Pig iron is the product of smelting iron ore (also ilmenite) with a high-carbon fuel and reductant such as coke, usually with limestone as a flux. Charcoal and anthracite are also used as fuel and reductant. Pig iron is produced by smelting or iron ore in blast furnaces or by furnaces.Pig iron contains at least 92% Fe and has a very high carbon content, typically 3.5 – 4.5%. Pig iron is supplied in a variety of ingot sizes and weights, ranging from 3 kg up to more than 50 kg.The vast majority of pig iron is produced and consumed within integrated steel mill complexes. In this context the term “pig iron” is something of a misnomer: within integrated steel mills, blast furnace iron is transferred directly to the steel plant in liquid form, better known as “hot metal” or “blast furnace iron.”The term “pig iron” dates back to the time when hot metal was cast into ingots before being charged to the steel plant. The molds were laid out in sand beds such that they could be fed from a common runner. The group of molds resembled a litter of sucking pigs, the ingots being called “pigs” and the runner the “sow.”