3/5/2023 0 Comments Mining iron money makingIn fact, it is estimated that 98% of iron ore extracted today is destined for steel production. Iron is still primarily used to this day to produce steel. Steel, complemented the Bessemer process with the use of the open-hearth furnace to produce steel in the late 19 th Century. Later Andrew Carnegie, the famous Scottish steel tycoon and founder of what is today U.S. The Economist has referred to iron ore as the most important commodity after oil and stated that the development of processes to turn raw earth into steel one of “mankind’s most ingenious achievements.”Īlthough steel had been produced going back hundreds of years, it did not become a major commodity until the 1800s, especially with the invention of the Bessemer process which was an innovation that allowed for the mass production of steel. Iron ore’s perhaps most important contribution came during the Industrial Revolution in the 1800s when iron began to be used to produce steel on a mass scale. It was used extensively throughout the roman empire, during the Middle Ages, all the way up to the Industrial Revolution. Thus, iron production took off and was associated with the expansions of many great civilizations over the millennia. It is not an alloy and therefore, producing iron was rather easy in comparison especially with the development of iron ore smelting to remove impurities, which was a game changer for iron production. The beauty of iron is that it is just one metal. Some historians have stated that the Bronze Age came to an end because of a shortage of tin around 1300 BC amid trade disruptions, which forced metalworkers to find an alternative. Whatever the reason, the beginning of large-scale production of iron brought the Bronze Age to an end and thus brought iron ore into prominance. Unfortunately, copper and tin are seldom found near each other and therefore gathering enough of both metals to make bronze was quite an onerous task. Bronze is actually a metal alloy, meaning it is forged from two different metals copper and tin. However, it wasn't until around 1200 BC in ancient Mesopotamia that iron production became widespread.īronze was the dominant material of choice when it came to producing weapons, armor, tools, and building materials before this time. As far back as 3200 BC humans have been working with iron in various capacities. You may recognize iron ore as one of the key commodities traded across the world, but our history with iron ore predates all modern financial markets by a good few years. Keep checking back with us for more in our commodities explainer series. This time out we will be covering iron ore, one of the most important yet underappreciated commodities. Last year we began a series of posts in which we answer typical questions about the various commodities we cover with our Consensus Forecast commodities report. Last year we wrote posts on Brent and WTI crude oil as well as gold. Iron ore facts and common questions answered
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