Possibilites of Iron Manufacture in Canada. [Volume: 8, Issue: 5, 1889, pp. 290-298]

No. 5.]

CHARCOAL IRON WORKERS.

297

tions which will displace at least a part of the 50,000 tons of pigiron annually imported into the Dominion, or furnish material
which may be utilized to produce a portion of the 250,000 tons
of manufactured cast- and wrought-iron which enter Canada each
year.
That a possible market for the product of a number of furnaces
exists in the Dominion needs no exemplification to those who are
at all familiar with its territory and its people. But the question
naturally arises, can pig-iron be produced in the Dominion to compete with foreign metal?
In this estimate the locality selected for the smelting of the ores
is near the vicinity of Ottawa. There may be other points apparently even more favorably situated, and in that case comparative
figures can be readily made. Similarly the ore from the Bristol
mines is used as a basis for estimating, because of its convenience to
Ottawa, its condition for immediate utilization and the known
composition of its product. If ores from other localities are preferable, or if they are to be used as mixtures, proper allowances can
be made. We may therefore use the figures of estimated cost
herein given as a basis for determining what chances Canadian pigiron has in competition with foreign iron.
The Canadian duty is now $4.00 per net ton on pig-iron-the
estimated cost above is per gross ton. In addition, the government
offers a bonus of $1.00 per net ton on all pig-iron made in Canada
from Canadian ores, therefore the domestic metal would be protected, at least until the expiration of the bounty period, to the extent of $5.00 per net ton, or about $5.60 per gross ton.
If now, pig-iron made at Ottawa costs $14.00 per ton, foreign
metal would have to be delivered there at $8.40 per ton to meet
this cost. But an allowance for profit must be made; including
this, as well as the percentage of loss from bad debts, and also adding liberally for possible discrepancies in the estimate, say $2.60,
the domestic product could meet foreign iron delivered at Ottawa
at $11.00 per ton. As the iron is shipped away from Ottawa,
freights must be added, but there still seems to be ample margin to
encourage the production of domestic pig-iron in Canada.
The estimates offered are for the production of pig-iron, using
anthracite coal, coke, or a mixture of these two fuels, but the sub