IRONWOEKS OPENED,

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18611, 19 January 1924, Page 10

IRONWOEKS OPENED,

THE .ON AKAKA ENTERPRISE. SMELTING COMMENCED. IMPORTANT STEP FORWARD. [BX TELEOBATH.—OWN CORRESPONDENT.] j : NELSON, Friday. Last week was a notable one in the history of Nelson, and, in fact, New Zealand. After strenuous and anxious years, the blast furnace of the' Onakaka Iron and Steel Company at Onakaka was " blown in" and a start made with tho smelting of iron' on a commercial scale. . . Some time ago a trial run of 80 tons was made to demonstrate the quality of the product, and to test out the plant, hut this is tho real beginning of operations. As one approaches the works in tho darkness tho scene is 6 striking one. Salient points of tho Wildings have powerful electric lights, which gleam like jewels against tho sombre background ot the bush-clad mountains. Close behind, to the right aro the 16 coko ovens in double row each oven sending up its tongues of flame through the vent at the top. As the hour approached everyone gathered in the big roofed space devoted to the making of the " pig beds," at the further end of which stands the furnace, passing through the roof to a height of 60ft. . The furnace men wero occupied with tho final preparations, the furnace having been charged with iron ore, coke, and limestone, beneath which was wood and other inflammable material drenched with kerosene. At a word from the manager came five men from the smithy adjoining, larmed with five Long iron bars, white-hot at the. end. These, thrust through apertures at the base of the - furnace," ignited tho charge. Then for a time all was obscured in dense smoke pouring from every crevice, for the points in the base of the furnace are not tight at first, since allowance has to be made for expansion. These jets of smoke presently became jets of pale blue flame. At the -same lime, in the engine-room next door, tho engineer was starting tho big engine with its great 12-foot flywheel. This works the blower, driving air at pressure through a series of huge, bent pipes in a sort of gigantic oven or furnace, and the air thus heated to 900 degrees Fahr., is blasted into the base of the smelting furnace. As tho evening wore on and the crevices closed up, the flames round the furnace gradually disappeared. Orderly Work Begins. Orderly work now commenced. The buckets from the aerial tram could be heard lipping their burdens of ore or limestone into tho crusher, and thence to the bins. At the foot of tho bins, charges of ore, coke, and limestone were being run into a trolloy to pass over a weigh-bridge. and from there into the hydraulic lilt which carries the trolley up sixty feet to the top of the furnace, and its contents are dropped on a sort of bell which seals the top of the furnace. This bell is lowered a few feet at intervals, and the ore, etc., falls into the furr.aco below. As the furnaoo charge melts and rinks, more is ill this way added at the top. No flames issue from the top of the furnace. The gases are carried away by a large pipe partly to the engine boilers to be burned there, and partly to the furnace alluded to above in which the hot air blast for tho smelting furnace is heated, thus effecting considerable economy in fuel. At the adjacent coke ovens men are busy raking out white hot coko from one, preparing tho charge for another. Tapping the Furnace. The next day, about 11 a t m., a still more interesting ceremony was'performed, namely, the first tapping of the furnace for iron. A "pig bed" was prepared in the foot deep sand by making impressions of tho pigs to be, and connecting these by channels down which the iron is to run. Men with hammer and drill drivo through the burnt clay plug which seals the furnace. Suddenly this gives way, out pours the molten metal and rapidly finds its way down the channels and into the moulded depressions in the sand. The scene is spectacular, and the vicinity very hot. At the same time, the slag, being lighter, pours down another channel into a. stream of water and passes away in a cloud of evil-smelling steam. Tho molten iron soon sets info bars or "pigs," and while still white hot men with crowbars break them from tho connecting channels. When cool enough to bo handled the pigs are carried away by an overhead travelling crane The furnace vent has been sealed up to await the next tapping, some eight hours later. Tho company has had an uphill struggle and many difficulties to face, and at times tho outlook, has been far from bright, but cheerful, and' undaunted optimism has brou-ht tho company to the stage of production. ' :