| Show A NEW IRON SHELTER michigan man brings cut new method for reducing iron ore Impo important to utah E IF jennings the well known salt lake copper expert and mining engineer has recently returned from iron mountain mich where he witnessed the tryout of the new jones process 1 or the reduction of iron ores should the process pan out as the recent trial indicates that it will the probability of a b big g iron and steel industry in utah becomes almost a bertal certainty n down in the southern portion of th this is state in iron county are practically unlimited beds of iron ore a veritable mountain of iron we have always expressed the opinion that some time and that at no distant date this vast natural resource would be turned to account the lack of railroad facilities has lon long 11 retarded the development of this southern country but this condition is being rapidly overcome and a railroad direct to the iron fields is now being seriously considered another feature which has prevented the util bation of these vast iron deposits is the fact that the ore contains considerable 3 phosphorous pho although running high in iron A large amount of capital has been considered necessary to successfully handle the proposition the economical nature of the new jones process however may effectively solve the problem according to mr jennings the new process is known as the jones step method and the jobje object ct is to produce directly the wrought iron or steel eliminating the pi pig iron stage in this respect it is somewhat in line with the new finh smelting smelling sm elting process now being tried out at al garfield utah one important feature in connection with the jones process is that the amount of phosphorous present in the ore makes no difference in the reduction of the same the furnace resembles a cement kiln being feet long and eight feet in diameter the heat is produced by the combustion of producer gas the iron ore is mixed with 20 per cent coal and charged in at the upper end of the furnace a temperature of about degrees fahrenheit being maintained the result of the operation 1 is that the iron oxide is reduced to a metallic state without being brought to the molten condition the iron forms in a spongy mass and is dropped down through the furnace into cars cooling without direct contact with the outer air the product is now ready for the balling and heating furnaces or may be treated in open hearth furnaces the process is both economical in initial cost and in operation mr lur jennings calculates that a plant capable of treating tons daily would require an expenditure of about and the cost of treatment reduced to a most nominal figure the ex peri ments conducted at the rece recent n t test were on ores averaging about 37 per cent a grade having no commercial value when treated by the old system |
