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Spiegeleisen from Spathic Ore: Siegen Blast Furnace
Spiegeleisen, 'mirror iron', is pig iron rich in manganese. Bessemer steelmakers added it to the blown metal to put back carbon and manganese. The Siegen works made it by roasting their manganese-bearing spathic ore and smelting it in the blast furnace with brown hematite, limestone and coke, as Bauerman describes (1890).
Advanced
Works process
Instructions
1
1
Watch: iron from a blast furnace
Watch: iron from a blast furnace
A 1951 film of the blast furnace: ore, coke and limestone in layers, hot blast, slag and tapping. Spiegeleisen is made the same way from a manganese-rich ore.
2
2
Roast the spathic ore
Roast the spathic ore
Break the ore small. In the kiln, lay 4 in of charcoal on the upper grate, then alternate layers of ore and waste fuel (coke breeze), 40 parts ore to 8 fuel by measure. Light a wood fire on the lower grate and keep it three days. Draw a quarter of the roasted ore each day and refill with half the fuel.
Materials for this step:
Spathic Iron Ore (Siderite)1 as required
Charcoal1 as required
Metallurgical Coke1 as required
Firewood1 as requiredTools needed:
Roasting Kiln
Sledgehammer3
3
Charge the blast furnace
Charge the blast furnace
Each charge: 28.8 parts roasted spathic ore, 7.2 brown hematite and 9 limestone, with 20 parts coke (Charlottenhütte, by weight).
Materials for this step:
Iron Ore (Bog Iron / Hematite / Magnetite)1 as required
Calcium Carbonate - Crushed Limestone1 as requiredMetallurgical Coke1 as requiredTools needed:
Blast Furnace4
4
Blow it hot
Blow it hot
Blow through three tuyeres at about 3½ lb per square inch, with a hot blast (280–300° in Bauerman). Keep the hearth hot: a hotter blast reduces more manganese. Keep the slag nearly neutral.
Tools needed:
Blast Furnace
Pyrometer5
5
Tap and cast
Tap and cast
Tap the metal into moulds. Siegen's spiegeleisen held about 8 % manganese.
Tools needed:
Tapping Bar
Ingot Mould
Heat-Resistant Gloves
Face Shield6
6
Honest limits
Honest limits
Figures are Bauerman's (1890) for Siegen; a works blast furnace made about 30 tons a day. Later spiegel ran ~15 % manganese (Wikipedia), from richer Spanish and Sardinian ores.
Materials
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Tools Required
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