The Ironsand Industry

Horowhenua Chronicle, 20 January 1917, Page 4

The Ironsand Industry

$ GOOD PROGRESS BEING .MADE, WITH THE WORKS AT MOTUROA. (Taranaki Herald.)

Good progress is being made with tho construction of the works of the. X.Z. Iron Ore, Smelting and llamifnctimiug Company at Moturoa, and unless anything 'unforeseen happens in the mean, time, a most important industry ivil! have been set in action early in Maich. —important not only to New Plymouth and district, but to the dominion as a whole, for it will be possible to productsufficient pig iron to supply the whole of New Zealand requirements. 'Nor the industry locally likely to be confined to the manufacture of pig iron. As New Zealand expands so it will become nccossary 'for her to produce or to manufacture more of her own requirements, instead of as at present having to import, for the most part, from other countries; and so it its possible that other brandies of the industry of ■equal importance to the production of the raw material will be established here. The site of the works in the course of erection i<> just below Paritutu, and is. therefore, practically alongside the wharf, whilst it is also linked up "with the railway line by- a private siding belonging to the harbour hoard, from whom the company has acquired a lease of the site. Apart, however, from these advantages, the site is admirably adapted for the requirements of the company from the different levels required being provided naturally. thus reducing the cost of preparing the ground to a minimum. The outline of the works themselves is now clearly defined, and the detail portions of same are being constructed, the whole of the work now being well under way. The disintegrator house is practically finished; concrete foundations for the disintegrator and other necessary machinery ill this particular department have been laid, and the major portion of the plant is already installed therein. Here the coal is crushed to a. fine powder, and is then conveyed by means of a- fan to tile mixing house on the higher levels. This is a somewhat peculiarly shaped structure, standing at tlio highest point about 4-1 feet from the ground. Tt is being erected with stout timbers, and stands on a concret-c base. In it will be « number of specially constructed biAs and machinery for the reception and handling of the coal dust and the iron ore after the' • latter has passed through the magnetic! separators which separate the ore from the residue in the ironeand. The framo work of the building is complete, and the necessary foundations are now being fixed for the machinery, which can readily be installed. Alongside the mixing house is the cooking furnace, upon which a number of bricklayers are now busily engaged. The retorts have been manufactured l>y the Buntlv Firebrick Company, and they «ro undoubtedly a very creditable production. Seventeen of these retorts aire already on the site, and a commencement, has been made with the work of fixing them in position. The large chimney or stack necessary in connection with the furnace lias been built and forms quite a landmark. The bins for the storage of the ferrocoke are complete except for a, few minor details. The top of "the huge bins, which are capable of holding up to 300 tons of material, are 011 the • same level as the lower part of the cooking furnace thus to a minimum amount of labor is required in the transfer of the ferro-coke to the storage bins. These bins are supplied with drop doors for liberating the ferro-coke into tracks, which travel along a run-way, some 30odd feet above the lower level of 'the works and dump tlio material direct into the blast furnace, which has a- capacity of 20 tons per day. The furnace stands 30 feet high and is so arranged that all gases are commandeered and distributed to the various departments of the works for use for fuel purposes, thus effecting a. very considerable saving in this connection. The erection of the main blower house is well in hand, and a portion of the blower—a massive piece of machinery—is already fixed in position. The power for driving the blower will be supplied by a 75 horsepower electric motor, and a- steam en-

gine and boiler are also being installed as a stand-by unit. Large quantities of •water are required for cooling purposes once the works are operating, and the company' i,s constructing large concrete reservoirs j cm the 'higher levels above the works j for storage purposes. The location of the reservoirs, too, will provide the necessary pressure. Ollico accommodation has been erected and the foundations aire heing kid for laboratory which will be erected ill brick. Electricity will be installed throughout tbe works, both for ■lighting and power purposes, and, as already intimated, it is hoped to have everything Toady to commence opora- ! tions early! in March.