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Story: Pulp and paper, aluminium and steel industries

Smelting ironsand, Taranaki

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Smelting ironsand, Taranaki

Thomas Summerson and Sons tried to smelt Taranaki ironsand in 1921. There had been repeated attempts to use ironsand in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. None succeeded. Fine sand grains blocked the necessary air flow through the furnace. Titanium in the ironsand combined with the coke used to fire the furnace, and blocked the outlets through which the molten iron would be drawn out.

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How to cite this page

Megan Cook, Pulp and paper, aluminium and steel industries – Steel, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/21189/smelting-ironsand-taranaki (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Megan Cook, published 21 January 2010.