Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1902-07-10
IRON IN NEW SOUTH WALES.
Government Aid Overcoming Difficult
ties of the Situation.

ties of the Situation.
The revival of the discussion as to
the practicability of making iron at
Sydney from native ores, in sufficient
quantity and variety TO meet the de
mands of the market, has led me to in
yestigate the attempts made in the
past to develop the iron industry in
New South Wales.
The first attempt to smelt iron ores
in this state of which l find record
was at Mittagong, n miles south of
sydney, about 1850. The works shut
down in 1856, owing to the operations
not being profitable, and remained
idle. with intervals of activity, until
1865, when the foundry produced a
number of cylinders for bridge and
girders for houses in Sydney, cast di-
rect from the blast furnace: but the
works were again shut down, because
the cost of production exceeded the
value of the product. The pig iron
produced cost at one time S24 per ton.
The property changed hands several
times, and various efforts were made
to produce iron, but the works were
finally abandoned. owing largely to
the lack Of good and cheap fuel. A
seam of coal feet IL inches thick
was found at a depth of 642 feet.
The Eskbank Iron works are near
Lithgow, SO miles west of Sydney, and
were first charged in 1877. The blast
furnace was of the best class, and it
produced 100 tons of pig iron per
week. Coal and "clay band" ore were
adjacent to the furnace. The brown
hematite was brought by rail 20 miles:
red siliceous hematite and limestone,
IA miles. The company had also a
foundry and all necessary appliances
for converting pig iron into bar iron.
Pig iron has not been produced by
these works since 1882, but the rolling
mills have been operated continuously
making bar iron from scrap. / am in
formed that no other experiments in
iron making have been made in all
Australia.
New South Wales Iron Ore.
There are twelve varieties of ore
enumerated as occurring in this state
in widely separated districts. The
government recently appointed Mr.
Jacquet to carefully examine all the
principal deposits, in order to deter
mine the feasibility of entering upon
new smelling experiment. So far as
examined, the Mittagong field appears
to contain less than 100000 tons
There are 100000 tons about Pictor
and 100000 tons about Goulburn
Mr.. Jacquet, however, has reported
that other deposits within reasonabl,
| distance of Lithgow show that ther,
| Is sufficient material available to JUS
tify the establishment of the iron in
dustry in this state
Probably the most extensive deposit
| of iron ore in New South Wales |.
| near Cadia 1872 miles west of Sydney
Mr.. Jacquet estimates the deposit neal
Orange to be about 39,00000O tons
and believes that it could be mined
and transported 95 miles to Lithgow
where the coal is found, at $2.43 pei
ton; the cost of smelling would be
$12.l6 per ton of pig iron, making a
total cost of $14.59. The ore is thought
to be suitable for the manufacture OF
Bessemer steel There are many
foundries in New South Wales. but
the supply of pig iron is greater than
the demand. The price ranges from
1854 to $2l.89 per ton
Labor is perhaps the largest item
in the cost of iron, and there is a
strong tendency at present In this
colony to fix the price of labor arti.
ficially. II is now proposed that the
government shall undertake the de-
velopment of the iron resources of
New South Wales, with the hope of
success under somewhat altered con.
ditions.