TABLE 22.-Production of Pig-iron by the Tata Iron and Steel Company, Limited, during 1936 and 1937.

During 1936 the Indian Iron and Steel Co. and the Bengal Iron Co. amalgamated and the output of pig-iron by the combined company increased from 659,543 tons in 1936 to 713,030 tons in 1937.

TABLE 23.-Production of Pig-iron by the Indian Iron and Steel Company, Limited, during 1936 and 1937.

60,275 tons of iron castings were produced in 1937 by the Indian

Iron and Steel Co.

D

The output of charcoal pig-iron by the Mysore Iron and Steel Works 10se slightly from 22.241 tons in 1936 to 22,837 tons in 1937.

The total production of pig-iron in India rose from 1,540,056 tons in 1936 to 1.621.260 tons in 1937, and is shown in Table 24..

TABLE 24. Production of Pig-iron in India during the years 1936 and 1937.

The total number of indigenous furnaces that were at work in the Central Provinces during the year 1937 for the purpose of smelting iron-ore was 110 against 92 in the previous year; 59 furnaces were operating in the Bilaspur district, 38 in Mandla, 3 in Raipur, 4 in Chanda, and 6 in Drug.

The increase in the production of pig-iron in India recorded above was accompanied by a slight fall in the quantity exported, from 605.976 tons in 1936 to 597.331 tons in 1937. The value, however, increased by about half. Table 25 shows that Japan is still the principal consumer of Indian pig-iron though the quantity taken fell by 85,548 tons, 23-3 per cent.; the proportion taken fell from 70-8 per cent. in 1935 to 60-6 per cent. in 1936 and 47-2 per cent. in 1937. There were large increases in exports to the United Kingdom, which took 36.1 per cent. of the exports, and smaller increases to the United States, China and other countries. The export value per ton of pig-iron rose from Rs. 22-6 (£1·70) in 1936 to Rs. 34-5 (£2.6) in 1937.

The Steel Industry (Protection) Act, 1924 (Act No. XIV of 1924) authorised, to companies employing Indians, bounties upon rails and fishplates wholly manufactured in British India from materials wholly or mainly produced from Indian iron-ore and

complying with specifications approved by the Railway Board, and upon iron or steel railway wagons, a substantial portion of the component parts of which had been manufactured in British India. This Act was repealed by the Act No. III of 1927 and the payment of bounties consequently ceased on the 31st March, 1927; the industry is, however, protected to a certain extent by the varying tariffs on different classes of imported steel. As a result of a new Act, No. XXXI of 1934, provision has been made for an increase of tariffs by about half over the 1927 rates, or about Rs. 10 per ton ad valorem in most cases, or about Rs. 40 per ton in the case of articles not of British manufacture.

TABLE 25.-Exports of Pig-iron from India during the years 1936

There was an increase in the output of jadeite from the Myitkyina district, Burma, which rose from 1,671 ewts., valued at Rs. 1,78,374 (£13,412), to 2,952 cwts. valued at Rs. 1,73,304 (£13,030) in 1937, a fall in value. Exports by sea rose from 1,445 cwts., valued at Rs. 86,321 (£6,490) in 1936 to 2,410 cwts., valued at Rs. 1,28,912 (£9,693) in 1937. These shipments were entirely from Burma.

Lead.

The production of lead-ore at the Burma Corporation's Bawdwin mines in Burma rose slightly from 468.842 tons in 1936, to 476,896 tons, valued at Rs. 1.28,24,215 (£964,227), in 1937, whilst the total amount of metal extracted rose slightly from 73,155 tons (including 1,240 tons of antimonial lead) valued at Rs. 1.72.27,460 (£1,295,298) in 1936, to 77.650 tons (including 1,150 tons of antimonial lead) valued at Rs. 2,43,83,836 (£1,833,371) in 1937. The quantity of silver extracted from the Bawdwin ores rose slightly from 5,952,000 ozs., valued at Rs. 68,71,584 (£516,660) in 1936 to 6,180,000 ozs., valued at Rs. 73,60,998 (£553,458) in 1937. The value of the lead per ton rose from Rs. 235-5 (£17-71) to Rs. 318-7 (£23.96) whilst the value of the silver per ounce rose from Re. 1-2-6 (20-8d.) to Re. 1-3-1 (21-49d.) in the year under review. The ore reserves in the Bawdwin mine as calculated on the 30th of June, 1937. totalled 3,863,548 tons against 3,914,1821 tons at the end of June, 1936, with an average composition of 23-3 per cent. of lead, 11-6 per cent. of zinc, 0-95 per cent. of copper, and 23-3 ozs. of silver per ton of lead. (See Copper, p. 330.)

Magnesite.

The output of magnesite from Salem district almost doubled, with a decrease of 118 tong from Mysore State.

TABLE 26.-Quantity and value of Magnesite produced in India during the years 1936 and 1937.

Manganese.

The catastrophic fall in the production of manganese-ore in India from the peak figures of 1927, namely 1,129,353 tons valued at £2,703,068 f.o.b. Indian ports, to 212,604 tons with a value of £140,022 in 1932 has been recorded in previous Reviews. In 1933 the output rose slightly to 218,307 tons but the value fell to £123,171. These are the smallest quantities and values reported since 1901, when the output was 120,891 tons valued at £122,831. In 1905 the output was 247,427 tons valued at £223,432, since when the smallest production was 450,416 tons in 1915 valued at £929,546 ; whilst the smallest value was in 1909 when a production of 644,660 tons was valued at £603,908. In 1934 there was, however, a partial recovery to 406,306 tons valued at £388,240, further increased in 1935 to 641,483 tons valued at £768,630, in 1936 to 813,442 tons valued at £1,124,422 and in 1937 to 1,051,594 tons valued at £3,229,554. The full magnitude of this catastrophe to the Indian manganese industry is perhaps best realised from the fact that whilst the quantity of the production in 1933 was a little over one-fifth of that of the peak year of 1927, the value was less than one-twenty-second part of the value of the 1927 production. In fact in none of the major Indian mineral industries had the effects of the slump been so seriously felt as in the manganese industry; it is gratifying therefore, that a recovery can now be recorded to almost the peak output of 1927, with a much higher value.

The recovery in 1936 has been continued by substantial increases in the Balaghat, Nagpur and Bhandara districts of the Central Provinces, and in the Sandur State. The most pleasing feature of this improvement is the recovery of the Central Provinces production from the trivial figure to which it had fallen in 1933 (28,789 tons) to 695,177 tons in 1937. During 1932 and 1933 the majority of mines in the Central Provinces had been closed, including several mines that had never been closed since the commencement of work in 1900 and 1901; there had been a total cessation of production in the Nagpur district and almost total cessation in Bhandara. The amount of ground recovered can be judged from the fact that the production of the Central Provinces averaged 660,559 tons annually during the quinquennium 1924 to 1928. All producing districts participated in the increase, except Bonai State, the output of which is unimportant.