Iron Is the Most Widely Used of All the Metals

Iron is the most widely used of all the metals, accounting for 95% of worldwide metal production. Its low cost and high strength make it indispensable in engineering applications such as the construction of machinery and machine tools, automobiles, the hulls of large ships, and structural components for buildings. Since pure iron is quite soft, it is most commonly used in the form of steel.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Age:
In archaeology, the Iron Age is the prehistoric period in any area during which cutting tools and weapons were mainly made of iron or steel. The adoption of this material coincided with other changes in society, including differing agricultural practices, religious beliefs and artistic styles.

From http://www.asianlii.org/cn/legis/cen/law…
The iron and steel industry is an important basic industry of the national economy, a supporting industry for realizing the industrialization and an intensive industry in technologies, capital, resources and energy, and its development requires a comprehensive balancing of all kinds of external conditions. China is a big developing country with a comparatively big demand of iron and steel in the economic development for a long time to go. China's production capacity of iron and steel has ranked the first place in the world for many years. However, there is a large gap in terms of the technological level and material consumption of the iron and steel industry compared with the international advanced level, so the focus of development for the future shall be put on technical upgrading and structural adjustment. In order to enhance the whole technical level of the iron and steel industry, promote the structural adjustment, improve the industrial layout, develop a recycling economy, lower the consumption of materials and energy, pay attention to the environmental protection, raise the comprehensive competitive capacity of enterprises, realize the industrial upgrading, and develop the iron and...