Photograph as originally submitted to this page in the Historical Marker Database www.HMdb.org. Click on photo to resize in browser. Scroll down to see metadata.

Photographer: Tim & Renda Carr
Taken: June 22, 2011
Caption: Pig Iron
Additional Description: Pure metallic iron is never found in nature. Rather it exists as iron ores-compounds of iron with oxygen. Iron is separated from its ores in a process called reduction. Iron ore is heated by burning a carbon-rich fuel such as charcoal or coke, so that the carbon removes oxygen from the ore and leaves metallic iron. The freed iron melts, then is drained periodically from the furnace and cast into bars called pigs. The bar at the left, typical of machine-cast pigs, weighs about 40 pounds.
Submitted: June 30, 2011, by Timothy Carr of Birmingham, Alabama.
Database Locator Identification Number: p159568
File Size: 0.247 Megabytes

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