SCARCITY OF IRON

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 305, 13 September 1918, Page 4

SCARCITY OF IRON

MONEY IN SCRAP HEAPS. ' Never in tho history of New Zealand has there been such a clearing up of tho country's old iron scrap heaps as has taken place within the last threeor four years of war (says the "New Zealand Herald"). The piles of rusty horseshoes, formerly to be seen outsi'lo [many ft blacksmith's shop, have- long I since disappeared, and fragments of disused machinery, old r ails, broken-down and obsolete engines, and all kinds of odds and ends have been put to useful, purpose after ygyirs of exposure to wind and weather. New Zealand foundries aro now practically running on scrap-iron. This is freely admitted by their managers, to whom tho. second-hand dealer in this commodity has become- a person of considerable importance. "We are buyiiiK up every bit of old cast-iron we can lav our hands on," said the manager of a.'well-known Auckland foundry last week "Wo have always bought up certain quantities of scrap-iron, hut now we aro practically dependent on it. Tlw cast-iron scraps aro melted down mul mixed with pig-iron, and in this wny we are able to conserve our supplies of tho latter. Before tho war we paid about £3 a ton for old cast-iron, and are now paying £7. The price for new pic-iron, which was formerly a little over £4 a ton, has now advanced to anything from £14 to £20. The Honw market is now closed, but we arc still getting a little from Jndia and Australia, tho embargo on export from tlia latter country having recently been lifted." , . Tho advance in the price of wrought iron is said to be even greater, supplies of raw material being practically unprocurable. Steel plates, for instance, formerly costing £10 per ton, are now difficult to procure at £85. All kinds of scraps of wrought iron aro boinjr bought up for useful purposes, ami the second-hand dealer who in old times was content to sell at 30s. or £2 a ton was now receiving £40 for the same stuff. Old boiler _ plates, mining vats, bar and sheet iron aro r-tated to bo in great demand, thoso being hammered down and worked up again into ship's plates, boiler plates, iron bars, and also used for odds uid ends in repair work.