NEED OF ALUMINIUM

Wairarapa Times-Age, 15 May 1942, Page 3

NEED OF ALUMINIUM

MANUFACTURE IN AUSTRALIA PLANNED EXTENSIVE DEPOSITS OF BAUXITE. MACHINERY TO BE IMPORTED FROM AMERICA. (By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright) (Received This Day, 9.55 a.m.) SYDNEY, This Day. Aluminium, a vital war need, will be manufactured in Australia if the •Government’s intentions are fulfilled. Intricate electrical machinery must be imported, but it is hoped soon to have this placed high on the list of priority •imports from the United States. A report on Australian deposits of bauxite, from which aluminium is made, has just been presented by the Commonwealth Geologist, Dr H. G. Raggatt. Extensive deposits exist in various parts of Australia. Bauxite occurs in various forms, often with a high percentage of iron content, and in some places is so common that it is used extensively for road-making, though few people are aware of it. According to Dr Raggatt, Australia possesses such heavy reserves that the using of bauxite for reading material does not matter. There are several deposits in Nevz South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia and two deposits in Tasmania. While the United States is the greatest aluminium manufacturing country, bauxite occurs there in small quantities and is of poor quality. Canada has no bauxite Some of the richest deposits are found in Greece, whence Britain obtained most of her supplies before the war.