Deloro Smelting & Refining Co. v. United States

This is a dispute over the price term of an unusual supply contract. In 1950, as part of the federal stockpile program, the United States desired to acquire and store cobalt metal. Plaintiff is a Canadian smelting company which has been, off and on for many years, a producer of this metal from the ore or concentrate. A French Moroccan corporation (Societe Miniere de Bou-Azzer & du Graara — called SMAG for short) had substantial deposits of cobalt ores in French Morocco. After considerable negotiation between the French and United States Governments, SMAG and plaintiff (Deloro), agreement was…