Iron ore and steel

Iron is the most widespread of all metals. It is used almost invariably in the form of steel, which is present in almost every aspect of our everyday life. The buildings we live and work in; the cars we drive; the electrical appliances we use; the drills to extract oil; the machines we construct to manufacture new goods - all are made of, or contain, steel because of its strength and flexibility. As Fish (1995) puts it, ‘Steel is a material essential for the modern world. The industrial revolution would not have been possible without the development of iron and steel’.