Iron is one of the most abundant (4th in the Earth's crust) and
important metals as it is the main metal in the Earth's
core. The chief ores are haematite (Fe2O3), magnetite (Fe3O4),
siderite (FeCO3), goethite (Fe(O)OH).
Iron has been extracted and used for thousands of years and in
the past, the nations that devolped the most successful iron
industries became major industrial and imperial powers. Now
with its vast steel alloys, iron is the most common metal
produced today - nineteen million tonnes in the UK per year,
and about one and a half billion tonnes a year world-wide.
Iron appears in nearly everything around us, from buildings
and cars to food cans and screws in self assembly furniture.
Iron extraction involves the reduction of the mineral oxide in the iron ore. The reducing agents are coke (C) and carbon monoxide (CO), these reactions take place in a blast furnace.
Author: Des Hylton(document modification date: 21st May 2003)