The evening times., 1902-06-13

MANUFACTURE OF IROE IN NEW
SOUTH WALEs-ConsuI 0rland L.
Baker, stationed at Sydney, under
date April 5, 1902, writes:
The revival Of the discussion as to the
7-actica5fiity OF making iron at sydney
rom cattve ores, In sufficient quantities
and variety to meet the demands Of the
market, has led me to investigate the
attempts made in the past so develop
he ircn industry n New South Wales.
The first attempt to sneH iron ores
Il this state. OF which fad a record.
0zs at 1-lttGzong. ge7er-y-scven miles
soUth Of Sydney. a5cut 1855 The works
shut doul ia 1855. owing 10 the opera
tons not being profitable, and remained
ille. with intervals OF activity. until
1863 vae= the 5oun6ry produced a nun
Ser Of cylinders FOR o bridge and orders
Tor houses in sydney. cast direct 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 P~oduced cost at
one time 81 Per J0n. The property
changed haa6s several times. ani va7i-
cas- -fcrts were made to produce iron,
eut the works we're fEany abandoned.
ewing largely to the lack OF good and
cheap fuel A seam Of ccal 8 fee- Il
inches thick was IoanC at q dcpt1 OF
5f2 rect
The Eskaenk Iron Works are near
Lttbgow. uinety-slx miles west Of sgd
aey. and we're first charged IL 1877 The
Siast furnace was OF tEc best class. and
Il produced 15o tons Of pig i-5n per
week Coal and clay Ba1d' ore were
adjacent to the furnace. The brown
aesnatits vas brought by rail seventy
a-.lesi red silicooUs henatite and lime
stone. fourteen niles. The company had
also Q foundry and all necessary .a7pli-
ances for converting pig iron into bar
iron.
Pig iren has not been produced nv
these works since 1882. but the rolling
mills have DceE operated continuously
making bar iron from scrap.
I an informed that no other REQUIRE
mcHts ia Iron making have been made
in all Australia
There are twelve varieties Of ore
enuueTated as occurring in this state
in widely se1arated districts. The zov-
c-nnent receatlE appointed Mr.. Jacouet
70 care. .EIly examine all the PRINCIPAL
deposits. in order 10 determine the FEAST
oiIi-y OF eutering. upon. q new smeltfDr
experiment So far as examined the
5-ittagong field appears 10 contain less
han 100000 tons. There are ]. .8g0 0CO
tens about Picton ana I.50J0 ions
about GouIbura AR Jacquet. however
has reported that other DEPOSIT within
reasonable distance Of LithEow Sow
that there is sufficient material avail
able TO Justify the establishment OF the
i-on Industry in this state.
Probably the most extensive deposit
OF iron ore n New South Wales IS near
Cadi1. Ig2 miles west OF sydney. Mr.
JacqUet estimates the deposit near Or
anEc TO be about 39.GC9000 tons. and be
lieves that It could be mined and trans
ported uiaety-Gve miles to Lithgow.
where the ccaI is found At los fs2. 43}
per ION, the cost Of smelling would be
g Jos ;sl2I6) per ton Of pig iron. max
tag q to5al cost Of e@ $3.50. The ore
is thought TO be suitable for the manu-
tacture o. Bessemer steel
There are many foundries in New
South Wales. but the supPly. Of pig iron
is greater than the demand The price
ranges from rs 10 sos ($l6-54 TO $21.sa)
per ton
Labor is perhaps tha largest item in
The. cost Of iron, ana there is a strons
tendency at present IN this colony to fix
the price o. labor a~udciaIly.
It is now. proposed that the govern
ment shall undertake the development +
Of the iron resources Of New South
Wales, with tHe hope OF success under
somewhat altered conditions
append o printed description OF this
proposed action.
''FVithout Offering any opinion on the