Mittal figured he could cut his raw-material costs in half by buying direct-reduced iron rather than scrap.

FORBES: Carnegie would be jealous

The purchase made Ispat one of the world's largest producers of direct-reduced iron, at 7 million tons a year.

FORBES: Carnegie would be jealous

He read about something called direct-reduced iron, a technique for smelting without melting--removing the oxygen from iron ore while it's still solid, that is.

FORBES: Carnegie would be jealous

This liberates hydrogen ions for the acidity, turns insoluble sulfide into very soluble sulfate, and creates rust from reduced iron, a fascinating, if annoying, chemical process.

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Dishwashers, microwaves, non-iron shirts, washing machines, reliable cars, all these things have reduced household production hours by more than the increase in market working hours.

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India is expected to become a net iron-ore importer in the fiscal year that began April 1 because of reduced output, but Thursday's order could mean a gradual turnaround in the situation.

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Blacksmiths did come into their own then, and iron tools increased productivity and wealth, and the submersion of states within great empires reduced barriers to trade.

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Household waste, for example, would be reduced to pure carbon, oxygen and hydrogen, along with a handful of heavier elements (tungsten, iron, aluminium and so on) which could then be re-used.

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