Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
By
J. M. HOPE,1 JUNIOR MEMBER, D. S. NICHOLSON,1 MEMBER,
and T. MARSHALL,1 MEMBER
TABLE 1
Specifications for standard grades offerrosilicon
Grade A GradeB Grade C GradeD Grade E Grade F
Silicon, % 92-95 83-88 74-79 65-70 47-51 20-24
Carbon, max % 0·10 0·15 0·10 0·10 0·10 0·50
Sulphur, max % 0·025 0·025 0·025 0·025 0·025 0·025
Phosphorus,max % 0·025 0'030 0·035 0·035 0'040 0·10
Aluminium, max % 2·00 1·75 1·50 1·25 1·25 1·00
Manganese, max % 0'25 0'35 0·40 0·50 0·75 1'00
Proc. Aust. Inst. Min. Met. No. 240, Dec. 1971 83
84 J. M. HOPE, D. S. NICHOLSON, AND T. MARSHALL
TABLE 4
Results of reconnaissance survey of quartz gravels of Southland and Otago
Reserves I Chemical Analysis·
Size analysis
Sample Percentage retained on + tin. - tin. + tin.
Sheet and Grid Thickness Overburden Minimum Maximum fraction fraction Remarks
Referencet sampled thickness Tonnage Tonnage
x 10 6 x 106 2 in. 1 in. tin. *in. tin. Pan Si02I AI20 3 Si0 2 Ah03
% % % .%
Boulder Hill
---- - - -- Too fine.
S163/042814 20 ft. Up to 400ft. See remarks - - 0·9 5-9 18·5 74'7 unwarranted Insufficient
reserves
Brighton
---- - -- - Impure.
S163/004634 7 ft. Up to 10ft. See remarks - 0·6 2·6 16'0 33-3,47'5 unwarranted Insufficient
reserves
Viewbank Mine
S171-600395
100 ft.
10ft. Grab
6 ft.
10ess
- - Sample too fine to warrant consideration -
McCorkindales
SI71/5943.l3
7 ft. 4 ft.
loess
- - Sample too impure and too fine to warrant consideration -
Kaitangata
SI79/613210
120 ft.
10ft. Grab
6 ft.
10ess
- Very
large - 1-4 5'0 11-6 15'4 66'0 90'1 4·6 - -
Too impure in
spite ofim-
mense reserves
- - - - -- - - - -- - ---
Waimumu
. SI69/716372
7 ft. 2 ft. loess 170 >200 3-2 12·4 24·3 20·3 11'5 28·3 97·9 0·44 96·4 0·41 -
2 ft. sand
-2·1- -18·6- -- - - -- - - - - -
Hedgehope
SI69/572302
8 ft. 1 ft.-4 ft.
loess
140 160 - 27·9 18'8 32·6 98'7 0·51 - - -
Summit Pebbly
-- - - -- - - -- - - - - - - -
Hill 7 ft. 1-2 ft. 1500 5000 - 5'8 2301 25·3 16·3 29·5 96·3 0·47 93·7 0·42 -
SI77/561245 loess
- - - - -- - - -- - - --- - - - - - - - - - -
East of Pebbly
Hill
SI77/607217
5 ft. 5 ft. loess
and clay
25 50 - 7-3 29·9 23-6 12'0 27·2 95·6 0·45 96·3
I
0·45 -
MabelBush 6 ft. 1-2 ft. -
-- - -- - - - -- - - -----
3·5 17-8 31'7 21-1 25·9 91'9 0·63 97·0 0·47 -
SI77/553193 10ess
--
- -- -- - - - - -- ----- -
Grove Bush
SI77/448167
6 ft. 4 ft.
10ess
800 1100 2·1 25·5 30'7 17·1 24·6 98·8 0·41 - -
Mabel Bush 7· ft. 1-6 ft.
--
-
-- -- - - - - -- -------
7-6 28·6 26'0 12·5 25·3 94·7 0·44 97·0 0·36 -
SI77/488213 10ess
- - - - - - -- - - -- ---
Woodend 6 ft. 1 ft.
peat
100 200 - 6·8 18'7 19·6 12·5 42·4 92·4 2'70 93·6 2·90 -
S182/393932
- - - - - - -- - - - - - - -
Awarua Bay 6 ft. 3-6 ft.
peat
85 170 - 10'2 25·4 29·8 15·5 19'1 90·2 HO 91-8 2·40 -
S182/405835
- - - - -- --
2 ft. soil Too fine.
Pierces Creek
SI26/673928
6 ft. 6 ft. white
clay
See remarks - - 1'0 18·0 30·8 50·2 unwarranted Insufficient
reserves.
- - - - - - --
St. Bathans
S125/536933
6ft. 0-100 ft. 1 2 - - 14'3 23·8 17'0 44·9 99·5 0·20 99'31 0'13 -
20 ft.
Hyde
SI45/926420
at 5 ft.
intervals
10ft. 6 16 -
--
6·9
-- - - - -
14·4 17·0 61'7 98·6 0·19
-=-1 - -
Kokonga 7 ft. 4 ft.
10ess
See remarks - - 0·2 6·9 28·8 64'1 unwarranted Too fine.
S135/971536
-- -- - - - - WiIiiams
(1965) gives
Mt. Buster
S126/928873
7 ft. - 30 40 - 5·0 21-8 21-6 16·4 35'2 98·6 0·48 - - 0'22%A1 2 0 3
in + ,iin.
material.
- - - - - - - - - - -- --- --
Maerewhenua
SI36/170792
7 ft. 1-2 ft.
loess
10 100 - - 14'0 27'0 21'2 37·8 99'1 0·28 - - Relatively,low
% + tin.
- - -8'3- -24-9- -- - - -- --- --
Ngapara
S127/355842
7 ft. 1-4 ft.
loess
25 75 - - 22·1 44'7 91'7 0·27 97-6 0'21 Relatively low
% + tin.
Shag P~int Mine 6 ft. - <1 <1 -
-- - - - - - - -- ----- - -
- 7·4 15'7 18·0 58·9 91'4 1'2 - - Relatively low
S136/420202 % + tin.
• Analyses of samples screened but not washed.
t New Zealand National I-mile map series.
_.~.~
_>_or.N
1!-
I)
CHJIII'TCHVIlt:H
thMI41N
INYCMt::AltillL/.
$ca/(/
Examination of this table shows that the two most Examination of the minus t in. fraction showed
favourable localities indicated by the sampling pro- that the fine gravels are suitable for use in concrete
gramme are Waimumu where 28·3 per cent of the and exposed aggregates, and that the sands could be
original sample meets silicon metal grade, with 39·9 used for foundry moulding purposes, and possibly
per cent of ferrosilicon grade; Pebbly Hill (607217) for the manufacture of glass. Ultra-violet scanning of
with 37·2 per cent of ferrosilicon grade and 31·4 per the minus 25 mesh B.S.S. fraction showed the pres-
cent with the purity required for production of sili- ence in most samples of trace amounts of zircon and
con. Ultrasonic washing of these two materials shows scheelite. At present the main use of the gravels is for
no improvement on ordinary water washing. Treat- road metal.
ment of two finely ground samples, one with concen-
Reducing agents
trated H 2 S0 4 , the other with 85 per cent H sP0 4 , took
the alumina into solution, indicating the presence Coal, coke, and char
of feldspar mineral. The Al 20 s contents of these two Reserves of coal in Southland and Otago are
samples were reduced from 0·20 and 0·25 per cent shown in Table 6, together with the range of proxi-
to 0·01 per cent in both cases. This indicates that mate analyses for coals from each coalfield. Locali-
residual Al 20 s in the washed and colour sorted ties are shown in Fig. 2. Typical ash analyses for
gravels is probably present as feldspar inclusions and the coals are given in Table 7.
cannot be removed by simple washing. Data on reserves of coal in the various coalfields
The quartz gravels of Otago and Southland have were either adopted from published information, in
been known for many years to be auriferous (Mac- which case the reference is quoted in Table 6, or were
Pherson, 1933, 1936). calculated by the writers. The latter, based on a
Proc. Aust. Inst. Min. Met. No. 240, Dec. 1971
88 J. M. HOPE, D. S. NICHOLSON, AND T. MARSHALL
TABLE 5
Colour sorting 0/ seiected washed Southland samples
Colour sorted Rejected material
Sample and +!
in. material Colour sorted material material
map reference expressed as percentage as percentage
of original sample of original material Si0 2 Al 2 0 3 Si0 2 Ab 0 3
% % % %
Waimumu
SI69/716372 39·9 28·3 99·7 0·15 99·0 0·32
Summit Pebbly Hill
SI77/561245 28'9 16·6 99·5 0·12 99·4 0·51
Pebbly Hill
SI77/6072l7 37·2 31·4 99-4 0·19 99·0 0·37
Awarua Bay
SI82/405385 35·6 23·7 96·7 1·30 84·5 6·9
Mabel Bush
S177/553193 21·3 IN 99·3 0·24 98·9 0·58
TABLE 6
Coals 0/ Southland and Otago
Range of proximate analyses (air dried)
Calorific Reserves recoverable coal
tons x 106
I
Coalfield Coal rank Volatile Fixed value Reserve
Moisture matter carbon Ash Sulphur B.T.V./lb Reference
% % % % % i
Measured Indicated Inferred ,
-20-40
- - -4-17-
North Otago
Green Island
Nevis Valley
Lignite
Lignite
Lignite
20-34
14-33
18-24
30-43
31-42
35-40
31-44
30-36
2-9
4-23
0·3-4·9
2-l-H
6800-9100
7900-9100
0'25
0'25
I - -
2'00
3'00
Mines Statement, 1964
Mines Statement, 1964
0'S-O'8 7500-10060 - 5·00 100+ WiJliams, 1965
Cromwell
Manuherikia
Lignite
Lignite
22-26
22-34
39-44
36-48
24-33
15-28
5-9
6--10
0'3-1-4
0·2-0·9
7700-8700
6800-8200
no estimates available
no estimates 10+
-
This paper
Roxburgh Lignite 17-25 41-54 19-29 4-ll 0,2-1,3 8200-10100 - I 0·5 3'00 Harrington, 1949
Ida Valley Lignite 21-34 34-44 23-36 1-7 0·1-0·6 8000-8500 no estimates 10+ This paper
Maniototo Lignite 18-24 26-45 28-36 6--13 0·3-6·7 not available no estimates 1+ This paper
Pomahaka
Kaitangata
Lignite
Brown
14-16
22-35
42-50
32-36
31-33
30-35
3-ll
3-8
0·3-1·5
0·2-4'0
not available
7500-9000
-
1·30
-
7'185
60'00
42'20
Wilson, 1950
Harrington, 1958
lignite
Kaitangata Black
lignite 19-26 35-40 32-40 3-8 1'0-5'0 8600-9700 3'00 13·29 32-88 Harrington, 1958
Kaitangata sub-
bituminous 16--21 33-39 3S-41 4-7 0'1-2,4 9000-10400 1·92 0·50 0·50 Harrington, 1958
Mataura
Valley Lignite 19-38 33-43 25-35 3-7 O'I-H 6800-9000 1·70 35-678 1,181.70 This paper
Ohai sub-
bituminous 14-19 33-38 40-47 3-8 0,2-1,2 9000-11200 7-70 8·90 90·00 Bowen, 1964
Orepuki sub-
bituminous 23-25 33-34 37-38 3-5 1,2-5,0 8700-9000 - 0·04 1·00 Wood,1969
TABLE 7
Ash analyses 0/ coals from Southland and Otago
Type Ash, % of Ash analysis (%)
Coalfield Mine Mine
No. of air-dried
sample coal Si0 2 Ti0 2 3 AI 0 Fe203 MnO MgO CaO Na20 K 0 P O.
Nevis Ritchies
- - 2- - - - - - - - -2 - - -
2
-
Valley Pit -
Face 6·0 - - - - - - - - 0·6 0·55
Cromwell Shepherds S133 Face 7-1 27-1 0·90 20'82 7-35 0·10 4·41 23·29 0·26
Creek M5 0·22 0·69
Coal SI52
Roxburgh Creek M3 - 4·2 25-16 0·93 22·70 8·22 0·14 8·44 27-81 Trace Trace 0·81
Kaitangata KaitangataSI79 ROM* 5·5 35·2 1·74 16·37 6·73 0·04 3·00 23·77 0·12
No. 2 M38 4'47 0·34
Mataura Waimumu SI69 Face 7·0 23·5
Valley M9 0'55 10·8 15·0 0·26 H 21·3 1·0 1·0 0·14
Ohai Linton SI68 ROM 3-7 35'56 0·89 16·13 9·85 0·05 3·01 19·65 4·22 0·24
M54 O'll
Ohai
Ohai Screens -ROM 3·50 25'2 0·54 ll'7 15·9 0·18 4·4 23·6 6·1 0'16 0·14
Mataura Diamond SI82 Face 5·4 23-3 0·21 3·9
Valley Lignite M5 24·7 0·40 7-8 22·0 0·56 0·08 0·14
Mataura N.Z.Paper SI78 Face
Valley Mills M23 4·9 9'1 0'11 3-4 15-1 0·32 4·7 46·8 0·28 0·06 0·08
t "tlvil Va//",Y
Cca/!i~/"
,
I
r;q
A~//'t'/d
11
SCALI£;
20 /5 I(J 5 (J ;l() ...,oM/ltts
E3 E3 I I
density equivalent to 1,000 tons of coal in the ning rates, splitting of seams, and the geological
ground per acre-foot, are calculated as follows. structure of the area. The maximum spacing per-
mitted thus varies from coalfield to coalfield and
Measured coal
from one part of a coalfield to another.
Measured quantities represent
1. coal standing in pillars in existing under- Inferred coal
ground mines, or stripped awaiting extraction Inferred reserves represent possible coal deposits
in opencast pits, in areas of coal measures for which little informa-
2. coal in an area defined by drillholes and! or tion is available. They are based mainly on an as-
outcrops situated not more than 5 ch apart, sumed repetition of deposits known to exist in
and other parts of the coalfield. For instance, in the
3. coal in a strip 2t ch wide beyond existing northern portion of the Mataura Valley Coalfield
workings, drillholes, or outcrops. individual seams are known to persist for 3 to 4
miles along the strike (Wood, 1956) and similar
Indicated coal repetitions have been assumed elsewhere. The in-
Indicated reserves represent coal in areas defined formation used in assessing the reserves in the
by drillholes, well exposed outcrops, past or present Mataura Coalfield also included 25 boreholes drilled
mine workings, spaced from 5 ch to 1t miles depend- in 1948 in the area north of Dacre and several bore-
ing on field evidence as to the coal thicknesses, thin- holes near Awarua Bay in the south. The results of
Proc. Aust, lnst, Min. Met. No, 240, Dec. 1971
90 J. M. HOPE, D. S. NICHOLSON, AND T. MARSHALL
the drilling enabled estimates of thickness to be tive properties for ferroalloy furnace operation. De-
made in areas where no other information was livered costs of fixed-carbon units from this source
available. are estimated to be comparatively low, in spite of the
Data in Tables 6 and 7 show that transport distance involved. The attractive properties
1. deposits of lignite and sub-bituminous coal are low ash content, high agglutinating properties re-
are of widespread occurrence in Otago and sulting in desirably large coke size, and low bulk
Southland, and density on carbonization which promotes charge
2. very large deposits of medium-ash lignite un- porosity.
derlie the Southland Plain between Gore and Typical analyses of the most suitable West Coast
the north shore of Awarua Bay. Thick seams coals, their swelling properties, and reserves are
crop out on the west bank of Hedgehope shown in Table 13.
Stream at Waimumu close to deposits of high- Yields and properties of typical coke made from
quality quartz conglomerate. The geological coal from No. 2 Block, Stockton, are quoted from
structure of the Mataura Lignite Measures and CSIRO (1961) in Table 14.
the borehole data suggest that a high percent-
age of the reserves should be recoverable by Wood and charcoal
open-cast mining at low overburden ratios Large stands of Southland beech (Nothofagus
(less than 1: 1). menziesii) occur 40 miles west, and 50 miles east of
The overburden consists of gravels, loosely con- InvercargilI. Plantations of exotic species, mainly
solidated sands and silts, with sporadic lenses of Pinus radiata, have been established at Pebbly Hills
clay and could be excavated at low cost, without the 30 miles north of InvercargiII and at Landslip Hill
use of explosives, by modem machinery. Parts of and Conical Hills north of Gore.
these coal seams lie under farmlands, and parts under The mean annual increment for mature beech
extensive swamps and swampy river valleys. forests in Southland has been estimated by Thomas
Lignite is at present being quarried on a small (1961) at 750 tons/sq. mile. The mean annual in-
scale with a 1: 1 stripping ratio and transported 30 crement for the faster growing Pinus species at Coni-
miles by road for a total cost of less than $2.50/ton cal Halls has been estimated at 2000 tons/sq. mile.
(Mr. D. A. Bradley, Manager, Cross Keys, No. 2 The afforested areas of Southland cover some
pit, personal communication). Large-scale opera- hundreds of square miles, and the mean annual in-
tions would probably enable similar costs of produc- crement is sufficient to supply all the requirements of
tion to be attained with higher stripping ratios. any proposed ferroalloy plant.
Typical proximate analyses, ash content ranges,
and reserves of Southland coals are listed in Tables
8, 9, and 10. Theoretical carbonization yields and Scrap steel
char analyses are listed in Table 11. Present mining Only small tonnages of suitable steel scrap would
locations and annual tonnages mined are listed in be available in the South Island, and the nearest iron
Table 12. ore deposits (of rather low grade) are located at
Onekaka (WiIIiams, 1965). Some of the scrap or
Bituminous coal ore requirements would probably have to be shipped
The high-swelling, low-ash bituminous coals of the in from Onekaka, from the North Island, or from
West Coast, and coke made from them exhibit attrac- overseas.
TABLE 8
Proximate analyses of air-dried coals
Volatile Fixed Calorific
Location of sample Sample Moisture Matter Carbon Ash Sulphur value
% % % % % B.T.U.jlb
Waimumu
(Mataura Valley) ROM* 19·5 41·0 32·5 7 0·61 8,680
Mataura
(Mataura Valley) ROM 21·5 39·0 34·6 4·9 0·49 8,700
Ashers Siding
(Toetoes Coastal Plain) Face 26-1 40'0 28'5 H 0·3 7,780
Ohai
Ohai Coalfield ROM 15-3 35-6 45-6 3·5 0·37 11,000
• ROM = run-of-mine sample
Proc. Aust. Inst. Min. Met. No. 240, Dec. 1971
FEASIBILITY STUDY FOR SILICON INDUSTRY IN NEW ZEALAND 91
TABLE 13
Analyses and reserves of selected West Coast coals
Reserves
Volatile Fixed Calorific Crucible
Locality Moisture Ash matter carbon Sulphur value swelling Measured Indicated Inferred
% % % % % B.T.U./lb No. tons x 106 tons x 106 tons x 106
Bill/er Coalfield
Stockton
No. 2 Block 1-6 0·2 35'0 63·2 0·53 15,280 9 2-84 Nil Nil
Mt. Frederick 1·0 1-4 30·5 67-1 0·80 - 9+ 2·31 Nil Nil
Greymollth
Coalfield
Roa mine 0·9 3·2 21-6 74·3 0·40 15,310 9++ 0·18 0'17 Nil
Liverpool 1-6 7·8 34-6 56'1 0·30 14,070 9 1·00 Nil Nil
TABLE 14 TABLE 15
Yield and properties of coke from Raw materials for 75 %ferrosilicon (l ton)
No. 2 block, Stockton Coal
Quartz Fixed Scrap Electrode
Coke output carbon steel paste
Yield on coal as charged % 69·2 1·9 tons 0·8 tons 0·25 tons 0·05 tons
Volumetric shrinkage of charge % 24-4
Specific gravity-true 1'83
apparent 0'76 TABLE 16
Porosity % VfV 58 Raw materials for production of silicon metal (1 ton)
Size analysis % Quartz Fixed carbon I Pre-baked electrodes
+ 4 in. 64 2·9 tons 1·2 tons 0-09 tons
- 4 in. + 3 in. 20
- 3 in. + 2 in. 12
- 2 in. + 1 in. 303 Possible reducing agents for silicon metal produc-
-1 in. + tin. 0·4 tion again include local lignite and lignite char, sub-
-tin. 0·6 bituminous coal or char, local wood chips or wood
charcoal, low-ash, high-swelling West Coast coal or
Drop shatter test
coke produced from this coal, and imported petro-
2 in. index 27 leum coke. The stringent purity requirements of re-
It in. index 60 ductants for silicon metal production, and require-
t in. index 96·8
ments of larger particle size for charge porosity con-
Drum abrasion test trol would limit the usable amounts of lignite and
sub-bituminous raw materials. Low-ash West Coast
1 in. stability factor 63 coal and coke is expected to be a most suitable
t in. hardness factor 82
charge component, together with wood chips, wood
t in. abrasion index 82·7
charcoal, or petroleum coke. Again the optimum
Chemical analysis (air-dried) mixture of reductants could only be determined by
smelting tests with these various raw materials.
Moisture 0'3
Ash 0·5
0·2 ECONOMIC ASPECTS
Volatile matter
Fixed carbon 99·0 To indicate whether or not commercial production
Sulphur 0·46 of silicon ferroalloys in Southland is liKely to be
Phosphorus - 0'0004
Calorific value B.T.U.j1b 14,280 profitable, and to determine the most important fac-
tors controlling commercial profitability, simplified
Table 5 shows that washed gravels from Waimumu production cost estimates were assembled as shown
and Pebbly Hills can be upgraded by colour sorting in Table 17. These estimates cannot be regarded as
to ghee p!.Qd]Jct~ C9I!,t~ining 99·4 to 99·7 per cent exact since costs and selling prices vary with time,
Si02 with Al2 0 S contents ranging between 0·12 and also in the present state of limited Knowfeage -some
0·19 per cent, meeting the purity requirements for of the cost elements will be unduly conservative while
silicon metal production. ' others may prove unduly optimistic. They were mad~_
Proc. Aust. Inst. Min. Met. No. 240, Dec. 1971
FEASIBILITY STUDY FOR SILICON INDUSTRY IN NEW ZEALAND 93
TABLE 17
Estimated production costs
75% ferrosilicon Silicon metal
Item $ per ton of
$ per ton of Qty Rate
Qty Rate product sold product sold.
133·51 240·21
Production cost 358·00
F.o.b. selling price 168·00
34-49 117-79
Gross return
Plant capital cost, $ per annual ton 205 231
Working capital (8'3 % of annual material costs plus 18 39
sales) 5
Precommissioning costs 2
primarily to see if further investigation is justified, for high-swelling Westland coal or coke and imported
and to delineate critical factors which require precise petroleum coke, to $50 to $90 per metric ton for
evaluation. . wood charcoal and wood chips. A median value of
Assumed production rates were 50,000 metric $25 per metric ton of fixed carbon was used for the
tons/year for 75 per cent ferrosilicon, and 20,000 cost estimates, assuming balanced reductant charges
metric tons/year for silicon metal, in plants sited of char (maximum possible), coke, coal and wood
close to Bluff, using July 1970 commercial delivered chips (minimum possible) for bulk density and re-
prices for most raw materials, estimated delivered activity control based on European smelting prac-
costs for washed and screened quartz gravel from the tice. Raw material consumptions were estimated
Pebbly Hills district, and an assumed price of 0·5 mainly from the data of Elyutin et al. (1957) and
c/kWh for electric power at the plant site. The esti- Fairchild (1970).
mated price of quartz for silicon metal production F.o.b. selling prices were based on typical July
was increased by $2 per ton to allow for extra 1970 prices of Norwegian products delivered c.i.f. to
washing, colour sorting to reject low-grade pebbles, New Zealand and Asian ports, less $17 per metric
and addition of coarse quartzite rock to increase ton allowance for freight and insurance costs.
charge permeability. Estimated delivered costs of Plant investment costs were based on plant cost
fixed carbon units for reduction varied from $15 to data supplied by electric furnace equipment manu-
$20 per metric ton for lignite and sub-bituminous facturers, with allowances for freight, erection, en-
coals and chars, through $25 to $30 per metric ton gineering, buildings, services, ancillary facilities, and
Proc. Aust. Inst. M.i~. Met. No. 240, Dec. 1971
94 J. M. HOPE, D. S. NICHOLSON, AND T. MARSHALL
comIDlsslOning costs b~sed on recent New Zealand cent), plant capital cost (±30 per cent), product
experience with heavy engineering plants. selling price (± 10 per cent). Results shown in Fig.
Results of the cost estimates are shown as gross 3 indicate that silicon production is likely to be
annual return on total investment before tax. As a more profitable than ferrosilicon production, and that
first approximation a gross return of 20 per cent per commercial profitability for both is strongly in-
annum may be regarded as marginally profitable, re- fluenced by electric power prices, plant capital costs,
turning about 10 per cent on equity after New Zea- and f.o.b. selling prices realized. More sophisticated,
land July 1970 company tax, according to the par- computerized cash flow projections gave very similar
ticular financing method used. overall results to those from these simplified cost
Since cost estimates of any type can only be re- estimates.
garded as indicative" until a plant is actually operating, The national profitability, as distinct from com-
and since capital costs can vary greatly, depending mercial profitability, of silicon ferroalloy production
on source of equipment, design, and efficiency of in- may be assessed approximately by aggregating the
stallation work, these cost projections were re- production cost elements (shown with asterisks) in
calculated with different input data to assess the sen- Table 17, which represent local cost elements, with
sitivity of profitability to several variants. The vari- little or no overseas cost content. Since the sum of
ants altered included unit power' price (± 40 per local cost elements ($117·32 per ton for ferro-
60
Selling prices $168/358
cl per ton.
~
ci
Investments $225/275
,~~ 40 per annual ton.
U;c Silicon
a: ~
mUi
~
e
\9£
~ 20
c
o Ferrosilicon
~
60 Selling prices $168/358
cl per ton.
Cl.
E~
Electric power price-
=> •
Q;1:: 40 0·5 c/kWh
a: Cl>
IIlE
III III
Silicon
o >Cl>
L.
"'--
\9£ 20
c
0 Ferrosilicon
60
Investments $225/275
cl per annual ton.
ci Electric power price-
c~
5 o. 40 0'5c/kWh
Q;'E
a: ~
III
III -III
e~
~errosj[jcon
20
\9£
c
o
silicon and $170-47 per ton for silicon metal) repre- 4. more detailed evaluation of quartz gravel and
sent a large proportion of f.o.b. selling prices, a coal deposits, and
major proportion of receipts from export produc- 5. assessment of recovery and uses of possible
tion would represent nett gain of overseas funds. byproducts such as minus t in. quartz gravel,
Production and export of 50,000 tons/year of quartz sand, gold, scheelite, and zircon.
ferrosilicon and 20,000 tons per year of silicon metal
would thus be expected to provide mett inflows of ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
overseas funds of at least $5· 8 million per year and The authors wish to acknowledge the generous co-
$3 -4 million per year respectively. operation of the followign people and organizations
in the conducting of this investigation.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS
Allied Concrete Ltd. (Mr. Hammington) for co-
Inve.stigations in Otago and Southland have in- operation in locating and establishing the poten-
dicated the presence of very large deposits of quartz tials of Southland quartz gravels.
gravels suitable, with washing, screening, and pos- Marubeni-Iida Ltd. (Messrs. Ikeda, Katayama, Ya-
sibly colour sorting, for the production of ferra- hiro) for advice on raw materials evaluation and
silicon and silicon metal. Extensive lignite and sub- smelting operations,
bituminous coal deposits in Otago and Southland Elkem A/ S for information on smelting operations.
appear to be suitable sources of reductants for Messrs. A. G. Palmer, J. Turnbull, C. Hyndman, J.
smelting operations, supplemented if necessary by Lake for assistance in geological and raw ma-
wood chips and wood charcoal from local timber re- terials survey work,
sources, coal and coke from the West Coast, and Messrs. W. Kitt, H. J. Todd, and Dr K. S. Rax-
imported petroleum coke. The lignite and quartz worthy for numerous raw material analyses.
gravel deposits in many cases are under very thin
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