (30)
Another Leningrad innovation in the nonferrous metallurgy field is a
new type of furnace for smelting nonferrous metals designed by V. I. Petrov,
Candidate in Technical Sciences and docent at the Leningrad Planning Insti-
tute. The furnace -- the VIP vertical induction furnace -- can smelt 250
kilograms per hour and in one melt can produce up to 1,000 kilograms of al-
loy. The VIP is designed to provide 100-percent resmelting of metal wastes
(cuttings). The furnace is distinguished from existing models by its simpler
design and its considerably greater capacity. In September, one of these
furnaces, built in a short time by plant workers, was put into operation at
the iron-casting plant of the Latvian Railroad System and has already pro-
duced its first bronze melt there.(31) The furnace has also been installed
in the Vitebsk Marshalling Station In Leningrad.(32)
The Leningrad "Sevkabel l" Plant has made improvements in facilities.
Its rolling mill formerly had a very low productivity because of the larger
number of hand operations. In 1949, the mill was modernized with the aid
of Leningrad scientists, and now operates like new. The roller conveyers,
tilters, elevating tables, thrust mechanism, and the high-speed conveyers
now convert copper ingots into wire almost without any hand operations.(33)
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On 2 January, the Mosco;r1etal-Rolling Plant of the Ministry of the
Metallurgical industry installed a new strip-rolling mill in the second
shop in the area formerly occupied by two abandon-!,I soaking pits. The
mill will go into operation at the end of January and will enable the
plant to produce 150,000 more rubles' worth of production. The fourth
shop produces aluminum sheet thousandths of a millimeter in width. A new
division in the shop was put into service on 2 January in the area for-
merly occupied by the department of technical control. Two new rolling
mills and guillotine shears have been assembled in the area which will be
used for rolling foil.(34)
In 11 months of 1949, the Moscow Nonferrous Metal Processing Plant
produced 1,000 more tons of aluminum than during the whole of 1948.
Among its shops is the shop producing pistons.(14)
The Moscow Aluminum Scrap Plant took first place in the competition
among related enterprises of the Ministry of the Metallurgical Industry
in the fourth quarter 1949. The aluminum shop has completed its Five
Year Plan, has decreased the metal content in residue slags by one-half,
and increased the production of metal per square meter of furnace hearth
by more than one-half ton. The bronze-casting shop topped the January
production plan by 125 tons of metal.(35)
SOURCES
1.
Kommunist, No 307, 31 Dec 49
2.
Kommunist, No 303, 25 Dec 49
3.
Kommunist, No 42, 18 Feb 50
4.
Kommunist, No 294, 15 Dec 49
5.
Kommunist, No 35, 9 Feb 50
6.
Kommunist, No 282, 1 Dec 49
7.
Kommunist, No 299, 21 Dec 49
8.
Kazakhstanskaya Pravda, No 255, 31 Dec 49
9.
Kazakhstanskaya Pravda, No 221, 11 Nov 49
10.
Kazakhstanskaya Pravda, No 24, 1 Feb 50
11.
Kazakhstanskaya Pravda, No 10, 14 Jan 50
12.
Kazakhstanskaya Pravda, No 240, 10 Dec 50
13.
Kazakhstanskaya Pravda, No 26, 4 Feb 50
14.
Vechernyaya Moskva, No 302, 23 Dec 49
15.
Zarya Vostoka, No 255, 31 Dec 49
16.
Zarya Vostoka, No 247, 18 Dec 49
17.
Pravda Ukrainy, No 308, 31 Dec 49
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18. Moskovskiy Bolshevik, No 4, 5 Jan 50
19. Gornyy Zhurnal, No 11, Nov 49
20. Gornyy Zhurnal, No 2, Feb 50
21. Vechernyaya Moskva, No 298, 19 Dec 49
22. Kazakhatanakaya Pravda, No 33, 12 Feb 50
22 1. Pravda, No 227, 20 Nov 49
24. Krasnyy Flot, No 290, 9 Dec 49
25. Kazakhstanskaya Pravda, No 26, 5 Feb 50
26. Kazakhstanskaya Pravda, No 228, 22 Nov 49
27. Sovetskaya Kirgiziya, No 23, 1 Feb 50
28. Sovetskaya Kirgiziya, No 1, 1 Jan 50
29. Pravda, No 32, 1 Feb 50
30. Leningradskaya Pravda, No 228, 27 Sep 49
31. Sovetskaya Latviya, No 225, 23 Sep 49
32. Moskovskiy Komsomolets, No 115, 20 Sep 49
33. Izvestiya, No 5, 6 Jan 50
34. Vechernyaya Moskva, No 1, 2 Jan 50
35. Vechernyaya Moskva, No 40, 16 Feb 50
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