692 



Transactions. — Chemistry. 



already referred to, as against the heavy work of mining the 

 ordinary iron-ore of Europe. Then, also, outside calcining 

 requires about 1 ton of coal to each ton of ore (in order to 

 get rid of only a portion of the extraneous matter prior to its 

 going into the furnace) ; and finally there is the handling of 

 3|- tons of ore, and, moreover, the consumption of fuel 

 sufficient to fuse these 3i tons in order to produce an out- 

 put of 1 ton of pig-iron : while the balance, 1^ tons, until 

 recently was not only absolutely valueless, but necessitated a 

 still further expense for handling. Now, while the cost of 

 fuel and labour in New Zealand is in advance of these items 

 in Europe, this extra cost is more than counterbalanced by 

 the richness of our oxide, and the production of a metal which, 

 at its first stage, would probably fetch double the price of 

 No. 1 pig, owing to its very superior quality. 



Analysis. 



It will be seen by the following analysis that iron made 

 from New Zealand sand is superior to even the highest 

 quality known in Europe — viz., Swedish pig — being higher in 

 the good elements and lower in the refractory ones : — 



(Sir Lowthian Bell.) 



Siuedish Pig-iron. 

 Carbon 

 Silicon 

 Sulphur 

 Phosphorus 

 Manganese 

 Iron 



(Mr. Skej', Governmenl; Analyst, 

 14th Aijril, 1895.) 



Neio Zealand Iron. 



Carbon ... ... 2-21 



Silicon ... ... 0-84 



Sulphur ... ... Trace 



Phosphorus ... 0-20 



Titanium ... ... 0-34 



Iron ... ... 96-41 



100 00 



Prom another sample assayed on the 16th July, 1895, with 

 a view to find what percentage of carbon was in combination 

 and what quantity of titanium (if any), Mr. Skey reported : 

 " The total quantity of carbon in the iron No. 6958 is 1-71, of 

 which 1-34 is in combination with the iron. I found traces 

 of titanium only." 



It is further interesting to note that, while pig-iron made 

 from New Zealand ironsand contains only about one-half the 

 carbon found in the best brands of European manufacture, 

 even a large percentage of this is in combination, as stated 

 above, while the only other metal I can find carrying any 

 carbon in combination is that used by Bessemer for making 

 steel, which stands thus : — 



Carbon combined 

 Carbon graphitic 



0-50 

 3-60 



4-10 



