IMPERIAL CHEMICALS

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 19882, 8 March 1939, Page 2

IMPERIAL CHEMICALS

PROGRESS IN AUSTRALIA OUTPUT OF EXPLOSIVES NEW FACTORY PLANNED Marked progress has been made by Imperial Chemical Industries of Australia and New Zealand, Limited, in the manufacture of explosives and alkali products in Australia. Already explosives are being turned out at Deer Park, Victoria, and nitro-cellu-lose will'be manufactured shortly. Salt fields for the production of alkalis in South Australia have been completed. The chairman and managing director .of Imperial Chemical Industries of Australia and New Zealand, Limited, Sir Lennon Raws, said in Adelaide recently that the company was now manufacturing certain types of explosives which formerly had to be imported, and Australia was becoming independent of overseas supplies. Experiments conducted at Deer Park had proved most satisfactory, and black powder formerly imported from England was being made at an excellent rate.

The whole of the explosives manufacturing plant of the company was being centralised at Deer Park. For the first time in Australia a recently completed factory at Deer Park would shortly turn out nitro-cellulose for explosives, leather cloth and other purposes. The type of lacquer necessary for covering the fabric on aeroplane wings would also be produced soon.

.Referring to the proposed erection of a £500,000 factory, early next year for the manufacture of synthetic ammonia and nitric acid chemicals. Sir Lennon Raws said that as much oi the money as possible would be spent in Australia. Some orders had already been placed for an Australian-made plant. The ammonia would be manufactured from the air, making Australia independent of overseas supplies. A similar process was already in operation in England and South Africa, and was known as atmospheric nitrogen. Large scale production by those means would be of great value in national defence.

Work on the .£1,250,000 project at Osborn and Dry Creek (South Australia) for the production of alkalis from sea water by solar evaporation and processing was proceeding satisfactorily, the salt fields having been completed.