§ 9. Mr. DENNISONasked the President of the Board of Trade if he will supply the figures relating to the total amount of foreign ores imported for the purpose of making iron and steel during the past five years, respectively; and the amount of native ores used for the same purpose, specifying, if possible, the grades and quantities of ores?
§ Sir P. CUNLIFFE-LISTERAs the answer contains a number of figures, perhaps the hon. Member will agree to my circulating it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
§ Following is the answer:
§ The following statement gives the information desired so far as particulars are available:
204| Year | Total Imports of Ore into the United Kingdon | Iron Ore produced in the United Kingdom Iron the and retained for consumption. (Production less exports.) |
| 1920 | 6,499,551 | 12,675,575 |
| 1921 | 1,887,642 | 3,468,950 |
| 1922 | 3,472,645 | 6,831,847 |
| 1923 | 5,860,477 | 10,872,082 |
| 1924 | 5,920,755 | 11,050,000 |
§ Prior to 1st April, 1923, the foregoing particulars relate to Great Britain and Ireland. From that date they relate to Great Britain and Northern Ireland only.
§ The figures take no account of the relatively small quantity of "purple ore" (residue of cupreous iron pyrites) imported or produced during the years specified.
§ According to information collected by the Mines Department, the grading of home-produced iron ores in 1924 was approximately as follows:
| Kind of Ore. | Tons. | Average percentage Iron in the clean raw Mineral. |
| Percent | ||
| West Coast Hematite (non-phosphoric). | 1,051,000 | 53 |
| Jurassic Ironstones (Cleveland, Frodingham and Midlands). | 9,407,000 | 27 |
| Coal Measure Ironstones (Block band and Clay-Ironstones). | 501,000 | 29 |
| Other Occurrences of Ironstone (Hematite, Brown Ore, etc.). | 93,000 | 49 |
| Total | 11,052,000 | 30 |
§ Similar particulars respecting the various grades of imported ores are not available. It is, however, known that they are mainly hematite containing over 50 per cent. of metal.