1. Production trend

1.1 In the world

The table 1 clearly shows this development, which can be compared with that of the steel industry (see article [M 7 000] ) since the beginning of the 20th century. However, this link with cast iron and steel production needs to be qualified.

• For cast iron, iron ores are just about the only source of iron, and also, let's not forget, for reduced ores (DRI and HBI produced by "direct reduction", i.e. in the solid state).

• For steel, there is another source of iron: scrap metal, which, as the various studies clearly show (and,...