THE IRON TRADE.

Taranaki Daily News, 13 August 1917, Page 6

THE IRON TRADE.

"THREATENED SHORTAGE OF PIGIRON. Tho iron trade of New Zealand is threatened with trouble in the form of a shortage of pig-iron, owing to the closing down of certain sources of supplies from overseas. Normally, most of the pig-iron used by the foundries in New Zealand came from the Old Country, but the urgent need of the full output at Home for war purposes closed up that source of supply some time ago. Another source of supply was India, which turned out a very fair quality of "pig," but that is now unobtainable. Australia was supplying a restricted quantity up till a few months ago, when the Commonwealth Government placed an embargo on further exportation, and now tho«e firms with contracts have been left lamenting. I* is hopeless to expect any supplies from America, owing to the nvav engagements of that country, so that exactly where supplies are to come from for New Zealand in the future is not known by those in the trade. Ai the present time the need is so urgent that the country is being combed for scrapiron of any kind, and prices are being obtained that would have been deemed ridiculous a few years ago. One local foundry recently paid as much as £7 10a per ton for some high-grade scrapiron, and Ifor low\T grade scrap-iron from £3 10s to £4 10s is being paid. In the meantime the local ironmasters have approached the Minister of Munitions (Hon. A. Myers), to see if the embargo on Australian pig-iron cannot be lifted as far as the Dominion is concerned. The Australian article is of fair quality, but too close-grained to allow of the intermixture of much scrap, in ■which regard the Indian "pig' is much better. As jthe industry now stands, any pig-iron would be welcomed by the trade.