distinct break showing absorption of heat; and conversely, as the metal cooled there was a slight elevation corresponding in position with that on the other side, which meant that as the metal cooled there had been true recalescence, exactly as in the case of iron. The points in the curve were not in any way due to carbon, but to the molecular change in the nickel itself. Another bond of union was thus demonstrated between metallic iron and metallic nickel, which in many ways resembled each other.

Electricity as a Refining Agent.

Dr. Ludwig Mond desired to express his gratitude to the Author for having introduced, in so lucid and eloquent a Dr Ludwig Mond, the manner, his invention to the InstiInventor. tution. It had required very careful tending, but he thought it was now quite capable of taking care of itself in the struggle for independent existence among manufacturing processes. When the Author had first suggested that he should like to bring the subject before the Institution, Dr. Mond had some difficulty in seeing the connection between nickel extraction and the Institution of Civil Engineers; but having enjoyed the privilege of listening to the beautiful address delivered by the President a week before, he had learnt how many different kinds of engineers were admitted to the Institution; and he believed he had grasped why the Author was desirous to choose that particular subject for the Paper it had become his privilege and duty as an Associate to read. He hoped that the Paper, showing as it did the great engineering difficulties that had to be solved to carry out that apparently very simple process of manufacture, would have completely dispelled any doubts as to the position occupied by the chemical engineer in the great fraternity. In his remarkable address the President had made out a very strong case in favor of electricity becoming the exclusive handmaid of mankind, to minister to all its wants. He ventured to think that in future there would still be innumerable occasions on which chemical affinity would be called upon for assistance, and he believed the process described in the

Paper would be one of those cases where chemical affinity would successfully resist all attacks by electric currents. It would be noticed how delicate the action of chemical affinity was in that process, how it became completely reversed by slight increase of temperature and how carbonic oxide and nickel combined readily at 100°C. and fled asunder again at 180°C. That was the great beauty of the process and the great facility which it offered to attain the end in view.

Col. Baker, of British Columbia.

Colonel James Baker, late Minister of Mining, British Columbia, was constrained to remark upon the immense importance the experiments that had been shown must have upon the mining interest of Canada generally. It was known that the nickel ores experimented upon by Dr. Mond had been all derived from the Sudbury district in Ontario. He was very anxious, if possible, to find the Province of British Columbia possessed of nickel ores somewhat similar to those of Sudbury, and he had issued instructions to the various mining recorders in different parts of the Province to send to the Government assayer all the ores they possessed, in order that they might be tested for nickel; but he regretted to say they had not yet succeeded in finding it in any marketable quantity. However, a large body of ore had recently been discovered in Vancouver island, similar to the ore which was, perhaps, familiar to some of the members present under the names of chalcopyrites, and somewhat similar to that at Rossland; but there was a difference, in that it contained a little more nickel and a considerable amount of gold. Therefore, he hoped that, by further experiments with ores in British Columbia, a quantity of nickel that might be of marketable value might yet be arrived at; if so. he was quite sure he might look forward to its being treated by the wonderful process which had been explained by the Author. It must be remembered that British Columbia was a young Province, and that the discovery of lode mines there was, comparatively speaking, of recent origin, and that it also took a considerable amount of time and capital to develop the mines. If the mines had not been brought to a remunerative basis more

quickly it was because of the time and capital necessary for that process.

Mr. J. E. Stead observed that Dr. Mond's wonderful discovery had been known for some time to chemists, who had

Mr. Stead.

thought it impossible to make a practical process for the manufacture of nickel by it; but they also thought, at the same time, that if there was one man in the world who could do it, it was Dr. Mond himself. The process was a wonderful monument to Dr. Mond's chemical and engineering skill, for the elaboration and the skill which had been shown in the arrangement and the de'sign of all the machinery to conduct the special process was very remarkable, and reflected enormous credit upon Dr. Mond and his fellow-workers. The Paper also reflected credit upon the Author for its great lucidity and clearness. Those who had studied the calcining of nickel ores would know the great difficulty of eliminating the sulphur, which seemed to be a great trouble in the present case. The sulphur adhered to the nickel very persistently, and the nickel must be in the state of oxide before it could combine with carbonic oxide; more information upon this point would therefore have been interesting. Again, after the first and second roasting processes, he should like to know why the copper and nickel remained in a definite ratio. Was some union formed between the nickel and copper? and why should the nickel refuse to give itself up in the presence of the particular quantity of copper referred to in the Paper? He thought the process a marvellous one to be conducted at such an extremely low temperature. It was certainly a new departure, first obtaining the metal in the form of gas at relatively an extremely low temperature and then depositing it at 200°C., below the melting point of tin. It was possible that for a time the process might be in the ordinary stage of infancy; but eventually, he hoped and believed, that, with Dr. Mond's skill and wonderful ingenuity, it would be, if it were not already, a practicable and valuable one for the manufacturer of nickel.

Mr. George Attwood had acted for some years as Consulting Engineer to the Dominion

Attwood.

Mineral Company, the next company in importance to the Canadian Copper Company, Mr. George and had designed and constructed all their mining and smelting works. He agreed that the production of metallic nickel in the Sudbury district was disproportionate to the extent of its mineral deposits. The lack of a refining process that could be worked economically on the spot had been one of the chief reasons why the Sudbury nickel deposits had been neglected. The mining companies, after converting the ores into a matte or regulus, had then to sell to the refiners in America, England, and on the Continent. Their agents had sometimes received 1s. per lb. for the nickel in the matte, and in some cases only 7d. per lb. in mattes containing 25 per cent. of nickel, and 15 per cent. to 20 per cent. of copper. In 1891 he conducted a series of experiments by the Mond process. The first trial was made on crude ore, which contained about 3.35 per cent. of nickel, and 1.70 per cent. of copper. After several days' treatment, the quantity of nickel obtained was so small that the experiments on that class were abandoned. He then decided to make a trial on matte containing about 25 per cent. of nickel and 14 per cent. of copper, and about 0.65 per cent. of cobalt. After dead roasting, the matte was treated as before, with much better results. The nickel obtained was free from cobalt, the separation of which was important in these ores. It was free from cobalt, although the matte contained 0.65 per cent. of it. The extraction of the nickel was very slow in his experimental plant. Finally he experimented with richer matte, containing nearly 40 per cent. of nickel, and 43 per cent. of copper and an unestimated amount of cobalt; the results were very good. Those experiments had been made on a small scale, a few pounds of ore for a special purpose. He was hopeful that the ore could be treated after it had been received from the mine, first roasting it, and then treating direct by the Mond process; but he found that that was not possible, and so the experiments were abandoned. He had no doubt that the Mond process would work well on the Sudbury mattes. He would be interested to have a

comparative estimate of the cost of a plant which would treat, say 3,000 tons of matte per annum, producing about 1,000 tons of nickel. He would also like to know the cost of working the plant, on either per pound of nickel or per hundredweight of nickel produced. He had been more or less concerned in the nickel and cobalt industries all his life, and he considered the process described the most important advance made during his lifetime.

Cost of Production.

Mr. R. A. Hadfield thought that, in view of the great interest now attaching to the use of nickel, the Paper would be more

Mr. Hadfield.

It

complete if information were given with regard to the cost of production. At present the prices were exceedingly high, reaching £120 to £140 per ton. He believed there was a very promising future for nickel steel. When ferro-manganese with 70 per cent. or 80 per cent. of manganese commenced to be used, £100 a ton was paid for it, and the consequence was that it was adopted only on a small scale. He thought the sooner the price was brought down to a moderate rate, the more quickly would the use extend. was a great mistake to overdo high prices of these special metals. He was aware that the price of nickel had already fallen very considerably, as it was not many years ago since 5s. 6d. was paid per lb. The very admirable which had been described should process effect a further reduction in the cost of production. He believed that in Canada there were other sources of supply beside that of Sudbury. A well-known mining -engineer from Canada had informed him that several large deposits were now being prospected. It was singular that Our Lady of the Snows" seemed to possess a very large part of the nickel ores of the world, and he was glad they were on British soil, especially at the present time when armour plates were a subject of such great interest. He had had put before him a certain quantity of Mond nickel and nickel made by the ordinary method, and he had produced an alloy of nickel steel with the two metals, one made by the Mond process, and the other by the ordi

nary process, and sold by the Orford Copper Company. He was pleased to say that Dr. Mond's metal gave steel of very high quality. The Mond nickel gave an elastic limit of 24 tons, with a breaking strength of 36 tons, elongation of 32 per cent., and a reduction area of 56 per cent. The material made from the Canadian Copper Company's nickel gave an elastic limit of 23 tons, a breaking load of 35 tons, elongation 27 per cent, and reduction in area 49 per cent.-not quite equal to the last result. On analysis, the steel contained 0.25 per cent. of carbon in the Mond product, and 0.26 per cent. in the other one; 0.06 per cent. and 0.05 per cent. respectively of sulphur; 0.04 per cent. of phosphorous, 0.75 per cent. each of manganese, and 2.9 per cent. each of nickel. They afforded an excellent comparison, and were very uniform in chemical composition. He also had an analysis prepared of the two metals, and the Mond nickel was certainly slightly purer. The length upon which the elongations had been measured was 2 inches, with an area of 0.5 square inch. He had also made a series of tests on a square inch area, and the results were very similar. Steel makers wanted to obtain the best possible product, and were very glad to see a high-class material in the market such as had been described by the Author. There was not a very large difference-about one per cent. in the nickel, and the carbon in the Mond metal was about half that in the other. In neither case was it high-about 0.16 per cent., and 0.05 per cent. There was also a little more iron in the Canadian Copper Company's nickel. He hoped the new development would add largely to the wealth and increasing prosperity of Canada.

instance. The matte was roasted three times, and the sulphur left in at the first calcination was removed by the subsequent ones. There was the very peculiar fact that by attacking the roasted matte with sulphuric acid only a certain amount of copper was dissolved, until a definite relation between nickel and copper was established; still, he did not venture to base any theory on this fact. With regard to the questions asked as to the cost, he might say that he had not come to the Institution to transact business, but if any gentlemen were anxious to know any details about that matter he should be very pleased to reply, if they would send their questions in writing.

ably with any now in use, and he thought it unfair to draw up an estimate as to cost from appliances which were confessedly in a transitionary state. That was the reason why he did not produce the thoroughly comprehensive figures which were submitted to him, not only by Dr. Mond, but by Dr. Langer. He might add that Dr. Stansfield examined these data with the greatest possible care. It was with much confidence that he expressed his belief in the economy with which the process could be conducted.

Mr. Thomas Gibb, of Liverpool, pointed out by correspondence, that keeping all the appliances for the treatment and Mr. Gibb on Features of circulation of the materials and the Process.

gases rigidly enclosed would entail much skill in the construction and care in the working of the apparatus; this was made comparatively easy by the extremely low temperatures at which the operations were conducted compared with the temperatures usually employed in metallurgy. The Author could not have done a better service to metallurgy than bring before the Institution this unique process, now that its initial difficulties had been patiently and, to all appearance, successfully combated, and it was likely to be launched as an important industrial operation. The process, worked on a large scale, involved a large production of sulphate of copper. For instance, the 1,000-ton plant contemplated would have to be accompanied by plant for the production of 4,500 tons of crystallized sulphate of copper, and any general adoption of the process would entail a formidable competition with existing works. The copper could be precipitated either by iron or electrolysis; but, however it was performed, the plant for, and cost of, its utilization would have to be reckoned with whenever its quantity became too large to be advantageously placed on the market as sulphate.