Steel is the most common metal used by man. It is used in the construction of our buildings, bridges, aircraft, cars, ships and many everyday items. Without steel, our modern industrial world would not exist.

In order to produce steel, iron ore is required, in large quantities. Iron ore is dug out of the ground from open cast mines or mined deep underground. The ore is crushed into a fine powder, mixed with water, making a slurry. Clay is added to the slurry and the mixture shaped into pellets and baked, forming a hard shell. The pellets are sent to a steel mill in order to extract the iron which is normally converted into steel.