Refined Pig Iron for malleable iron castings

The following text and images are from a booklet published by the Barrow Haematite Steel Company Ltd. Barrow refined pig irons for malleable castings were produced solely from haematite iron smelted in blast furnaces. The company supplied six standard grades of refined pig irons for malleable castings, representing the standard qualities in most general demand:

• grey
• grey mottled
• soft mottled
• hard mottled
• spotted white
• white

Barrow refined pig irons could also be produced to customers' own specifications. All types were generally supplied in small sand-cast pigs, suitable both for crucible and cupola melting to produce wrought iron or steel.

The booklet highlights the celebrated "Pennington" brand of kibbled annealing ore, produced from selected Cumbrian haematite by Pennington Ore Mill Ltd, Lindal-in-Furness. This was supplied to customers in "clean, well crushed, and sharply defined shapes".

   
See the Science Museum website for a description and photograph of an experimental Bessemer converter piloted at Barrow steelworks.

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