Word: copper
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...Shah of Iran. Under mounting opposition from critics of his regime, the Shah has been forced into a radical reassessment of his priorities. In recent weeks, strikes by workers angered over the country's inflation rate (currently 50%) have paralyzed the nationalized oil refineries, postal service, airline, and copper and steel industries. The nation's balance of payments deficit exceeds $5.5 billion. To pay for an across-the-board wage increase for at least 1 million workers, and for subsidized housing and other social projects, the Shah has canceled $7 billion worth of American and European military orders, including...
...against Rhodesia. During that time, Rhodesia has managed to survive quite well with the help of embargo-breaking Western countries and supplies from South Africa. Meanwhile, Zambia's economy has dwindled toward disaster. Landlocked, Zambia needed transit routes through Rhodesia to southern Africa's ports for its main export, copper. After the boycott closed the Rhodesian borders, scarce alternative routes disappeared, world copper prices declined, and Zambia began running short of food, machinery, oil fertilizer, soap and coal. Inflation ballooned to 30%, fueled partly by expensive airfreight shipments to speed goods, and foreign debt climbed to $1.5 billion...
According to Zambian planners, the economic failure should not have occurred. As it happened, the Chinese, eager for an African foothold, had already granted a $460 million interest-free loan to Zambia and neighboring Tanzania to finance a new 1,160-mile rail link running northeast from Zambia's copper mines to Tanzania's Indian Ocean port of Dar es Salaam. The project, built by 51,000 Chinese and African laborers, was first called the Great Uhuru (Swahili for freedom) Railway, renamed Tazara (for Tanzania-Zambia Railway) and was completed in 1976. Tazara should have provided Zambia with...
...last week, the amount of freight hauled on the Tazara had dropped from an average 1,150 tons daily in 1977 to 700 tons. Just before the railroad opened, 100,000 tons of Zambian copper were awaiting shipment to world market. Last week another 100,000 tons were still waiting, smelted into thick, yard-long ingots and worth $80 million. Perhaps this helps explain why Zambia's President Kenneth Kaunda decided last month to ignore the U.N. boycott and reopen his borders to Rhodesia. The resumption of this transit route should take some strain off the Tazara and allow Zambia...
...Empty Copper Sea, MacDonald...