ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Steel mill

A steel mill is a very big place where people take raw materials, like iron ore, and turn them into something called steel. Steel is a kind of metal that is really strong and can be used for all kinds of things, like building big buildings, making cars and trucks and airplanes, and even for things in your house, like the spoons and forks you eat with.

The process of making steel is called "steelmaking," and it involves a lot of heat and a lot of machinery. First, the raw materials are brought to the steel mill, where machines crush and grind them into very small pieces. Then, the small pieces are put into huge ovens called "blast furnaces," which are heated to really high temperatures by burning a mixture of coal and air.

Inside the blast furnace, the small pieces of raw material are turned into a liquid called "molten iron." This is very hot and looks like bright orange lava. The molten iron is then poured into special containers called "ladles," which carry it to other parts of the steel mill.

In these other parts of the mill, the molten iron is mixed with other materials like scrap metal and limestone, which help to purify it and make it stronger. This mixture is then poured into big molds, where it cools and hardens into big blocks of solid steel.

Finally, the big blocks of steel are turned into different shapes and sizes by machines called "rolling mills." These machines use big rollers to flatten and shape the steel into things like sheets, bars, and beams.

Overall, a steel mill is a really important place because it makes the steel that we need for so many different things in our lives.
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