The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1906-08-06
LAST YEAR DEVOID
Of DISCOVERIES
Electro -Metallurgical Field Was
Not Widened Much Dur
ing Past Season.
COPPER ALONE WAS
SUBJECT TO CHANGE
Reflneries Of America We're
RemOdeled So as to In
+ crease Output.

No striking discoveries marked the
progress Of the -metallurgical In
dustries during 1905. Steady progress
was, however, made In some directions.
In the eleotrolytic copper-rehning In
dustry In the electric furnace processes
for refining iron and steel. and In the
electric lead and zinc industries, marked
advances were made, says tho Engineer
Ing and Mining Journal
The manufacture Of special alloys OF
iron (ferro-chrome, ferro-tungsten and
ferro-vanadium) for use in the produc-
tion OF the highest classes OF tool-steel
and armor plate also developed, though
to a less extent; the manufacture Of
ferro- silicon is another healthy branch
Of electro-me tallurgical industry, Elec-
tric Welding, and the use of acetylene
gas for blow-pipe work, are promising
minor developments OF the chief Indus
tries,
No official figures are available relat-
ing to the aluminium output in 1905.
Unofficial estimates place the total be-
tween 5000 and 5000 tons. In Europe
the prospects of the producing compa-
MES improved during the year, and both
the English and German companies pre-
sented favorable financial reports. The
latter returned profit of 2.Ol2, ,os7
marks, and paid a dividend Of IS per
cent WnllB iue lOTn0T TepOIlSu ucl
profit OF EOS. All. Both companies are ex-
tending their water-power rights and
Developments; the Neuhausen company
is taking up the manufacture Of calcium
carbide and electric steel.
Aluminium Production.
In France. the production of aluminium
In 1905 was hampered by strikes among
the work people at La Praz works, and
by the attention given TO the newer cleo
tric steel processes. At Niagara Falls.
The Pittsburg Reduction company cele-
brated the tenth anniversary OF the
commencement OF the manufacture with
a fire which damaged It's plant to the
extent of $4,000 AS regards utilization,
the various applications of aluminium, I'm
metallurgy and In thermite, have at
tractcd most attention during the year.
The year 1905 was marked as TO cop
per by striking development In the
electrolytic-refning industry IN Amer
lea, many Of the reaneries having been
remodelled. and enlarged, The aggre-
gate production OF the American renner-
les is stated to have doubled during the
last six years; and. according to the
published figures. the capacity of the
electrolytic re0neries is now nearly
equal to the whole OF the annual output
OF raw copper.
In Europe the position as regards the
refining Industry is stationary. A new
process for producing nodded articles In
copper was introduced during 1905. These
are nodded in clay. coated with black
lead, and then coated with copper by
ctro-deposition. The results are said
TO be good, and the cost OF the finished
articles is lower than by the older meth
DDS.
Lead During 1905.
The Belts lead refining process is
working satisfactorily at Trail, British
Columbia, and the plant has been ex-
Tended during 1905. There are now 50
watts at this works. each vat is Z feet
long by 30 inches wide. and when fully
charged contains 20 anodes and 81 ca
thodes. Herr Sem "a German Univer-
sity suddenly Investigated the chemistry
OF the Belts process. and published his
results In the Zelts. I. Elektrochemie
He finds that almost complete separation
OF lead from copper. bismuth and cad
MUM can be attained by use OF the
impure lead as apode. IN a bath OF
lead fuo- slicate.