Salt Lake Tribune | 1918-08-18 | Page 37 | Electrolytic Zinc Grows in Demand and Utility

ELECTROLYTIC ZINC GROWS IN DEMAND AND UTILITY Military Market Is Good and Metal Is Desirable .. . for Manufacturers in Many Lines of Industry. Electrolytic ane is of higher grade than the 'redistilled, and at an equal price it is preferable, says the Mining and Scientific. Press. The war has resulted re-sulted in establishing some-new standards,- and tlie manufacturers of brass We had. the desirability, of high-grade epolter forced upon their attention. Consequently Con-sequently it is anticipated that they will continue to demand it )n preference prefer-ence to "brass special," and that the price of "prime western" Trill be regulated regu-lated bv the higher cra-des as tho production" pro-duction" of these increases.. The requirements require-ments of the government are for zinc containing not more than one-tenth of 1 per 'cent -pf impurities, -with narrow limits fixed' for the -lead, iron, and .cadmium, .cad-mium, and it appears that many distillers distil-lers are able to meet these specifications. specifica-tions. Outside tho particular market r n tito mill m 1HT1 hfl OIV tainod for electrolytic zinc A considerable consid-erable demand exists for an exception-allv exception-allv pure metal in tho chemical industry indus-try and in the manufacture of ornamental orna-mental and of some special bronzes. Also the makers of manganese-bronze are willing to pay a higher prico. For Wire and Tubing. A considerable future for electrolytic y.ine is seen in the development of z.ine wire, zinc tubing, and other new applications appli-cations of tho metal that the extreme 1 pnritv of thk- product renders possible. The "present opportunity for the zinc producers is to take advant.ago of the extraordinary consumption of the other metals for munitions to enter industrial fields thus, vacated temporarily and to demonstrate the fitness of spelter to persist as a. competitor in these uses after the war. Nothing is more valuable val-uable for auv industry than to face circumstances cir-cumstances "that stimulate ingenuity, and this chance to. substitute the cheaper metal for those that arc always moro costly may prove in the end a. srreatcr boon than the absorption of : larger quantities for a brief period at ! bettr prices. The effect of the huge I demand in Ifllo was reflected in the i increase of smelting capacity from 315.-j 315.-j lit retorts at the close of 3914 to 21S.-0i)0 21S.-0i)0 at the present time. Voder the spur of eM..rliitant prices the furnace I capacity of the country grew 11 per ! cent in' Ihp first six moi'ths of 1P13. ' Todav 4! per enf of the retorts are idle. The fi-l that Australian r.iiic rou-; rou-; reiitrate was smelted largely in rnrn-tries rnrn-tries dominated hv the Germiios after the invasion of Belgium. plaed into the hands of AmerK-au producers, but- Australia has again entered the lists and the smelting of the product will continue under British control in future. fu-ture. Accordingly, the response made in providing additional plant under tho stimulus ot war at the beginning has left the Americans in a position to take advantage of every opening for selling high-grade zinc, and to encourage encour-age its use in place of the Jowor grades at prices commensurate with the advautago it offers the consumer. Thus a large part of the excess smelting capacity ca-pacity eventually may be utilized advantageously. ad-vantageously. There has never been a moro favorable set of circumstances for expanding the application of zinc, and such efforts as are being mado by offering of-fering prizes to promote invention with that object in view will tend to convert the momentary difficulties into a permanent improvement of the status of sdne mining.