INDUSTRIES IN CHILE

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 43, 13 May 1927, Page 10

INDUSTRIES IN CHILE

NITRATES AND lODINE An interesting account of the nitraf and iodine industries of Chile given to the Auckland ChemicSociety last evening by Mr. U Smith, a graduate of London L- Ds ' sity, who, for the past five year& - been engaged in research work Chilean nitrate companies. , iutr - Mr. Smith said the nitrate indusuwas seriously affected by compe “ of the cheaper synthetic nitrogen tilisers, and was possibly doom* extinction. The employment 01 scientific methods in place of tn*jg efficient processes largely in use cheapen production. By the re or reduction of the heavy * which was approximately | ton, the price of the nitrates co j lowered. onr o c: An explanation of the occurre the deposits and of the theories origin was given by the speake • th most probable conjecture waS l . aC jc f; nitrate owed its origin to nltr *,. c tr/ produced by the frequent storms in the Andes. This acid rainwater combined, with th * c kjpc of the rocks, and the water on r the low levels of the arid regl °*Lno.sJ c orated, leaving the nitrate JLou Besides the sodium nitrate P ,u(jjnother salts were present, i l3 potassium nitrate and ioaa vf' «- o rld the latter 90 per cent, of tn b? supply of iodine was obtai chemical processes.