The Smelting of Titaniferous Iron Ores 37 



consideration, it ought theoretically to be possible to induce titania to 

 act, with lime and magnesia, as a base. The obvious means of effecting 

 this is to provide sufftcient silica to flux the titania, lime and magnesia, 

 the alumina being considered, as usual, as either acidic or basic, and an 

 adjunct in providing a fluid slag. This is the line of reasoning that has 

 led the writer and his associates to follow the line of investigation 

 outlined in the following pages. 



Acknowledgment must here be made of the active and continued 

 co-operation in this research of Dr. W. L. Goodwin, Prof. A. F. G. 

 Cadenhead and Dr. C. W. Drury, all of Queen's University. Without 

 their co-operation the work could not have been undertaken. 



Literature on the Subject 



Though it is a matter,of such general importance, comparatively little 

 has been published concerning the smelting of titaniferous iron ores. 

 A good bibliography is given by Dr. Stansfield^ and numerous references 

 by Bradley Stoughton^ and J. T. Singewald, Jr.^. The results of previous 

 investigations are summarized here in chronological order. 



From time immemorial titaniferous iron ores have been used in 

 the ancient forges of Norway and Sweden to produce iron and steel.* 

 Even when the blast furnace came into use, they were successfully 

 treated in the new apparatus, and a variant of the accepted smelting 

 practice of the time (1847) is described by Dr. Forbes,^ who used quartz 

 in addition to limestone to flux the ore. From 1840 to 1846 a furnace was 

 operated on the Adirondack River, using titaniferous ore from the 

 Sanford Hill deposits, with limestone and labradorite as flux.'' This 

 furnace was closed down for financial reasons only. Another such 

 attempt that was a metallurgical success but a business failure was made 

 at Norton in England, where Dr. Forbes in 1868 successfully smelted 

 Norwegian ilmenite, using limestone and old bricks as flux and producing 

 a fluid slag very near the mineral sphene in composition.'' 



^Stansfield & Wissler — "The Smelting of Titaniferous Ores of Iron." Trans. Royal 

 Sec. Canada, Vol. 10, 1916. 



^Stoughton, Bradley — "The Smelting of Titaniferous Iron Ores." Trans. Can. 

 Min. Inst., 1915. 



'Singewald, J. T., Jr., as above. 



^Sjogren, H. — "Geological Relations of the Scandinavian Iron Ores." Trans. 

 A.I.M.E., XXXVIII, 1907, page 813. 



*Forbes, David — "On the Composition and Metallurgy of some Norwegian Titani- 

 ferous Iron Ores " Chemical News, Dec 11, 1868. 



*Rossi, A. J.— "Titaniferous Ores in the Blast Furnace." Trans. A.I.M.E., Vol. 

 XXI, 1892-3. 



'Bowron, W. M. — "The Practical Metallurgy of Titaniferous Ores. ' Trans. 

 A.I.M.E., Vol. XI, 1882-3. 



