Iron depositis of Tasmania

As the initial effort to establish the iron industry in Tasmania failed owing to the presence of the element chromium in the product, it will, perhaps, be wise for us to examine the influence of this element on iron and steel. It may be considered by some as unnecessary for this matter to be dealt with, but as it caused failure before, and certainly exists in a large proportion in some of the Tasmanian ores, we will note a few of its chief characteristics, and see in what way its influence is likely to be felt in future ventures connected with iron manufacture. Before proceeding, however, let me point out one peculiarity in connection with chromium, and its presence in iron ores.
It is seldom found in the iron at or near the surface, but generally at some considerable depth down. This is important, because a surface or high level sample might lead to the belief that chromium was not present, while samples taken towards lower levels might be very strongly impregnated with the element, and consequently useless for any but special purposes, and this only after special treatment.