Los Angeles herald., 1910-06-21
SEPARATES IRON FROM
PACIFIC COAST LANDS
Machine Used by Government
Expert Is Exhibited and
May Be Applied Here

Will there ever be a shortage of iron!
The current number of the Atlantlc
Monthly contains an optimistic review
of the recent report of professor
Tornebohm. This report, made to the
Swedish government, stated that II
the consumption of iron were to in
crease hereafter as fast as it did be-
tween 1893 and 1906 the ten billion
tons of ore with which Professor
Tornebohm credits the world in ms
report to the Swedish government
would be used UP in about forty years.
Much speculation exists also as to
when and where the Pacific coast steel
plants will be built. Numerous articles
have been going the rounds of the
newspapers for the past few months
stating that san Pedro, San Diego,
San francisco, Seattle and other coast
towns were to be so favored.
All sources of information, however,
agree that there will be steel and iron
smelling and manufacturing plants es-
tablished. at one or more of the places
named in the immediate future. 1t has
lone been known that vast deposits
of iron ore are to be found In the desert
almost at the door of Los Angeles,
but these have been kept from de-
velopment largely owing to the trans
portation problem, both as regards the
ore itself and the fuel to reduce it to
a metallic product.
Recent developments, however, seem
to have solved both problems. There
is a residual product left from the Cal
ifornia oils after the distillate and
other products have been extracted
that is both abundant and exceedingly
cheap. This product is coke that is
now being used in Los Angeles to
supply the carbon necessary to the
successful conversion of the magnetic
Ill fI1fn n Cfn
LARGE TONNAGE IN SIGHT
Now as to the ore itself, it is COM
mon knowledge that there are millions
of tons of the finest magnetic or mag
netic iron ore to be found on the
beaches and in the gulches of the
mountains of this state.
In fact every dredger and every
placer mine of every description in
the whole west is constantly turning
out numberless tons of so-called black
sand that is convertible into every
form of iron and steel.
This material is now about to be
utilized, says Alexander Dean, an elec-
tro metallurgist, formerly of Denver,
Col. who has recently brought to Los
Angeles an electric ore separator of
simple construction that is extracting
and saving this ore at a cost of less
than 25 cents a ton for the concen-
trated ore so saved.
This magnetic ore is richer in iron
than ordinary iron ores, recent tests
in Los Angeles showing the following
proportions:
Two tons ordinary iron ore produce
one ton of pig iron, one and one-half
tons magnetic produce one ton of
steel, one ton of ordinary iron ore
requires one ton of coke to smelt 1t,
one ton Of magnetic requires only 600
pounds of coke to smelt it. Ordinary
iron ore costs several dollars ton;
magnetic ore as extracted by the new
process costs % cents a ton.
Thus it would seem that there IS no
danger of a shortage of iron ore on
this coast if the people but utilize the
lavish supply at hand.
They have the oil, coke and gas for
smelling and water power to fur
nish cheap electricity to handle, re-
fine and manufacture this ore into the
thousand and one things needed.
The small machine now on eXhibi-
ton at 300 Merchants Trust building
is one of those used by DR.. David IT.
Day. chief Of division of mining and
mineral resources at Washington, D.
c.. to furnish part Of the iron used by
him in producing the gray iron and
steel at the Portland exposition. which
was reported on by him in his report
to congress.