Three "stoves" tower next to the blast furnace. These immense chambers preheat blast air blown into the furnace. Each stove contains a checkerwork of tens of thousands of firebricks, all cut and placed by skilled masons. And someplace distant, many people were employed quarrying materials and making millions of those firebricks every year.

And this is just one tiny corner of the facility! This is why the loss of one steel mill results in ripple effects throughout the economy, and why most nations still believe in heavy industry, despite its environmental problems.