Metal snips (November 16, 1987)

The Soviet Institute of Metallurgy says it has a substitute alloy that could replace gold in its jewelry and industrial applications, Metal Bulletin reports. Named inpal and made from a combination of palladium and indium, the alloy can be produced in a variety of colors. The alloy reportedly has an electrical resistance close to that of industrial gold alloys and is harder than gold and copper alloys of the same color.

Canadians welcomed a new dollar coin this year and in the United States, legislation was recently introduced in congress for the minting of a dollar copper coin (composition of the new coin would be 92% copper and 8% nickel) to replace paper bills.

Australia will become the No 3 gold producer, after South Africa and the U.S.S.R., in 1988, edging Canada and the U.S., predicts A.C. Goode & Co. in its latest annual study of the Australian gold scene.

Cumulative output of crude steel by 30 countries reporting to the International Iron and Steel Institute, for the first nine months of 1987, was more than 315.8 tonnes, up 0.5% from the same period last year, the institute reports.