The Fox of France

Chapter 212: Coal Mines and Iron Ore

Chapter 212: Coal Mines and Iron Ore

The British steam battleships took some time to become practical, so Joseph hadn't yet felt the pressure of the United Kingdom's world-leading scientific and technological advancements. He was currently occupied with acquiring the iron ore from Lorraine, the coal mines in Saar, and the coal mines in the Ruhr.

Lorraine's iron ore, apart from having a larger reserve, didn't offer many advantages. The iron ore there typically had an iron content of only around thirty percent, which was considered inferior compared to the iron ore from Australia and Brazil. Furthermore, Lorraine's iron ore was high in phosphorus, with a phosphorus content that could go as high as one percent.

Phosphorus was mostly detrimental to steel. Increasing phosphorus content would decrease the plasticity and toughness of steel, particularly impacting its impact resistance, making it prone to "cold brittleness." Additionally, phosphorus could reduce the welding properties of steel. In general, the phosphorus content in commonly used steel should not exceed 0.045%, but with ore from Lorraine, the phosphorus content could easily surpass this limit if not specially treated.

Unfortunately, for a long time, humans hadn't developed effective methods for removing impurities like phosphorus. The quality of steel produced from Lorraine's iron ore was considered subpar. It was said that one of the reasons the Titanic, which sank on its maiden voyage after colliding with an iceberg, had sunk was because it was constructed with cold-brittle steel made from Lorraine's iron ore.

Even though technologies to remove phosphorus gradually emerged, it remained a headache. If there were low-phosphorus, low-sulfur, high-grade iron ores like those in Australia and Brazil, who would want to use Lorraine's iron ore? Unfortunately, Joseph didn't have access to better iron ore, and when looking at future standards, there wasn't a single better iron ore deposit on the entire European continent.

Lorraine's iron ore had been discovered long before. Before the French Revolution, most of these mines were in the hands of the nobility. When the Revolution began, these nobles either faced the guillotine or fled abroad.

According to the revolutionary government's decrees, the industries of these nobles who were executed or went into exile were naturally confiscated. During the Jacobin period, these mines were mostly state-owned, but they lay mostly dormant. When the Thermidorians came to power, these iron mines gradually fell into the hands of the Thermidorians. Now, Joseph had to transfer these mines from their original owners to his control.

This wasn't a difficult task. During this era when steelmaking hadn't seen a breakthrough, and the Industrial Revolution hadn't started, iron ore mining wasn't particularly lucrative. The limited uses of pig iron and the difficulty of producing wrought iron and steel meant that the demand for iron ore wasn't very high. Additionally, some mine owners wanted to curry favor with the Bonaparte family or establish relations with the First Consul. In some cases, they practically gave the mines away. So, Joseph didn't have to spend much money to gain control over this extensive mining area.

As for the Saar coal mines, they were acquired through similar means. The Ruhr coal mines were even simpler. This region was newly conquered territory. Although it wasn't directly governed by France, which small states of the Rhenish Confederation didn't want to ingratiate themselves with the Bonaparte family? Despite these mines mostly being rich farmland, who could compare with pleasing the liberators of Europe?

Furthermore, Joseph wasn't stingy with his money. Whether the Rhenish Confederation folks had to use force to drive the poor farmers off their lands, passed down through generations, was none of Joseph's concern.

Compared to Lorraine's iron ore, the Ruhr coal mines were of much higher quality. The Ruhr coalfield primarily produced high-quality hard coal, and it had a wide variety of coal types. Especially valuable were the coking coals, which made up most of the reserve. Additionally, the coal seams were shallow, and in many places, only the topsoil needed to be removed for open-pit mining. Plus, the coalfield was situated by the Rhine, an ideal river for transportation. It was truly an excellent industrial region.

But these favorable conditions also presented Joseph with a significant dilemma: should he establish the future industrial base in Lorraine or the Ruhr?

In the future, after the Prussians defeated France in the Franco-Prussian War and took control of Lorraine, they chose to set up their industrial base in the Ruhr. This was understandable. The Ruhr had good transportation links, was at the core of German territory, and was relatively stable. They naturally wanted to place such a vital asset there.

Now, with France in control, the same logic seemed to apply, making Lorraine the ideal choice. After all, it was closer to home and felt more secure. However, considering the flow of the Rhine River, transporting iron ore from Lorraine to the Ruhr was downstream, while shipping coal from the Ruhr to Lorraine meant going upstream. In terms of transportation, it seemed better to establish the industrial base in the Ruhr.

Therefore, Joseph had some hesitation about this issue.

But Lucien quickly made his judgment clear.

"Aren't the coal reserves in Saar enough?" Lucien asked.

"Well, they should be sufficient for a considerable period," Joseph replied.

"How long is that period?" Lucien inquired.

"It should be quite long, at least a decade, possibly several decades," Joseph estimated.

"So, will it be cheaper to transport iron ore to the Ruhr, along with the cost of mining coal there and then shipping it to Lorraine, or the other way around bringing iron ore to Saar?" Lucien inquired.

"It doesn't seem like it," Joseph replied.

"Then why are you hesitating?" Lucien asked.

"Oh..." Joseph suddenly realized that he might have been influenced by some information from the future. Thinking about the future, the country he was in produced nearly a billion tons of steel effortlessly each year, and a large steel facility had tens of millions, even close to a hundred million tons of steel production. People were so proud of their steel mills that the president was well aware of their existence. If he were to consider things by that standard, the coal reserves in Saar might not be enough. But New Rome was still centuries away from that steel kingdom. In the next hundred years or so, both Saar's coal and Lorraine's iron ore should be sufficient for the French.

"What's wrong?" Lucien saw that Joseph seemed lost in thought.

"I think I'm overthinking this," Joseph said. "But we've already purchased the coalfields in the Ruhr and spent a fair amount of money on them. If they don't serve a purpose and..."

"And the Ruhr is mostly coking coal and power coal, with limited anthracite. Even making briquettes would be challenging..." Joseph thought to himself.

"That's how much money we spent?" Lucien was nonchalant. "Having a major coal mine in your hands, you'll find a use for it. You can use it for electricity generation."

"Transport it back? The Rhine River route is good, but unfortunately, our steamship research hasn't been smooth. Otherwise... it seems like we'll have to consider the railroad. But this can't be rushed; we need a significant amount of steel first before we can have trains, and... well, it appears that we'll have to leave the Ruhr coalfields idle for now."

While Joseph was troubled about accumulating funds for no good reason in the Ruhr coalfields, Lavasie was rejoicing. Just a few days ago, he had successfully used a modified quartz crucible to contain molten pig iron and then injected heated air using a compressor to obtain liquid steel.

Upon completing this project, Lavasie was getting closer to receiving an estate in the Champagne region as a reward. The estate originally belonged to the Duke of Orleans, but it was known for its renowned champagne production, which brought in significant wealth each year. After losing his head, the estate was confiscated by the revolutionary government and eventually landed in the hands of the Bonaparte family.

Of course, receiving this reward came at a price. At the time, Joseph gave Lavasie a choice between the estate and a tenth of the patent rights for the steelmaking technology he had developed, with Lavasie ultimately opting for the estate.

It was said that many years later, Lavasie deeply regretted this choice and even told his niece, "Your husband is a big swindler. He doesn't know how much money he swindled from us..." But for now, Lavasie felt like he had struck a great deal.

In another laboratory, Lavasie's rival, Franois, had just completed experiments on new refractory materials. Following Joseph's requirement that refractory materials needed to be alkaline, he mainly used dolomite to create high-temperature refractory materials that could withstand the steelmaking crucible's heat.

Franois was also a renowned chemist and had been a friend of Lavasie's. However, during the Jacobin period, he joined the Marat and Robespierre faction, which led to Lavasie being pursued. It was largely Franois who facilitated this. If not for Carnot's intervention, Lavasie might have been a cause for mourning by now.

Due to these events, Franois faced a tough situation after the Jacobins fell from power. However, considering his capabilities, Joseph also gave him a second chance.

However, Franois didn't enjoy the same privileges as Lavasie. He only received a reward of 600 francs after completing this project. The only comforting aspect was that Joseph paid rewards in metallic currency.

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