Cassel Cyanide Co Ltd

Sectors:

  • Chemical production Basic chemicals production

Notes:

Traced origins to 1884 when Cassel Gold Extracting Co Ltd established by a group of Glasgow chemical manufacturers, led by Sir Charles Tennant of Tennant & Co, in conjunction with Henry Renner Cassel for the development and use of his process for extracting gold from ore. Glasgow based. Cassel received shares for his patent but disposed of them at inflated prices and left UK before process was discovered to be bogus. 1885 the business was reorganised when in 1886 John S MacArthur,1857-1920, was engaged to develop with technical success an alternative process based on use of cyanide which superseded all other processes. Unable to licence the process on account of patent litigation so turned instead to manufacture of cyanide developing the successful Beilby process which dominated world markets for 10 years. Renamed 1906 Cassel Cyanide Co Ltd and subsequently part of Brunner Mond & Co Ltd and later ICI Ltd

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