A SOUTH AFRICAN IRON INDUSTRY. II9 



is after the war conditions which must be met, since only a very 

 small scale commencement could be made now. 



It has already been mentioned, in accordance with the 

 general, though not universal, opinion, that high ])rices will ruk 

 for a long time after the conclusion of war ; and in view 

 of the great national importance of the industry, the Govern- 

 ment might adopt the suggestion embodied in Air. Kotze's 

 memorandum of 1909, and institute a 1x)unty scheme in conjunc- 

 tion with a guarantee of interest for a period of years on the 

 capital invested. 



Under such conditions the industrv could be .started without 

 penalizing consumers, and with a reasonable certainty of secur- 

 ing a large proportion of the business. 



In course of time the bulk of the inland requirement at 

 least in the lines mentioned could be met at remunerative prices, 

 and once established, a reasonable measure of protection would 

 ensure future stability, and particularly, if, at the same time 

 the rails required for the Government railways were supplied 

 under contract by the works, the amtnmt probably being between 

 30,000 and 40,000 tons. 



A fuller consideration of the tinancial side of the position 

 would be out of place here, and some consideration may next 

 be given to the plant and materials required. 



One or two large modern blast furnaces would be able to 

 produce sufficient pig-iron as a basis for the steel mainifacture 

 for a long time to come. 



Most of their output would be converted to steel in basic 

 open hearth furnaces, the ]>roduct of which would constitute the 

 major portion of the works' output, but a onsiderable portion 

 would be further treated in electrical furnaces for the i)roductioii 

 of steel for special purposes, such as mining drills. 



The obtaining of the requisite machinery for these various 

 branches would constitute the chief difficulty at the commence- 

 ment, and would appear to render a start scarcely possible till 

 after the war. unless it is prolonged to an extent at present con- 

 sidered impossible. 



Apart from the machinery, all materials required are un- 

 doubtedly available or can be made in the c<wntry. 



We have ores, fuels, fluxc^, refractory material, and other 

 structural material, though possibly some of the last-mentioned 

 might have to be imported. 



It is generally supposed that we have iron ores in unlimited 

 amounts, but as a matter of' fact there is not much authentic 

 information available. One hears of big bodies of ore in various 

 localities, and sometimes analyses are given, though seldom of 

 representative samples. But usually there is no definite estimate 

 of available tonnage, and it is manifest that a very great deal of 

 work remains to be done in this direction. 



However, there are at least two localities in which iron 



