MAGNETITE.
FACTS CONCERNING IT. "WRECKS AND MAGNETIC ROCKS OUR IRON INDUSTRY. A country that does not turn its resources to a practical account, but imports ships, machinery, implements, and what not for its scanty population, may be likened to a man that, having eyes, seeth not ; and ears, heareth not. These questions may possibly be asked : But how does this affect New Zealand? Is it not cheaper to import ready-made appliances than to work our own ores? Are New Zeatend ores worth working, or, indeed, has she got any to work? And, again, Is it worth while? In reply, it must be stated that the question of local manufacture of articles of iron and steel versus importing these articles does affect New Zealand very materially. The Dominion has been prolific in her supply of inventors, who, however, have had to cress a hemisphere before they can find scope for their talents. The country's population is small, scarcely as yet numbering one-seventh of the population of London, and it may be urged that hands could not be found to work the new industries, or else wages would leap to such a height as to leave no margin of profit for the employers. It must, however, be remembered what a tremendously powerful magnet an iron industry has always proved. How it drew men and women to the United States in their multitudes. So it seems to bo only reasonable to suppose that an iron and steel industry once started fairly in New Zealand would attract workmen, mechanists, men of sinew and men of brain, from the East and the West, even to a greater extent than Pittsburg has done. It is said that the Ameri-^ cans tesr the brains out of a man before he is forty, and consequently machinery workers now th'nk twice before going there. Labour in New Zealand is run on more sensible and loss strenuous lines, and, given the opportunities for a livelihood, there is little doubt as to which country would prove to be most attractive to the intending emigrant from the Blaok Country. Whether it is cheaper to make or to import Has been argued pro and con for years without any really practical solution being arrived at. but there is a very useful, if homely, old adage that says "You never know what you can do till you try." As to whether New Zealand has any ores, or if so, they are_ worth working, ha« been proved over and over again by experts from England and America. " New Zealand has a great asset in her iron ores," is a statement that has been made by scientists with almost monotonous frequency. Mr Temple in the course of a lengthy interview, published in the Witness, prodieted a great future for New Zealand in this direction, provided the initial stages of the industry were properly handled. It may al«;o be remembered that he had a snood deal to say about Parapara. This article, however. deals more especially wi(h the ore known as magnetite: certainly a su<rgo.«tho name. In order to show how it justifies its nomenclature it is only necessary to take out your pocket compass, and by moving a small sample of magnetite round the edsro you will cause the needle to spin after it iust as rapidly as you moved the pieoe of ore. It is stated that magnetite has lately beon found in large quantities on Crown lands in the South Island, and an intere s tinjr question is being raised as to whether this highlymagnetic forman'on affects the comnassos of ships not far from shore. If so. this explains away many hitherto unaccountable wrecks. This naturally is of interest to navigators and ship-owners, but thero is another feature about magnetite that is of special interest to geologists, and everyone else: for every man is a eeo!oq;]«t at heart. Th ; s magnetite is precisely tho same description of ore that is found in such abundance in Norway and Sweden, and presumably in the lower strata of Britain, showing that Nature, while endowing New Zealand with many of the erentle attributes of the Homeland, has not forgotten to gi\e her foundations of the same sterner material, and has bound the two countries together with, as it were, a giant chain of 'iron under earth and sea. Where magnetite is found there is a very large surface outcrop, and the samples gathered casually here and there on being put through the laboratories show great possibilities for the future. There is nothing spurious about this ore. It is heavy, hard, dark in colour, but shimmering- with countless pin-points of metallic brilliancy. It is free from sulohur and all other iniuriour substances, and appears to be altogether a thoroughly legitimate article. The question as to the cost of production naturally arises, but it must be borne in mind that coal and the expense thereof is not going to be the great factor in the j g»fes\ fikftt it has been in the pas*- Then,
, •,■»«• „ , again, there u» the Mooro-Hesketh process and the Itehan (Steaoano) electrical process, with its revolving oleetne furnace* Necessity has always been and always will be, the mothoi- and father of jnvent.on; and, given the necessity for cheap produetion of iron and steel from New Zealand ores, New Zealand inventors may be trusted to rise to the occasion. It maybe men, t.oned by the way, that magnetite-New Zealand magnetite-is a very high-grade ore equal in every respect.to.that found in Norway and Sweden. Magnetite would seem to have replied to all the questions set forth at the beginning of this article, ex.Jtly'bT^^'b, another: Is anything worth while? — Every British parish with a population of 300 or over is compelled by law to el act a parish council. ' The Rev. F. B. Meyer'says that Londonors are growing «o short nowadays through cigarette-smoking and riding .on tramcars that they are almost becoming dwarfs.
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Otago Witness, Issue 2814, 19 February 1908, Page 11
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984MAGNETITE. Otago Witness, Issue 2814, 19 February 1908, Page 11
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