Iron and Smelting

                                           Smelting Iron 

The common ores of iron are both iron oxides, and these can be reduced to iron by heating them with carbon in the form of coke. Coke is produced by heating coal in the absence of air. Coke is cheap and provides both the reducing agent for the reaction and also the heat source. The most commonly used iron ores are haematite, Fe2O3, and magnetite, Fe3O4.
Iron Unrefined                                                                                                                         Iron Refined