NEW ZEALAND IRONSAND.

Auckland Star, Volume XXIII, Issue 141, 15 June 1892, Page 8

NEW ZEALAND IRONSAND.

INTERVIEW WITH MR E. M. SMITH, M.H.R.

A GIGANTIC PROJECT,

Amongst the passengers who arrived from the South at noon to-day, per s.s. Mahinapua, was Mr E. M.„ Smith, M.H.R^for Now t'lvimouth,--who is making a hurried visit to"'Auckland prior to; the openings o,f the Parliamentary s'esiibn. MrSmith was interviewed by a Star representative, and supplied $os^ reference tb the object':'o'f Jiis preeent visit, which is cbnheptedwith the ironsand industry. „'.,'. Ib may be premised that Mr Smith is a Staffordshire man and has an intimate knowledge of the various, processes of treating iron ore.and it is well known that he had devoted a large amount of time arid research in experimenting with the New Zealand ironsand deposits that are found in exhaustless quantity along the West Coast of the North Island.

In reply to questions, and in the course of general conversation, Mr Smith stated that the definite object of bis present visit to Auckland was to try to persuade the directors of the Onehunga Iron Company to shift their works to the vicinity of New Plymouth. This objecb he should pursue by holding a meeting with the directors to-morrow (Thursday); to which newspaper reporters would be invited. The ends to be served by the removal are so important that they quite out-weigh the expenses of removal, great though these would be, In the first place the.Taranaki ironsand deposits are found near to a suitable site for works, thus saving tbe expense of carrying the ore to the furnace, and at the same time in close contiguity to coal supply, with water and railway communication to all parts of the colony. In the next place the materials for treating the.sand successfully were all to hand in Taranaki. What are the ingredients used in the process ? • Well, it is a new discovery, secured by patent, but the ingredients are all found in abundance in Taranaki Papa clay is one of the principal, and broken coal, which is also found within easy reach, is more suitable for working the ironsand than any other New Zealand coal ie. The ingredients are all inexpensive, bub to be effective they have to bo worked into bricks. Samples

of these bricka have been sent to leading metallurgists and analysts" in England,* apd they agree that all -the; constituents necessary for treating ironsand are present. Of course (added Mr Smith), the fact of this being a new discovery adds greatly to its value." " ~ . Bub you are aware thab the Americans have been working up ironsand successfully? •■;.-'-. Yes they make thousands -of tons every year bub New Zealand sand is no more like th. American than cheese is like'chalk. Whereas the American ironsand contains 36 per cent of bitanion, the mosb refractory metal known, the New Zealand ironsand contains only about 5 por cent; This makes it more easy to work and ib produces iron far superior to any that can be made from any other ore whatever. ' Is there not a difficulty owing to tho presence of magnetic iron in the New Zealand

Mr Smith admitted there was. a difficulty there, but he had successfully surmounted it. The machine invented ;by Mr h as. Kelly, of Auckland,, for separating tbe magnetic from the non-magnetic was a very ingenious one indeed, and did the work well; but the process was much too BIOW. ' What are the prospects if 4 _he Onehunga 'Ironworks were removed to -Kamo or Nelson, where there are large deposits of ironstone? ' - To do thab would probably end in disasterIt would certainly lead to iron being made, but it would cost far more than would the iron made from tho sand deposits, and the quality of the ifohywould be inferior. Mr Smith said he-was prepared to demonstrate to the directors that they could by his process easily earn the bonus offered by the Government for the production of 500 tons of iron from New, Zealand iron sand. If they were prepared to launch dub a very little irioro'capital this would very soon be achieved.

And if they'.objecb to spending more money ? .'-X- :- j "• Then, said Mr Smith, it ia my intention, at the close of the Parliamentary session, togo to England and raise the nece. . ary capital to float a company, to be called|The Iron and Steel Company of New Zealand. I have no doubt of! my ability to do this, and ie will be a grand thing for Tapnaki and for the colony as a whole. The meeting to-morrow ought to'be of great importance, and will dOubbl.ss be"attended by all interested in the development of the ironsand industry.