BREAKING A GERMAN MONOPOLY
GAS MANTLE MANUFACTURE.
The minoral survey now being conducted in Ceylon in co-operation with the Imperial Institute has led to the discovery of beach deposits of monazito sand, which will usefully supplement the commercial supplies of thoria required for tho manufacture of incandescent gas mantles. Samples of the sand have been investigated by the Imperial Institute, and the results are so promising that the Government of Cevlon lias arranged to work the deposits. Suitable British concentrating machinery has been selected by the institute for the purpose, after experimental trials, and will shortly be 'shinned to the colony. , This is tho latest chapter m the story of the long struggle to rescue tho gas mantle industry from German domination. Formerly tho monazito deposits in Brazil were the only commercial source of supply of thoria, and these wero controlled bv the German Thorium Syndicate. The Brazilian monopoly enioyed bv this syndicate was broken by the discovery of extensive deposits of monazite in the native State of Travancore in India, so rich that samples examined by thelmperial Institute were found to contain nearly twice as much thoria as the Brazilian monazito. , Tho German Syndicate, howev.er, obtained control of the company formed to work tho Indian deposits, and'they continued to exercise a dominating influence over tho industry till the outbreak of the war. Since then the company has been reconstructed, and given a British character, and it is'understood that another portion of the deposits in Travancore has been taken up and will be worked by a second British company. The work of tho Mineral Survey has shown that Ceylon can furnish several other thoria minerals besides moiuzite. Among these is thorianite, ««• richest known source of thoria. Um ™ w mineral when it firnt onrnf on the market ms sold in England at as hijt'i a rate »s £1600 p*r ton, but tho deposits hare prowl So he limited.
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Bibliographic details
Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 53, 26 November 1917, Page 4
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317BREAKING A GERMAN MONOPOLY Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 53, 26 November 1917, Page 4
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