IRONSAND. TO THE EDITOR.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 8610, 27 September 1889, Page 4

IRONSAND. TO THE EDITOR.

Sib,—Referring to your correspondents " E. F." and " Walter Stott's " letters on magnetic ironsand. This mineral is more or less common throughout the gold districts of Otago. I have seen large deposits-of it in Stewart's Island, and in some of the West Coast rivers it is very plentiful. I have got as much as a pound weight of sand to a small dish of stuff. And I have found in the mountains large beds of rock thickly impregnated with octahedral crystals of magnetic iron. This rock is the probable source of the sand. I sent some crystals taken from this rock to England, and received the following report' on them from experts:— The substance coraUts of octahedral cryrtal strongly magnetics, having the following composition:— • . Ferric oxide (Fe O) — 67'8l Ferrous oxide (JT 0) - 29.00 a Silica — 3.05 Loss on analysis •— 0*44 IOO'OO Hoti.—No trace of titanium specially searched for. This particular ore is only required in the produo* tion of one class of steel, the manufacture of which constitutes a closed market. His employed In the production of "SpelgelEisen," which is somewhat largely used in steel works. It is in favour of the New Zealand ore, that it.is perfectly free from titanium, titanium being a diawback often found In the crystal at present employed in England. I am, &c,, St. Clair, September 25. Eobejjt Pauhn.