Part of the reason the Bessemer process is so cheap is because it's burning the impurities in the steel to heat it. You heat up one batch enough to melt it and

Part of the reason the Bessemer process is so cheap is because it's burning the impurities in the steel to heat it. You heat up one batch enough to melt it and begin combusting the carbon and other impurities, and use the hot exhaust gas to heat the next batch. You still need some additional fuel, but not nearly as much as with competing processes. Within a few years, the Bessemer process reduced the cost of steel by something like 85%. Most of that savings was a result of reduced coal usage. > There's little to no coal in Italy. Nor is there copper or tin. Cornwall was a significant source of tin during the Bronze Age, and was a significant part of the reason Rome invaded Britain. (there was accessible copper in Cyprus, just not in Italy itself.)