Metal Of The Future ALUMINIUM AIDS SMALLER STATES

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29869, 9 July 1962, Page 10

Metal Of The Future ALUMINIUM AIDS SMALLER STATES

I Specially u ntten (of “The Press" by

W. T PARHAM]

Aluminium, the metal of the future, is a friend of small nations. Nature has given immense deposits of bauxite to Australia, British Guiana, and Jamaica; Canada and Norway have harnessed their hydro-electric resources to operate great smelting plants. New Zealand may foljow the lead of Ghana, where both ore and water power are being energetically developed for an aluminium industry which will provide the agricultural economy with much needed d.versifies.ion.

Jamaica Is a good example of the impact which this industry can have upon a limited economy. Before World War II the island was almost wholly dependent upon agriculture, sugar and is derivatives being by far the most important. As in the case of our dairy produce export trade, this crop is liable to suffer both from world surpluses and the efforts of consumer countries to provide at least part of their own needs by home production. It had been known since 1869 that there was bauxite on the island, but it was not until 1942 that Sir Alfred D’Costa, a Kingston businessman, was able to awaken local opinion to the possibilities. Twenty years later, four of the largest international aluminium companies are exporting over five million tons of alumina and bauxite annually from Jamaica, the world's largest producer. Not only do these concerns pay large sums in direct revenue to the Government, but their local expenditures are on a huge scale

Bauxite resembles a dark red soil, and is extracted by open-cast mining The sight of these great quarries, with ;he incessant activity of earth-moving machines and trucks, is reminiscent of one of our hydro-electric dam sites during construction. In some areas of very mountainous country overhead wire rope conveyers are used to carry hundreds of thousands of tons of material for miles to specially-built ports. Help for Sugar

At these there is an interesting new development whereby the aluminium companies are helping the hardpressed sugar industry To cut costs, the latter is now discarding traditional methods of ship loading in favour of silos at these new ports, where the bauxite gantry conveyers are used to handle the sugar in bulk. Mining of bauxite is only half the story. By local law the companies must restore the land, making it at least as productive as it was before; and they fully accept this obligation Reserve and worked-out areas are improved to carry big herds of cattle, bred for the tropics Pigs and poultry are also raised in quantity, these livestock enterprises being backed with modern feed mills and packing plants. Citrus and coffee estates are well established, while the poorest soils are reafforested

under cedar, mahogany, and other limbers. The local employees who carry out all this work are among the best-paid on the island, and very rarely leave their jobs. The lengths to which this singular industry will go to bring raw materials to cheap electric power are well illustrated by the use of bauxite from Bntish Guiana at Arvids in Canada. Because of the bar at the mouth of the Demarara river, loads of only about 5000 tons can be exported from the mines. On the other hand, the freeze-up of the St. Lawrence river means that supplies can be brought to the smelter dur.ng only seven months of the year. The problem is solved by the use of a staging post at Chaguaramas Bay in Trinidad A stockpile is built up throughout the year from British Guiana, and there is an intensive draw-off dur.ng Canada’s ice-free months. Long Shipping Hauls

Some New Zealanders may have thought that the need to ship the raw material from Weipa in northern Queensland to the Bluff would make the final productive expensive. The same me.hod will be followed here as in the case of Kitimat, the amazing plant sot in the mountains of British Columbia in western Canada All its supplies ha\e to pass through the Panama Canal en route from Jamaica. To reduce the amount of shipping needed, and hence the canal tolls, the bauxite is processed to alumina (aluminium oxide* at big plants near the mines. In this way the tonnage to be shipped is cut by two-thirds, although this may vary according to the richness of the grade of bauxite. In our case, alumina will be produced at Weipa for shipment to New Zealand for the final stage of converting alumina into metal. Hydro-electricity serves the bulk of the world's smelting plants, though current generated from natural gas is becoming increasingly important. It is hoped to produce power from Lake Manapoun for about a farthing a unit, and aluminium from the Bluff should be competitive with supplies from other sources.

New Uses Sought

At present aluminium productive capacity is well in excess of current world needs. Today's problem is to find new uses which, added to the normal increase in consumption. can hasten the di.y when supply and demand will be once again in balance. This obviously has an important bearing on :he Southland project, and New Zealand is vitally concerned with the elimination of the present surplus The metal has a habit of turning up in a variety of unexpected places It can even be Woven as a thread into carpets, form lawn edgings, and, in a suitable alloy, serve as armour plate. These are, however, little more than curiosities at the moment, when above all else the industry needs new high-volume uses.

Transport offers some of the best possibilities The recently built Canberra and Onana are well known for their light metal superstructures, which permit greater payloads to be carried than would be possible had steel been used. The Cunard Line is now following this lead in the construction of four new cargo ships. Apart from its employment in car trimming and cylinder blocks, aluminium is now bidding for a share of coating the sheet steel used in bodybuilding, which has previously been galvanised. Processes have been developed enabling it to replace zinc, and with the heavy price cuts which have recently been made to broaden the market, the metal may gain a foothold where a stronger material is needed than the light alloy sheeting seen on trucks and railway waggons. The building industry has also turned increasingly to aluminium In roofing and walling its lightness can reduce the cost of the main structure, while freedom from corrosion and from the need for painting brings a lasting economy in maintenance. Aluminium window frames are now common, and its use in space-saving sliding doors « likely to become more widespread. The New Zealand aluminium industry, backed by some of the foremost companies in the metals field, will supply not only Australia, to give some relief with our heavy adverse balance of trade, but also world markets, once again giving much-needed help to a small nation