Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - Second part - IX. Mining Industry and Metal Production - 2. The Iron and Steel Industry. By the late Prof. J. G. Wiborgh
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
Below is the raw OCR text
from the above scanned image.
Do you see an error? Proofread the page now!
Här nedan syns maskintolkade texten från faksimilbilden ovan.
Ser du något fel? Korrekturläs sidan nu!
This page has never been proofread. / Denna sida har aldrig korrekturlästs.
708-
ix. mining industry and metal production op sweden.
this respect of being able to make use of electricity; all over the
world, and not least in Sweden, diligent endeavors are made to solve
this problem.
A general view of th© iron industry of Sweden during 1876/1900
is given in the Table on the preceding page. As to head entries, general
views relating to earlier times are given in the following pages under
their respective divisions.
As to the export of iron and steel, unwrought or only partly
finished, we are informed by the commercial statistics that the same
has amounted in value as follows:1
Year.
1871 ...... 3406
187 2...... 5207
1873 ...... 49 24
1874 ............39-09
1875 ............41-52
1876 ............31-63
Million
kronor.
1877 ............29-98
1878 ............28-38
1879 ............30-79
1880 ............41 01
188 1............39 00
1882 ............40-65
1883 ............38-32
188 4............42-49
1885 ............34-11
1886 ............31-65
1887 ............32-84
1888 ............29-28
1889 ............39-60
1890 ............36-05
189 1............3213
189 2............31-69
1893 ............28 03
1894 ............25-96
1895._____ 32-05
1896 ...... 3162
189 7...... 33-98
189 8...... 34-81
1899 ...... 42-20
190 0...... 4990
The averages of the five-yearly periods, from 1871 to 1900, are
respectively 43-19, 32-35, 38-89, 33-88, 29*97, and 39-u8 million kronor.
These figures are by no means gratifying. The maximum was attained
in 1872 — thirty years ago.
The imports of unwrought iron and steel has during the same time
varied very little, and has generally amounted to 3 or 4 million kronor
yearly.
During the first part of the nineteenth century, pig iron was chiefly
produced and from this, by refining in charcoal-forges, soft iron, which
was to the largest part exported as bar-iron to foreign countries to be
there converted into steel and manufactured into finer articles. In the
latter part of the nineteenth century, on the other hand, the iron industry
has in Sweden as well as in other countries made very great technical
progress. Thus, many technical improvements have been made in the
process of making pig iron, and new refining processes, such as Bessemer
and Open hearth, have been introduced.
The foreign soft basic ingot metal has, however, been a rather
sharp competitor to the Swedish iron refined in charcoal forges, the
production of which consequently has been reduced, but on the contrary
the manufacturing of the excellent Swedish ingot metal has rapidly
progressed; of this the home and foreign expositions, in which the larger
Swedish iron works, such as Domnarfvet, Uddeholm, Bofors, Finspång,
Nykroppa, Söderfors, Iggesund and others, have taken part, bear ample
witness.
Concerning the method of production of different kinds of iron, an
historical account is here given, the extensiveness of which, compared
with the treatment generally devoted in this work to technical ques-
1 A krona = 110 shilling or 0 268 dollar.
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
