Semi-finished steel product - the main intermediate material in the production of flat rolled steel. Slab is usually hot rolled into plate or into hot rolled coil.

The word slag is used to describe the impurities in a molten pool of iron. It is lighter than iron, so it will float on top of the pool, where it can be skimmed.

As opposed to ordinary mild or carbon steels, special steels are alloyed to achieve particular mechanical properties to suit specific end-uses. Examples include steels for cutting tools, roller bearings or springs.

Alloy of iron, carbon and other elements with a carbon content below 1.7 percent.

This describes the amount of steel used per unit of gross domestic product. Intensity reflects the secular demand for steel, as opposed to cyclical demand. The amount of steel used in vehicles and the popularity of alternative materials affect the intensity, or how much steel is needed per unit produced. The state of the economy, however, determines the number of units.

A steel merchant who maintains a stock of steel products in a warehouse for sale in small lots to end-users. The merchant will often undertake processing work, such as slitting coil, cutting-to-length and blanking to suit the steel to particular end-uses. Also known as a steel service centre when such additional processing is undertaken.

Thin flat steel normally produced in a continuous strip and wound into a coil weighing up to 40 tonnes for further processing.

Structural steel is produced specifically for building construction with a specific shape or cross section, chemical composition and strength. These parameters and more, such as storage, are regulated to particular standards in most industrialised countries.

This is an addition to the normal mill price of steel to cover the cost of alloying elements used in producing certain grades. In some cases surcharges also reflect energy costs. Surcharges were introduced when the price of alloying elements, such as nickel, became much more volatile, moving sharply away from their historic, and more stable, price range. Mills were faced with sharply escalating prices and introduced surcharges to protect their margins. Clearly over time surcharge values move down as well as up.

When there is a requirement for a very large loan, such as for financing a new steelworks, a group of banks, or other financial institutions qualified to conduct credit transactions, often work together as a syndicate to provide the necessary funds to the borrower. 

Natural mineral containing less than 30% iron. It is the primary ore used in blast furnaces.

A type of cold-rolling mill, the tandem mill imparts greater strength, a uniform and smoother surface, and reduced thickness to the steel sheet. Unlike the original single-stand mills, a tandem mill rolls steel through a series of rolls (generally three to five in a row) to achieve a desired thickness and surface quality.

The pouring of molten metal from a ladle into an ingot mould. The economic advantages of continuous casting over ingot casting mean that the ingot-route process has largely been superseded for high volume production of steel

Heating to 200-500°C with the aim of making hardened steel tougher and less susceptible to cracking.

A second cold rolling for coil in which the reduction in gauge is minimal. Can be used to achieve a bright finish.