THE TARANAKI IRONS AND PROBLEM SOLVED.

Evening Star, Volume 4246, Issue 4246, 5 October 1876, Page 4

THE TARANAKI IRONS AND PROBLEM SOLVED.

New Plymouth, September 29. “Ironsand Smith,” the “irrepressible,” after eight or ten years’ experimenting and persistent effort, has proved bevond the possibility of doubt what he has so often glibly asserted and pressed on the attention of men of high and low degree, whether they would or no. in public and in private, with an obnoxious pertinacity perfectly astounding, that tbe rich ironsands of Taranaki could be successfully smelted by bis patent process in an ordinary charcoal blast furnace. He has been abused and snubbed and stigmatised as the prince of swindlers and bars. None were so poor but could afford to snub Smith. He has, however, succeeded. The late experiment has proved a splendid, success, and it has been carried out in a manner which leaves no room for tbe most sceptical or vindictive enemy to say it was a swindle. Everything has been fair and above board.

Mr R. Chilman (a gentleman who has once been Home as representative of a proposed company, and who has since then at all times expressed the utmost confidence as t« the practicability of smelting the ironsand, but who could never since the first trial and failure with a small furnace be got to spend sixpence on it) was appointed to watch on behalf of tbe company. At the late trial reliable men were engaged for each shift to record every barrow load of fuel (wood, charcoal, or coke), lime, beach stone, clay, compound, brick, or whatever other material mi. ht be ordered to be put into the furnace. The chairman of the Titanic Company (Mr D. Anderson) was on the spot. The Press and general public were nclmitted : in fact invited to be present. The trial has taken place and proved successful. This result has not, however, been easily brought about. The affairs of the Titanic Company have been from tbe first carried on strangely. After floating the company not so successfully as could have been desired a first-class plant was ordered, and in due time arrived in New Plymouth. Mr Smith was the prime mover from tbe beginning. As he has so often reiterated, he was the originator of the present as of other companies, and it was on his experiments and calculations the company was formed and was intended to be worked. He was made manager. At a very early period, before even the furnace had been built, Mr E. M. Smith was deposed, and was succeeded by a Mr Whatton, who up to the time the furnace was lately taken over has been employed by the company, and is believed to have had the almost sole direction of everything pertaining to tbe furnace. He was in fact manager. The works were declared completed on the 31st December lastIt was expected that shortly afterwards a trial to smelt would be made. The usual amount of shuffling and procrastination followed, and it was not till the middle of July that a trial forced on the directors by the shareholders was attempted. Under Air Whatton’s direction no one here] expected success. Mr Whatton even did not expect to succeed. He appeared to have neither faith in himself nor in the process. The trial was made and failed. Orders wore issued which were stringently carried out - that no person should enter the works during the trial. M r Whatton was himself as a sealed book. He would give give no information to inquirers one way or the other. All the time the experiment was going on Mr Smith was on thorns. He was iron-sand mad, and it is asserted that his shadow haunted the works. Whether or not he was present during the trial is only known to himself. After the failure he appeared to know more as to the why and the wherefore of the failure than any other person could pretend to. With irrepressible persistency he button-holed and talked to any and everybody about the matter, claiming for himself the right to a trial. These works were erected from his plans, and from hi- ideas—the experiment should therefore be his. Others thought, in common justice, he should be allowed a trial. Shareholders here desired it. Smith lectured on the subject. Money was afterwards subscribed to send him to Wellington that he might plead personally with directors and shareholders for a trial. Conditional assent was given. Had his prayer not been seceded to it was his intention to proceed to Dunedin and face the shareholders there and endeavor to win them over, as he believed he could do, to his view of the case. On condition that five appointed persons could be obtained to guarantee tbe remrn of the furnace in good condition, cr pay all costa of repairs, the directory agreed to vote L3OO and allow the use of the furnace for five weeks to Air E, M. Smith. The conditions were stringent, but the following persons took the risk—Messrs R. C. Hughes) S. W. Jackson, John Flynn, J. Wellsj’ w’ Majihieaon, J. M. Vivian, D. Atkinson,’ Peter Jack, and Henry Williams. The first five were shareholders, the other four were non shareholders. Mr Smith was placed in charge of the works on the 28th of August. The furnace was found to be in a bad condition ; the crucible was half full of solid metal, and slag and the firebrick lining considerably damaged ; a person s hand could be pushed between the interstices of the inside brickwork to a depth of six or more inches. It took three weeks to get the furnace in working order. The crucible which had been intended to hold about five ions molten metal, was reduced to nearly half that capacity, and instead of being left in its original shape was made flower pot shape ; the thiee tuyers, which had the pozzies melted off during Mr Whattou’s trial, were replaced by four double-nozzle tuyers, which spread the best blast in eight directions- over the top of the crucil le There was an abundance of fuel, ore, and material for slag on the works. Mr Smith had the limestone burned, firewood cut up into foot lengths, and kiln dried. The I company’s chairman of directors (Air D. Anderson) arrived in New Plymouth on the Iflth September. The guarantee coinn it ;e endeavored to get the agreement modified Without avail. The matter rested entirely with the committee to proceed or not as they pleased. Mr Anderson had only come to witness_the experiment, not to interfere. The furnace was then ready, and as there was no chance of modifying the agreement the guarantee committee gave the order to blow the furnace in.

The fires were lighted on Thursday, the 19th, On Friday morning at half-past one o'clock the first charges were put in, and the process was continued. The hot blast was turned on gently at i quarter pavt eight o'clock on Friday morning. It was not until hali-past one on Saturday that metal was produced. At four o'clock on Saturday morning some of the men (amongst others Mr Whatton, who was taken on as furnace-keeper,) begged that the charges might be drawn to prevent the furnace jobbing, as there was, up to that time, no appearance on the dam stone of either slag or metal, A change was made in the charges, and extra strength of blast was put on, which led to the first successful tapping for metal at half past one o’clock on Saturday. The news qu : ckly spread that the iron-sand had been smelted. Hundreds visited the works during the afternoon. The second tap ping for metal was expected to take place about midnight. With the altered blast it was deemed expedient to tap at eight o’clock, when about double the quantity" of i

metal flowed freely from the furnace. Al- | though th?. quantity of metal produced at j the two first castings was small, it w is considered conclusive proof that the ironsand could be smelted. Congratu ations lollowed. j (July one of the workmen (Mr Blanchard) 1 was a thoroughly competent furnace-keeper, j e had been continuously at wck for thirty-six lumrs, and on Saturday afternoon j went home for a rest. Mr E. Al Smith and i Air D. Atkinson remained on the works altogether. The two latter appear to understand thoroughly all about the iron sand, and how it should be treated; but lacked somewhat the practical knowledge of how to attend to the furnace.

After the sect ‘d rapping for metal, the workmen, satisfied that no difficulty stood in the way of continued success, appear to have neglected some trifling attentions required at tbe furnace. The slag did not flow so freely as it ought, and after waiting patiently for a couple of hours a careful examination of the top of the dam stone was made, when it was found that it was caked over with partly cold slag. It took six hours to break through tho mass, and tho furnace was for some time in danger of being gi bb'.d. At four o’clock the difficulty was overcome, and under the care of the furnace-keeper all went well. Soon after the furnace had been properly cleared and set going again, the slag began to flow stiffly, but still satisfactorily. Tho slag all along appeared t» be too stiff, and early on Saturday morning the beach stone was discarded, and common brick clay was used instead. It takes thirty-five hours for changes to work from the top to the bottom of the furnace. Between 10 and 11 on Sunday morning it was f-’uud that the slag ran freer than before, which was supposed to be due to ■ the alteration made in the charges, or more probably to the better condition of the furnace. Matters progressed satisfactorily till at 2 o clock, although the crucible w>s nearly full, the furnace was tupped for metal. Tae casting-house was half full of people, and the result was watched with intense anxiety. Moulds were ready to receive the metil should it really How. A few seconds probing about the tap hole with an iron bar, and there was a hill strong stream of molten metal seen running along the channel way to the moulding ground. As mould after mould filled till eleven pigs of metal were secured, cheers rose spontaneously. After such convincing proof that the iron sand could he successfully smelted by Smith’s patent compound brick process in a charcoal blast furnace after the ordinary manner of the trade, there was no room for doubts. Ihe metal in considerable quantities was there in proof, and all who saw were satisfied. About nine o’clock on Sunday night in the presence of quite 300 people, there was another tapping for metal, and a further proof was given of how thoroughly successful the experiment had proved. The guarantee committee being then satisfied desired to hand back the furnace to tbe company through the chairman, so that smelting operations could be continued under the company’s direction. They, however, refused take it over. At a meeting of tbe Guarantee Committee held on Monday morning, it was resolved to rdev the furnace to be blown one. On a written order to that effect being handed over to Mr • v mitli, he objected to stop. He warned to continue as long as fuel lasted. As. however, the chairman of the company refused to take charge, the guarantees saw no reason why they should continue the work No more charges of ore were put into the furnace. Several castings have since taken place, each a success, and helping to show that a continuance of smelting operations would get the furnace in better trim. The late experiment must not 1 e taken as a fail test of cost of production. Alore men have been employed than would ordinarily bo required, and there would be saving in many directions. That the iron sand can be smelted has been proved, but that it can be made commercially valuable remains to be proved. Mr Smith asserts that he can produce it at a cost which will leave a wide margin for profit. He is not, however, disposed to make known what he can do it for until he sees how the Company means to deal wbh Inn in regard to the managership. On Wednesday morning vhdst tappim fir slag about three in bes from bottom of crucible during the blowing nut process, to the surprise of the workers’ about four hundredweight of fluid metal cam ? pouring out before the slag, thus giving evidence that tho bottom the crucible was quite clear. At three o’clock tho same afternoon the hot blast was finally stopped. The brickwork over the heatthstoue was taken down, fifteen or twenty buckets of water thrown into the furnace to cool it a little that tbe men mi f dit with long-handled shovels the easier clean it out, and before five o’clock all was clear. Even after the water had been thrown into the furnace small quantities of molten metal were brought out on the shovels along with the w< od ashes. The fur-nace-keeper, who, after Mr Whatton’s experiment, declared that metal could never be obtained by Smith’s process from the Henni furnace, and who was also furnace keeper under Air Smith, is now as thoroughly satisfied 'that it can be made in any quantity, and of course hopes shortly to be again at work on it. The percentage of metal from the compound brick is somewhat astonishing, and is proved by tbe recorded charges to be fully fifty per cent, of the weight of the compound brick.

As to the company, it is time a thorough overhaul was made in its affairs. If it is properly managed there will yet be good things in store for the shareholders, out they will themselves have to learn nil they can and act decisively, The representations which have occasionally been made by Taranaki shareholders may now be heeded ; and it is to be hoped the bitter prejudices of Dunedin shareholders v.ill dissolve, and that some little credit will now be awaidel to tho “ori inators” of tho Titanic Iron and Steel Company It the company decide to go on, a B ta.t am he made at any time within a couple of days or the order being given.