Production of metals

Claim 1

A PROCESS FOR PRODUCING A METAL SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF TITANIUM AND ZIRCONIUM THROUGH REDUCTION WITHIN A CLOSED REACTION VESSEL OF A HALIDE OF SAID METAL THE HALOGEN COMPONENT OF WHICH HAS AN ATOMIC NUMBER GREATER THAN 9, COMPRISING FLOATING IN SAID VESSEL OUT OF CONTACT WITH ITS INTERNAL WALLS AND UPON AN INERT MOLTEN REDUCING METAL HALIDE SALT BATH MAINTAINED THERIN A REDUCING METAL MORE ELECTROPOSITIVE THAN THE METAL UNDER PRODUCTION, CONFINING THE FLOATED METAL WITHIN AN OPEN RECEPTACLE THEREFOR WHICH IS PARTIALLY IMMERSED IN SAID SALT BATH WITH ITS BASE AND INTERIOR PORTIONS BEING MAINTAINED IN OPEN COMMUNICATION WITH SAID BATH, REACTING SAID REDUCING METAL WITH SAID METAL HALIDE REACTANT AT AN ELEVATED TEMPERATURE, SUBSEQUENT TO SAID REACTION REMOVING SAID RECEPTACLE AND THE RESULTING METAL REACTION PRODUCT WHICH IT CONTAINS FROM SAID BATH AND THE REACTION VESSEL, AND PURIFYING SAID METAL REACTION PRODUCT THUS OBTAINED.