THE TARANAKI IRON SAND.

Evening Star, Issue 4127, 19 May 1876, Page 4

THE TARANAKI IRON SAND.

The subject of smelting the iron sand has been renewed by Mr Chilman, of Taranaki who, in a very able letter to the ‘ New Zeaknd Times,’ controverts the statement of Sir Julius Vogel relative to the opinion of Dr Percy, which was published by us some short time since. Mr Chilman says • “Allowing that Dr Percy is a very high scientific authority on metallurgy, I cannot admit that his opinion is conclusive, as he may not have given special attention to this particular subject, or know the method pro | posed to be adopted. I expect the iron j sand deposits that Dr Percy alluded to as having been thoroughly well tried are in Lower Canada. But lam informed that there is an essential difference in the chemical properties of the two ores, the Canadian sand containing upwards of 30 per cent, of that intractable material, titanium; the Taranaki sand 9 to 11 per cent, only • and that the Canadian deposit is upwards of 200 miles irom the fuel supply, and is found in such an impure state that large revolving magnets are used to separate the sand from the impurities. A failure under such circumstances does not necessarily imply that the Taranaki sand cannot be successfully smelted. Mr Chilman then quotes several authorities who have expressed very decided opinions that Taranaki sand can be smelted and made a commercial success and amongst them is Mr Uiley, F.C..S.’ Analytical Chemist, who is employed by Mr Bessemer, the late Mr E. H. Davis, and Mr Roper, the managing partner of Messrs Harrison, Ainslie, and Co., the owners of the only charcoal smelting works in England who has had a life long experience of the business. This latter gentleman who claims Mr Chilman says, to know more on the subject than any other person in England, went very carefully into the question °f. smelting the Taranaki sand with Mr Walduok and himself, who received the estimate of the cost of making it into pig iron and has no doubt of the undertaking being a commercial success. Mr Rober smelted the Turkish sand in one of their furnaces after repeated failures in the Staffordshire furnaces.