A pair of iron smelting blast furnaces that used coke (coal) as fuel. The one on the right dates from 1780 and was the first coke fuelled iron furnace in Derbyshire. The other dates from 1818.They were built for Francis Hurt. They went out of use in 1874 and were restored in 1986. They are the last remains of the once important cast iron industry. | Martin Urbex | Facebook

Al Kharousi explained that ancient Omanis established smelting operations directly adjacent to copper mines to optimize efficiency, as evidenced near Wadi Mafa'al in Al Manaqi where mine remnants remain clearly visible. The sophisticated process involved transporting ore to nearby furnaces, purification, and then smelting using Samr wood - selected for its high resin content that generated the intense heat required for copper extraction, combined with specially designed furnace structures. “Work