Iron makes up about 5% of the earth's crust, and the earth's core is believed to consist largely of an iron-nickel alloy. Though it is found abundantly, most of the iron on the earth;s crust is founded combined with oxygen It is more difficult to form into metal than copper or bronze, because it needs a much hotter fire.
Iron is extracted from iron ore in a huge steel column called a blast furnace. The raw materials needed, limestone and hot air. The blast furnace is made really hot by burning coke. When the coke burns, it produces carbon dioxide. This carbon dioxide reacts with more coke to produce a gas called carbon monoxide. The carbon monoxide, in turn, reacts with the iron oxide in the iron ore to produce molten iron. The molten iron is then purified using limestone, and allowed to cool in moulds to produce cast iron.
