Japan thus is in a fair way to having what she has needed most for the upbuilding of her economic cdifice—namely an independent. supply of fron and steel. Hitherto, she has been dependent on other Jnnds for this, and her policy towards China' has been largely prompted by the need for iron, It in believed that over 50 million tons of easily mined, high grade ore could be obtained from her "iron sand" in the north, and steel men here are of the opinion that not only will Japan soon have a national supply of this metal to serve all her domestic uses, but will be able to export a considerable quantity of finished steel.
Experimentation and Japan's "iron sand" have been cor dueted over a period of several years. Mr. Thane was first here years ago, took samples of the iron sand" back with him to America and there found out its potential commercial possibilities. He is now back in Japan and has handed to Mr. Goro Mats owner of one of the largest sand" fields, a bulky volume settings down the tests undertaken and the proof of satisfactory determination of the commercial value of the sand. A pilot plant is to be erected at once; a railway, 50 miles in length, is to be constructed; and is expected to produce sufficient fore for blast furnaces by the end of this year.
An Example from America report says, in effect, sand, which is alluvially deposited in great accumulations, presents no mining difficulties and will be treated by both magnetic Jand wet-table concentration pro "The result will be a shippable product of titanium ore, carrying a savable trace of gold, and of a very low sulphur and phosphorous content, a percentage below the ore China and better even than the high grade ores of the Lake Superior mines.
"That, such concentrates can be profitably smelted has been demonstrated by the experts of the Mcintyre Iron Works, of Port Henry, New York, now owned by the United States Steel Corpor At the Port Henry furnaces, over 8 period of 18 months, metallurgists operated on a commercial basis on titanium ore, checking every phase of the ore hourly and testing in all possible ways. The output from these tests amounted to more than 100,000 tons of pig iron, which pig was further tested in' the open-hearth furnaces and worked through to steel rails. No. room for any conjecture "as to the adaptability for high grade steel of such ore was left,'
The cost of mining und concentrating the ore in the Japanese Geposits has been worked out, What the exact figures are is being Pept a secret, but it is stated that these figures' make the -rehenie a perfectly sound commercial pro-Position.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.