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RCED-83-101 1 (1983-03-08)

handle is hein.gao/gaobabmwt0001 and id is 1 raw text is: 0STA. UNITED STATES GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE WASHINGTON, D.C. 20548 RESOURCES, COMMUNITY, AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DVISION B-210543 MARCH 8, 1983 The Honorable John W. Warner Chairman, Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 120940 United States Senate Dear Mr. Chairman: Subject: Surface Oxidation of Cobalt Acquired for the National Defense Stockpile Does Not Adversely Affect Its Use (GAO/RCED-83-101) During a June 29, 1982, hearing before your subcommittee, you asked us to examine the basis of a statement by a former commissioner of the General Services Administration's (GSA's) Federal Property Resources Service concerning oxidation 1/ of cobalt purchased from Zaire in 1981 for the National Defense Stockpile. It was reported that, at the June 1982 assembly of the Tantalum Producers International Study Center, the former commissioner stated that the cobalt met the purchase specifica- tions in manufacturing, but oxidized by the time it arrived in the United States, implying that the cobalt no longer met the purchase specifications. Cobalt is a strategic and critical mineral. It is used as a raw material in a variety of applications, the leading ones be- ing jet engines, chemicals, and tools. Production is concentrated in a small number of countries and is generally a byproduct of other mining and refining operations. The objective of our review was to determine the cobalt's quality, the manner in which the specification had been set, and whether industries needing the cobalt for national defense production could use it. We interviewed GSA and industry officials and reviewed GSA records regarding purchasing and testing for this acquisition. 1/Oxidation is the chemical process whereby a material combines with oxygen. In this instance, the cobalt gathered oxygen from the air, similar to the way iron rusts. (008482) 6c2 S6 / C;?

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