Abstract: Edge-dam blocks assembled with their upstream faces in keyed mating interengagement with downstream faces of adjacent blocks form an endless edge dam revolvable in a preselected path for defining a boundary of a moving-mold casting region. The edge dam keeps molten metal in the casting region. Upstream and downstream faces of adjacent blocks have mutually complementary shapes for minimizing intrusion of molten metal between abutting blocks. Keying engagement between abutting blocks prevents relative translational slippage of blocks toward or away from molten metal. An abuttable face on each block has at least one protrusion such as an integral elongated key extending perpendicularly to a casting belt associated with the casting region, or the protrusion includes two round pins having projecting tapered ends. Another abuttable face has a recess such as a keyway for snugly receiving a key on an adjacent block or has two tapered recesses for snugly receiving two tapered projections of an adjacent block.

Abstract: An endless casting belt for machines for continuous casting of metals, said casting belt being provided with a layer of an anti-adhesion agent and having at least in the "welding zone" a coating resistant to stress corrosion cracking when in contact with the liquid metal to be cast and with the said anti-adhesion agent.

Abstract: A process for the continuous manufacture of copper wire rod presenting both the good ductility of oxygen-free copper and the annealing capacity of the tough pitch copper, in which liquid copper is prepared containing from about 0.006 to 0.0095% by weight of oxygen, the said liquid copper is cast via an open pouring spout in a continuous casting machine having an inclined straight molding cavity for producing a continuous copper bar containing 0.01 to 0.02% by weight of oxygen and which consists of a shell of solid copper and a core of liquid copper, the said bar on leaving the casting machine is cooled by repeated and direct contact with a cooling agent for complete solidification and the solidified bar is guided towards a horizontal rolling mill known "per se" along a curved path the maximum curvature of which is less than 0.25 m.sup.-1, and the said bar is rolled into wire rod.

Abstract: A mold for the continuous casting of metals, in which at least its inner part is made of a refractory material chosen from the group of materials comprising tantalum, niobium, tantalum-base alloys and niobium-base alloys.

Abstract: A mold with a cooling jacket for the continuous vertical casting of metal billets, comprising between the lower part of the mold and the jacket a tubular wall the upper part of which is surrounded by ribs forming with the external side of the wall and with the internal side of the jacket a plurality of channels, said tubular wall forcing the cooling liquid introduced laterally into the jacket first to rise, then to divide itself regularly between the said ribs and to form simultaneously a laminar flow, then to flow down in that state along the mold and to leave in that state the cooling space through an annular slot.