AN IMPROVEMENT OR IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF AN ALLOY OR ALLOYS OF TITANIUM. AND IRON
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Robert Mushet, of Coleford, in the County of
Gloucester, Metallurgist, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVEMENT OR
IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF AN ALLOY OR ALLOYS OF TITANIUM.
AND IRON."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Robert Mushet at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
8th December 1860.
I, ROBERT MUSHET, of Coleford, in the County of Gloucester, Metallurgist,.
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVEMENT
OR IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF AN ALLOY OR ALLOYS OF TITANIUM
AND IRON," to be as follows:-
My Invention consists in manufacturing an alloy or alloys of iron and
titanium, containing also carbon, from iserine in the state of titaniferous iron
sand. I prefer to carry my Invention into effect in the manner herein-after
explained, but I do not limit myself to the details described, as the method of
carrying my Invention into effect may be varied. without departing from the
nature of my Invention.
That ore of titanium termed by mineralogists iserine is found in immense
quantities in the state of fine sand at Taranaki, near the port of New

page_text: Plymouth, in the island of New Zealand. This iserine is a titaniferous iron
sand, almost pure, consisting essentially of titanic acid combined with oxide of
iron. It is, therefore, a compound, or double ore of titanium and iron, and
when smelted yields an alloy of titanium and iron.
When this iserine or titaniferous iron sand unmixed with any cohesive
matter to agglutinate its particles is smelted in a blast furnace or cupola, the
said iserine or titaniferous iron sand falls down through the interstices of the
fuel, and chokes up the hearth of the furnace, and impedes the working of the
said furnace, so that the smelting of the said ore and its reduction to the state
of pig metal cannot be properly accomplished. In order to obviate this
difficulty, and to obtain, by smelting this iserine or titaniferous iron ore in a
blast furnace or cupola with coke or charcoal fuel, an alloy of titanium and
iron, free or nearly free from impurities, such as sulphur, silicon, aluminium,
and calcium, I proceed in the following manner :-I melt a quantity of pitch,
resin, or bitumen in a pitch pot or kettle, or in a large cauldron set over a fire,
and when the said pitch, resin, or bitumen is melted, I mix with it a quantity
of the New Zealand iserine or titaniferous iron sand, and I then empty out
the mixture thus obtained upon a wet slab or into a wet trough, and when
the said mixture is cold I break it-up-into-pieces-ready for charging into the
blast furnace or cupola in which the said iserine or titaniferous iron sand is to
be smelted; or the said mixture of titaniferous iron sand and pitch, resin, or
bitumien may at once be introduced into the blast furnace without first allowing
the said mixture to cool. To every ten pounds of melted pitch, resin, or
bitumen, I prefer to add from forty to sixty pounds of the iserine or titaniferous
iron sand, but I do not limit myself to these proportions, my object being to
consolidate the ore into masses by mixing it with pitch, resin, or bitumen,
which serve also as reducing agents; so that when introduced into the blast
furnace or cupola the said titaniferous iron sand may not fall prematurely
down through the interstices of the fuel into the hearth of the said furnace
before the said titaniferous iron sand has been reduced. In place of pitch,
resin, or bitumen, wood tar or coal tar may be employed, with which to mix
the iserine or titaniferous iron sand, in order to agglutinate its particles, and
to assist in deoxidizing or reducing the said ore, but pitch, resin, or bitumen
are more cleanly to use than tar. When wood tar or coal tar is employed, I
mix as much of the iserine or titaniferous iron sand with the tar as will
constitute with the said wood tar or coal tar a thick paste, and this paste or
compound is then ready to be charged into the blast furnace or cupola. Or a
mixture of tar with pitch or resin or bitumen may be employed to mix with
and agglutinate and assist in reducing the said iserine or titaniferous iron sand

page_text: of New Zealand. I carefully avoid mixing the iserine or titaniferous iron
sand previously to introducing the said iserine or titaniferous iron sand into
the blast furnace or cupola with either bituminous coal or clay, or lime, or
mixtures of these, as such mixtures, although they would bind together and.
agglutinate the particles of the said ore, would, nevertheless, prove injurious
to the quality of the alloy obtained therefrom when the said alloy is intended
to be subsequently used for the manufacture of steel.
The fuel I employ in the blast furnace or cupola for the purpose of smelting
the compound of iserine or titaniferous iron sand and pitch, resin, or bitumen,.
may be either coke or charcoal fuel, but when the alloy of titanium and iron
is intended to be subsequently used for the manufacture of steel, I prefer to
use charcoal fuel. As it requires an intense temperature in order to deoxidize
and metallize the particles of titanic acid or oxide of titanium in contact with
carbonaceous matter, I prefer to supply the blast furnace in which the.
compound of iserine or titaniferous iron sand and pitch, resin, or bitumen, or,
tar is smelted with a blast of heated air, but, nevertheless, cold blast may be,
employed where heated air cannot be conveniently obtained. The said blast
of heated air in order to be most effective should possess a temperature of not.
less than six hundred degrees of Fahrenheit's scale.
The blast furnace or cupola being filled with ignited coke or charcoal fuel,:
I introduce at the filling place of the said furnace four hundredweights of the
prepared compound of pitch, resin, bitumen, or tar and titaniferous iron sand,
or iserine, herein-before described; over this I place two hundredweights of
charcoal fuel, and over this a second charge of four hundredweights of the said.
prepared compound, again over this I place two hundredweights of charcoal,
fuel, and so on. I proceed charging the furnace as the fuel burns away, and the,
charges work down in the furnace; but I do not confine myself to the relative,
proportions of the compound and charcoal fuel employed for the burdening of.
the blast. furnace or cupola herein set down, for the proportions may be varied.
without departing from the nature of my Invention.
Fluxes may be added to the burden of the blast furnace or cupola, such as
blast furnace cinders, clay, and lime; but such fluxes must not be mixed up
with the titaniferous iron sand, or the pitch, resin, bitumen, or tar employed
to agglutinate the said sand previously to the introduction of the said iserine-
or titaniferous iron sand into the blast furnace or cupola. Manganese may be
employed as a flux, either mixed with the ore and pitch, resin, bitumen, or
tar, or added separately to the burden of the blast furnace or cupola; but I
do not claim the addition of these fluxes as forming any part of my Invention.
When the hearth of the blast furnace or cupola has become sufficiently

page_text: filled with the metal reduced from the compound of New Zealand iserine or
titaniferous iron sand and pitch, resin, bitumen, or tar introduced into the said
furnace together with the coke or charcoal fuel, I tap the furnace or cupola in
the ordinary manner, and run the metal into pig moulds of iron or sand. The
metal thus obtained is an alloy of titanium and iron, containing also carbon,
and is the metallic alloy, the manufacture of which is the object of my
Invention.
Although iserine in the state of very pure titaniferous iron sand has hitherto
only been found in large quantities at Taranaki, near the port of New
Plymouth, in New Zealand, and for convenience of description I have
described the ore I employ as that particular ore, yet an alloy of titanium and
iron may be obtained by the process herein described from iserine in the state
of titaniferous iron sand obtained from other localities, should it hereafter be
found elsewhere in sufficient quantities for manufacturing purposes; and I
wish it to be understood that my Invention is independent of the locality from
whence the materials are obtained.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the methods by
which I prefer to carry-the said Invention into effect, I hereby declare that
the essence of my Invention consists in obtaining from iserine-or-titaniferous
iron sand an alloy of titanium and iron by smelting the said iserine or
titaniferous iron sand mixed with pitch, resin, bitumen, or tar in a blast
furnace or cupola heated with coke or charcoal fuel; but I do not claim the.
smelting of the said iserine or titaniferous iron sand in a blast furnace or
cupola when the said ore is previously formed into a coke with bituminous
coals, or formed into lumps, masses, or bricks by previous admixture with clay
or lime, or mixtures of these substances; in order to agglutinate the particles
of the said ore, and prevent the said particles from falling down prematurely
through the interstices of the fuel into the hearth of the blast furnace or
cupola, and thereby disordering and impeding the working or operation of the
said blast furnace or cupola.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighth day of December, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the twenty-fourth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Robert Mushet, Her special licence that I, the said Robert Mushet, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Robert
Mushet, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the:
term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, 'use, exercise, and.
vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "AN IMPROVEMENT OR IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF AN ALLOY OR ALLOYS OF TITANIUM AND IRON,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Robert Mushet, my
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their,
or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain:
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to
be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent
Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the:
said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Robert Mushet, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, that is to say:-
My Invention consists in manufacturing an alloy or alloys of iron and.
titanium, containing also carbon, from iserine in the state of titaniferous iron
sand. I prefer to carry my Invention into effect in the manner berein-after
explained; but I do not limit myself to the precise details described, as the
method of carrying my Invention into effect may be varied without departing
from the nature of my Invention.
That ore of titanium termed by mineralogists iserine is found in immense
quantities in the state of fine sand at Taranaki, near the port of New Ply-:
mouth, in the island of New Zealand. This iserine or titaniferous iron sand
is almost pure, consisting essentially of titanic acid combined with oxide of
iron. It is therefore a compound or double ore of titanium and iron, and
when smelted yields an alloy of titanium and iron containing also carbon.
When iserive or titaniferous iron sand unmixed with any cohesive matter.
to agglutinate its particles is smelted in a blast furnace or cupola, the said.
iserine or titaniferous iron sand falls down through the interstices of the fuel,
and chokes up the hearth of the furnace and impedes the working of the said

page_text: furnace, so that the smelting of the ore and its reduction to the state of pig
metal cannot be properly accomplished. In order to obviate this difficulty and
to obtain an alloy of titanium and iron containing also carbon, but free or
nearly free from impurities, such as sulphur, silicon, aluminium, and calcium,
by smelting the iserine or titaniferous iron sand in a blast furnace or cupola, I
proceed in the following manner :-I melt a quantity of pitch, resin, or bitumen
in a pitch pot or kettle or in a large cauldron set over a fire, and when the
said pitch, resin, or bitumen is melted, I mix with it a quantity of the New
Zealand iserine or titaniferous iron sand, and I then empty out the mixture
thus obtained upon a wet slab or into a wet trough, and when the said mixture
is cold I break it up into pieces ready for charging into the blast furnace or
cupola, in which the said iserine or titaniferous iron sand is to be smelted, or
the said mixture of titaniferous iron sand and pitch, resin, or bitumen may at-
once be introduced into the blast furnace without first allowing the said
mixture to, cool. To every ten pounds of melted pitch, resin, or bitumen I.
prefer to add from forty to sixty pounds of the iserine or titaniferous iron sand,.
but I do not limit myself to these proportions, my object being to consolidate
the ore into-masses_by_mixing it with pitch, resin, or bitumen, which serve
also as reducing agents, so that when introduced into-the-blast-furnace_or
cupola the said titaniferous iron sand may not fall prematurely down through
the interstices of the fuel into the hearth of the said furnace before the said
titaniferous iron sand has been reduced. In place of pitch, resin, or bitumen,
wood tar or coal tar may be employed, with which to mix the iserine or
titaniferous iron sand, in order to agglutinate its particles and to assist in
deoxidising or reducing the said ore, but pitch, resin, or bitumen are more
cleanly to use than tar. When wood tar or coal tar is employed I mix as.
much of the iserine or titaniferous iron sand with the tar as will constitute with,
the said wood tar or coal tar a thick paste, and this paste or compound is then.
ready to be charged into the blast furnace or cupola. Or a mixture of tar
with pitch or resin or bitumen may be employed to mix with and agglutinate
and assist in reducing the said iserine or titaniferous iron sand of New Zealand.
I carefully avoid mixing the iserine or titaniferous iron sand previously. to.
introducing the said iserine or titaniferous iron sand into the blast furnace.or
cupola with either bitumenous coal, or clay, or line, or mixtures of these, as
such mixtures, although they would bind together and agglutinate the par-.
ticles of the said ore, would nevertheless prove injurious to the quality of the
alloy obtained therefrom, when the said alloy is intended to be subsequently.
used for the manufacture of steel.
The fuel I employ in the blast furnace or cupola for the purpose of smelting;

page_text: the compound of iserine or titaniferous iron sand, and pitch, resin, or bitumen;
may be either coke or charcoal fuel; but when the alloy of titanium and iron
is intended to be subsequently used for the manufacture of steel I prefer to
use charcoal. As it requires an intense heat in order to deoxidize and
metallize the particles. of titanic acid or oxide of titanium in contact with ear-
bonaceous matter, I prefer to supply. the blast furnace in which the compound
of iserine or titaniferous iron sand and pitch, resin, or bitumen, or tar is
smelted with a blast of heated air; but nevertheless, cold blast may be
employed where heated air cannot be conveniently obtained. The said blast
of heated air, in order to be most effective, should possess a temperature of not
less than six hundred degrees of Fahrenheit's scale.
The blast furnace or cupola being filled with ignited coke or charcoal fuel,
I introduce at the filling place of the said furnace four hundred parts by
weight of the prepared compound of pitch, resin, bitumen, or tar and titani-
ferous iron sand or iserine, herein-before described; over this I place two
hundred parts by weight of charcoal fuel, and over this a second charge of
four hundred parts by weight of the said prepared compound; again over this
I place two hundred parts by weight of charcoal fuel, and so on; I proceed
charging the furnace as the fuel burns away and the charges work down in
the furnace. But I do not confine myself to the relative proportions of the
compound and charcoal fuel employed for the burdening or charging of the
blast furnace or cupola herein set down, for the proportions may be varied
without departing from the nature of my Invention.
Fluxes may be added to the burden or charge of the blast furnace or
cupola, such as blast furnace cinders, clay, and lime, but such fluxes must not
be mixed up with the titaniferous iron sand or with the pitch, resin, tar, or
bitumen employed to agglutinate the said sand previously to the introduction
of the said iserine or titaniferous, iron sand into the blast furnace or cupola.
Manganese may be employed as a flux, either mixed with the ore and pitch,
resin, bitumen, or tar, or added separately to the burden of the blast furnace
or cupola. But I do not claim the addition of these fluxes as forming any
part of my Invention.
When the hearth of the blast furnace or cupola has become sufficiently
filled with the metal reduced from the compound of New Zealand iserine or
titaniferous iron sand and pitch, resin, bitumen, or tar introduced into the said
furnace, together with the coke or charcoal fuel, I tap the furnace or cupola
in the ordinary manner, and run the metal into pig moulds of iron or sand.
The metal thus obtained is an alloy of titanium and iron containing also

page_text: carbon, and is the metallic alloy the manufacture of which is the object of my
Invention.
Although iserine in the state of very pure titaniferous iron sand has hitherto
only been found in large quantities at Taranaki, near the port of New Ply-
mouth, in New Zealand, and for convenience of description I have described
the ore I employ as that particular ore, yet an alloy of titanium and iron
may be obtained by the process herein described from iserine in the state of
titaniferous iron sand obtained from other localities, should it hereafter be
found elsewhere in sufficient quantities for manufacturing purposes; and I
wish it to be understood that my Invention is independent of the locality from
whence the materials I employ are obtained.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the methods by
which I prefer to carry the said Invention into effect, I hereby declare that
the essence of my Invention consists in obtaining from iserine or titaniferous
iron sand an alloy or alloys of titanium and iron by smelting the said iserine
or titaniferous iron sand mixed with pitch, resin, bitumen, or tar in a blast
furnace or cupola heated with coke or charcoal fuel; but I do not claim the
-smelting of the said iserine or titaniferous iron sand in a blast furnace or
cupola, when the said ore is previously-formed into a coke with bituminous
coal, or formed into lumps, masses, or bricks by previous admixture with clay
or lime, or mixtures of these substances, in order to agglutinate the particles
of the said ore and prevent the said particles from falling down prematurely
through the interstices of, the fuel into the hearth of the blast furnace or
cupola, and thereby disordering and impeding the working or operation of the
said blast furnace or cupola.
In witness whereof, I, the said Robert Mushet, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this First day of June, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-one.
Witness,
EDW. M. MUSHET,
Coleford, Gloucestershire.
BROOKLYN MUSHET,
Coleford, Gloucestershire.
ROBT. MUSHET.
(L.S.)