Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-12-27
BLACK SAND STUDY
DEMAND FOR INVESTIGATION OF
SUBJECT IN EAST.

About the first of the year the L. S. geo.
logical survey will start. at Chapel Hill.
n. c., its plant for the study of black sand
on the Atlantic coast. This work has proved
of such immense Importance in the west
that there was a general demand for a
similar investigation in the east. Chapel
Hill is the seat of the University of North
Carolina and the survey will be able to
utilize the services of a number of the stu
dents.
The plant will be equipped with washing
tables and magnetic separators for working
both wet and dry sand. Eventually 1t will
be considerably enlarged. Congress will be
asked this year to make a considerable ad-
dition to the appropriation for research
work. especially in connection with the sub
Ject of electric smelling.
This has turned out to be very I'M
portant phase of the work 1t grew out
of the black sand investigations on the
Pacific slope. 1t was found that some of
the irons recovered there were largely I'M
pregnated with titanium. This had always
rendered an iron ore worthless Tor plast
furnace purposes. and there are acres upon
acres of ores of this character that mad
never been touched lust for this reason
1t seems that the titanium. in combination
with the air in the blast furnace, tormeo
a chemical compound with siX-1o1nted
name, that choked up the furnace with
clinkers. But 1t was found with the cleo
trio smelling of the iron on the coast that
the presence of titanium did not matter.
In fact it was found that half of one per
cent Of titanium had accidentally got into
one run of iron, and in spite or the 1act
that there was a little phosphorus and
sulphur In the iron 1t was remarkably
tough. A very small trace of phosphorus
will ordinarily make iron brittle. me
secret of the work with the electric smelter
was that there was no air to mix with the
titanium, and 1t consequently gave no trou-
BILE.
Iron of Fine Quality.
The quality of the iron was excellent. as
shown by the fact that some of 1t was sent
to a maker of ornamental iron castings In
Boston. and he wrote back that he would
take as much of the same quality as could
be supplied. He also sent some castings
made with the iron that proved very high
grade pieces of work. Out of pig of iron
sent him, he worked 1t all up into cast
ings with only half a pound of waste.
The meaning of this discovery to the west
is that it will render that section wholly in
dependent of the east for iron. There are
whole mountains of Ilmanite, an iron ore
contaminated with ttanium. that have
never been worth ten cents an acre for
mining purposes. All Of these can now be
used with the electric smelter. The same Is
true Of immense deposits in New England.
New York and a number of places along the
Appalachian range.
The mineral division Of the survey, under
DR.. David T. Day, has been making extern
sive preparations for the black sand work
in North Carolina. About 200 samples
have already been received from all sorts
of people, from farmers to congressman,
and one man, who owns large tract OF
potentially valuable land, is going to allow
the survey to put up plant on his prop
erty, paying all the bills and buying the
machinery himself and accepting the dfrec-
ton of the scientists as to the work. 1t
will give the survey a chance to work on
larger scale than ever before, under strict
ly service conditions.
To Show at Jamestown.
An important exhibit of black-sand ap-
paratus under working conditions will be
made by the survey at the jamestown ex-
position. In the same connection the sur
vey will bring from st. Louis to the expo
stion much of the apparatus that has been
in use at St Louis for the extensive series
of fuel tests made there. This machinery
will be set up and the experimental work
will be continued at the exposition. Coal,
coke and gas are all being tested, and the
results have been very important. 1t is
expected that the exhibit will be one of the
attractive features Of the exposition.
In the same Connection it Is SAID in the
survey that the fuel Investigations Will
have an important bearing on the cleo
tric smelling work. Ordinarily the cleo
tricity has been furnished by water
power, and it has been found that where
the cost of the electric energy can be put
as low as $40 per horsepower year smelt-
ing can be profitably done. At the >anie
time, it is believed that with many of
the present blast furnaces the coal and
coke can be used with more economy for
furnishing electricity and converting the
bla ST furnaces into electric Smelters.