Minerals and Metals in Ancient India v1.c20.s5.3

v1.c20.s5.3

From the chemical analysis, it appears that silica (0.42-3.8 %), alumina (0.15-2.01), lime (trace to 1.2) and magnesia (.08-0.80%) are invariably present as impurities in the iron samples. Also present are oxides of phosphorus (0.15-0.22%) and sulphur (0.03-0.19%). Absence of nickel shows that the samples did not have any meteoric origin. The carbon content of specimens varied between 0.12 to 0.42 per cent except for (No. 6) the bent nail which assayed 1.1 per cent carbon and showed iron carbide at the grain boundaries and deliberate effort for carburization.