15S 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



[May, 



process of cleansing may be effected by a series of magnets fixed on the cir- 

 cumference of a wheel, which in moving through the loose ore, would attract 

 the iron and carry it round to a revolving brush, acting upon the periphery, 

 and thus deposit the metal into a receiving box on the opposite side. This 

 is probably the best method for obtaining the perfectly pure oxides ; but the 

 most expeditious mode would be to cleanse it with a fan, in the same way as 

 farmers winnow grain, by blowing lighter particles to a distance, and allow, 

 ing the metallic granules, as being of higher specific gravity, to fall short into 

 a separate receiver. A third method would be, to w-ash the ore in a current 

 of running water, and thus free it from all superfinous matter not required 

 in the process of manufacture. But in these dift'erent cleansing operations, 

 an excess of the silicious earths is assumed, and moreover that these mixtures 

 are detrimental to the process of deoxidation, to be effected either before or 

 after the change in the furnace. Now it is not altogether clear that such is 

 the case, and in the absence of experiment it is reasonable to suppose, that 

 instead of these earths proving injurious they might be found useful, in com- 

 bining with the limestone as a flux, and thus vitrifying the silex at the same 

 instant the deoxidating process is going on. These opinions are entitled to 

 some weight, as the separate reports of Mr. Clay and of Mr. Hague (although 

 their views are not altogether similar), still inculcate the necessity of adopt- 

 ing some effective process of deoxidation. 



Before adverting to the experiments, it will be necessary briefly to state 

 the opinions of several manufacturers, to whom the ores were submitted for 

 inspection, and to whose sound practical views the country is indebted for 

 many valuable improvements in the chemical as well as the mechanical pro- 

 cess of the art. To the iron-maker and engineer, a minute chemical analysis 

 is of less importance than a knowledge of the methods used in the treatment 

 of similar ores, derived from experimental and practical research. It is true, 

 that none of the iron ores of this country will bear a comparison, in point of 

 richness, with those of Turkey, excepting, probably, the red ores of Lan- 

 cashire and Cumberland, which, although varying in their chemical com- 

 pounds, are in other respects comparative, and exhibit (with the exception of 

 the magnetic properties) characteristics of a very similar description. 



According to Dr. Colquhoa, of Glasgow, the Ulverstone ore contains— 



Ors. 



Peroxide of iron 90-3 



Silica 5'0 



Alumina 3'0 



Lime \ 



Magnesia J 



Water 



. traces. 



This, by calculation, would give an average of 62 per cent, of iron, of 

 nearly the same degree of richness as the ores of Samakoff, which, from Mr. 

 Watson's analysis, yields 03-72. 



Dr. Colqubon, in bis inquiry into Mr. Clay's new process, for making mal- 

 leable iron direct from the ore, states, "that the red ores of Lancashire and 

 Cumberland (which are a species of hematite), are exceedingly pure," and 

 from an average sample, made up with great care, he found its constituents 

 composed " of 62 per cent, of iron, 8 per cent, of earthy matter, and minute 

 quantities only of lime and magnesia." In other respects the ores were en- 

 tirely free from phosphorus, arsenic, and sulphur. 



From this statement it is obvious, that the Ulverstone ores, operated upon 

 by Dr. Colquhoun, do not widely differ from those analyzed by Mr. Watson ; 

 and viewing their other properties, they may be considered to approximate, 

 irrespective of the quantity of metal produced in each. 



Concerning the other iron ores of this country, unfortunately none of them 

 are analagous to those of Turkey, either as regards their chemical constituents, 

 or the process by which they are reduced. It is the opinion of all the prac- 

 tical iron masters who have been consulted, that in smelting, the latter would 

 require a different treatment, from that purseued witli the ores of this coun- 

 try ; but in making malleable iron, they are all agreed as to its fitness for 

 Mr, Clay's new process, and that large quantities of the finest quality might 

 be made direct from the ore, at a moderate rate of charge. 



On these points there is but one opinion, but the manufacturers are some- 

 what startled at the idea of a new process of preparation ; the smelting being 

 considered a work of difficulty, from the expense and trouble which must be 

 incurred before the preparatory process of roasting can be accomplished. In 

 fact, these opinions would infer, that tbe whole must he looked upon, for 

 some time to come, as an experiment, and that more particularly as the 

 material to be worked upon is entirely new, and may present features of an 

 exceedingly obdurate and refractory character. To a certain extent these 

 views may be correct, as an excess of silex might prove exceedingly trouble- 

 some, and even with every care in the process of smelting, instead of a car- 

 buret (by which the melting pigs of this country are so well known, and so 

 justly appreciated), a silicate of iron might be the result. It is true, that a 

 flux of lime and a certain proportion of aluminous clay might remove, or in 

 a great degree neutralize, the effects; but thul can only be determined by 

 experiment, and with such obstacles in advance, it will be necessary to guard 

 against them, and to arrange future operations with a view to their removal. 



But supposing them to be overcome either by this, or by the cleansing 

 process already alluded to, or by such other means as may be deemed expe- 

 dient, it is then to be considered, how the minute particles of the ore are to 

 be retained in the furnace, during the application of a strong and intense 

 blast. It is clear that some process of calcination must be adopted, in order, 

 not only to deprive the ore of jart of its oxygen in the first instance, but to 



effect its carburation, and to hold it together until it is fused. For these 

 objects the following experiments were entered upon, under the directions of 

 Mr. Clay and Mr. Hague. 



The first operation was to convert one of the cupola furnaces (4 feet dia- 

 meter) at the Canal Street Works, Manchester, into a blast furnace; this 

 was effected by lining it with fire-bricks to a height of 15 feet, leaving a 

 hearth of 18 inches square, and 18 inches deep; it was made 2 feet C inches 

 diameter at the boshes, and tapered to 18 inches at the top ; with this fur- 

 nace, and a moderately good fan blast, the experiments were made. 

 JIr. Hague's Experiments. 



Previous to making the experiments at Manchester, Mr. Hague had tried 

 the ores in various ways, and had subjected them to analysis and experiment. 

 The first was made with only — 



4 oz. of iron ore 



4 oz. of challc 



5 oz. of bottle glass 

 t oz. of charcoal 



i oz. of clay 



which, having been deoxidized in a close vessel, and melted in the crucible, 

 produced a super-carburat of good No. 1 pig iron, and which worked freely 

 under the chisel and file. 

 The nest experiment was on a larger scale, and consisted of — 



30 1b. of iron ore 

 101b. of bottle glass 

 8 lb. of clay 



This, after being roasted, was pulverised, and mixed with water ; it was 

 then formed into bricks, and subsequently melted, with a limestone flux, in 

 the cupola, by a fan blast, and produced a hard white iron, of a quality vary- 

 ing between Is'o. 3 and No. 4 pigs. 



The last experiment was repeated, with the addition of 2 lb. of clay and 

 2 lb. of common salt; 10 lb. of scoria from the last melting being substi- 

 tuted for the bottle glass. The produce of this mixture was a white No. 3 

 iron, nearly the same as the last. 



Other tests of a similar kind were made, with nearly the same success, but 

 no change of any moment occurred in the quality of the iron, until experi- 

 ments on a more extended scale were adopted. These are given in the words 

 of the experimenter. 



Mr. Clay's Report. 



" On the Iron Ore or Iron Sand of Samakoff in Titriey ; and on the best 

 means of 7'educing it into the states of cast and wrought iron, &fc" By Wil- 

 liam Neale Clay, Director of Iron Mines and Works to the Sublime Porte; 

 Februa-iy 9, 1844. 



Under the direction of JIr. Fairbaim, of Manchester, to whom the experi- 

 ments on the Samakoff iron ores were entrusted, the writer was empowered 

 to make such trials and experiments, as in bis judgment, were most conducive 

 to the full and perfect reduction of the ores into the cast and malleable 

 states. Acting upon these instructions, no time was lost in making tbe ne- 

 cessary preparations ; and from the facilities afforded, both at Manchester 

 and the Backbarrow Iron Works, near Ulverstone, the most satisfactory re- 

 sults were obtained. 



It would appear, that on a small scale, and at a great sacrifice of time, 

 fuel, and labour, this ore had been long used by the natives, for the produe. 

 tion of small quantities of wrought iron, by the ordinary primitive method ; 

 — namely, the mLxture of the ore with charcoal in a deep hearth, and the 

 employment of a weak blast. 



The casting of ordnance being a great object with the Ottoman Govern- 

 ment, more recent attempts had been made to convert the ore into cast iron, 

 but without success ; or at all events with so little, as only to produce a white 

 iron, quite incapable of being remelted for common purposes. Very meagre 

 information was obtained, as to how or where the attempts had been made ; 

 it being merely stated that every means bad been tried, and that the iron 

 produced could not be recast, even into a cannon ball. That these trials had 

 been made in various countries, but always with like results, and the con- 

 tinuous failure in the production of iron fit for remelting, seemed to have 

 produced a conviction that there was something inherent in the ore which 

 prevented its being reduced, by any means, into cast iron of good, or even of 

 common quality. 



From the information obtained, it appears that the supply of this beautiful 

 ore in the lower valleys of Roumelia, at a short distance from the sea, is 

 almost inexhaustible. Although much smaller in its crystals than the cele- 

 brated Wootz ore from Porto Nuovo, in the East Indies, it is so similar, that 

 probably, like it, it may be found in the mine, mechanically combined with 

 ' quartzose crystals ; if so, nature has nearly purified it, by the action of the 

 torrents which have brought it from its bed ; for when it is deposited in the 

 valleys, the small portions of silex still commingled with the ore are readily 

 separable by many mechanical means. When freed from its accompanying 

 silicious earths, which amount to 12 per cent,, it yields 72'4 per. cent of iron, 

 a quantity which denotes its extreme purity; being the richest form in which 

 the ore is ever found in quantity. When combined with the silex, the yield, 

 by analysis, is 63'7 per cent., which is very nearly what was obtained by 

 fusion with carbonaceous matter, and a flux, in the crucible. 

 Among the parties consulted, a difference of opinion has existed as to the 



