The Combined Development Agency (CDA), originally the Combined Development Trust (CDT), was a defense purchasing authority established in 1944 by the governments of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. Its role was to ensure adequate supplies of

uranium Uranium is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Ura ...

for the respective countries weapons development programs. The agency initiated a range of incentives to several countries to encourage exploration and a fast buildup of mineral reserves. The main countries targeted for the programs were the US,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, and to a limited extent

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. The countries tried to monopolize on the resources of the territories they owned or that had hardly any claim. The

Belgian Congo The Belgian Congo (, ; ) was a Belgian colonial empire, Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960 and became the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville). The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Repu ...

was an example of the third world place that was used for its resources. In Australia, uranium ore from a number of mines was processed at the purpose built Port Pirie Uranium Treatment Complex which operated under contract to the CDA by the Government of South Australia between 1955 and 1962.

History

General Leslie Groves was a United States General that was put in charge of assembling and maintaining the Manhattan Project. He was a major campaigner for the creation of the CDT because he saw the importance of not only obtaining an adequate amount of uranium to complete the needs of the

Manhattan Project The Manhattan Project was a research and development program undertaken during World War II to produce the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States in collaboration with the United Kingdom and Canada. From 1942 to 1946, the ...

, but also to attempt to obtain the uranium so that the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

would have less access. The entire world's stockpile of uranium was unknown, but a joint effort was a good start to securing access to the most uranium possible. He first created a program, Murray Hill Area Project, that's main goal was to seek locations of uranium ore and thorium ore based on reports from mostly foreign documents. He found that protecting the thorium could prove just as important because it could be converted into uranium. This meant that finding the locations was only half the battle and funneled money into the purchase of the varies mineral rights.

References

{{reflist Uranium Agencies of the United States government 1944 establishments in the United States