About
10x  Iron Ore are received when Chipping an  Iron Ore Boulder with  Any Axe or  Any Pickaxe. Alternatively an Iron Ore Boulder can be crushed in a  Stamp Mill or blown up with a  Lit Boomstick to receive Iron Ore. Iron Ore can be stored in a  Stockbin.
Ore Metals
Ore Metals are Metal Bars that can be made from Metal Ore  Mined straight from the earth.  Any Ore Chipped from an  Ore Boulder can be smelted in a lit  Ore Smelter to make Ore Metal Bars.
Smelting
The amount Ore Metal Bars produced in your Ore Smelter is based partially on chance but mostly influenced by the Ore/Lime ratio and your Alloying Artifact Bonus. Currently, the best Ore/Lime ratio is 13x  Lime and 12x Any Ore of one type. To smelt place your Lime and Ore in a lit Ore Smelter. After about 40 minutes 1x, or rarely 2x, of your Ores will be replaced with a corresponding Ore Metal Bar and the rest of your Ore will have become  Dross. Each time a Dross is produced there is a chance for it become  A Face in the Dross instead. Using a  Little Limestone in place of one of your Limes may also increase the number of Metal Bars that are created.
Iron Purity
The Purity of a  Bar of Pig Iron comes from the Iron Ore Boulder the Iron Ore used to make it, was Chipped from. Iron Ore Boulders' get their Purity from a combination of Mine Level, distance from the ramp, and chance. Iron Purity will transfer directly onto  Fish Hooks,  Knife Blades, or any  Wrought Iron Bars made from it.
| 
Iron Ore
