Figure 7.5: The History of Steel Production 1600 @ 1600: Cementation, the oldest form of steelmaking, begins in Europe 1650 1700 1750 1750: The crucible process of steelmaking begins in Europe, providing better quality, more uniform steel 1873: the Orconera Iron Ore Co. is formed to procure Bilboa ore for British mills [Is this the first such case?] 1800 1850 1856: The Bessemer process is patented in Britain by Henry Bessemer; Friedrich Siemens the “regenerative method”, a precursor to the basic open hearth method 1857: The Bessemer process is patented in the US by William Kelly 1864: The first partially successful Bessemer plant in the US is built in Michigan 1877: The Gilchrist-Thomas basic process permits a wider range of ores for steel making 1879: The first German applications for smelter technology using phosphorous materials allow for massive growth of the German steel industry 1880: Production of Bessemer steel exceeds that of wrought iron for the first time in the USA 1886: The US surpasses Britain as the world’s leading steel producer 1884: The basic open hearth process is invented in Britain; because it removes phosphorous, this process allows US steelmakers to utilize North America’s vast iron ore deposits 1888: The first commercial production of basic open hearth steel in the US begins in Pennsylvania 1892: Mesabi iron ore range begins operations 1900 1901: US Steel opens it Gary plant 1907: The open hearth process surpasses the Bessemer process as the primary means of steel production 1950 1956: US Steel opens its first taconite mine to compensate for the dearth of hematite ore 1962: Hammersley iron ore tange opens in Australia. 1970: The basic oxygen process surpasses the open hearth method as the primary means of steelmaking in the USA 1984: POSCO’s Kwangyang plant opens in S. Korea. 1985: Carajas mine opens 2000 Sources: Cordero (1952); Cromwell and Murray (1911); Gale (1967); Hogan (1971); Hogan (1991); Pounds and Parker (1957); Hudson and Sadler (1989); Warren (1975); Yonekura (1994). .