The first solid product of iron smelting, traditionally cast into chunky ingots branching off a central runner in the sand. It contains high levels of carbon, silicon, and phosphorus, making it extremely brittle. It must be remelted in a cupola for cast iron or refined in a converter to make steel.
Heard on the job
We need to charge the cupola with a 60-40 mix of scrap and pig iron.
Insider tip
The name comes from the traditional sand molds, which looked like a litter of suckling pigs attached to a central sow.