It’s a little ambiguous, but it seems as though they’re specifically talking about industrial steel making as it emerged in the 18th century (the Bessemer Proce

It’s a little ambiguous, but it seems as though they’re specifically talking about industrial steel making as it emerged in the 18th century (the Bessemer Process). “That is a little-known fact in the Western world, where steel production only took off in the nineteenth century with fossil fuels” Was the sentence immediately prior. Regardless, making a claim and citing an article you haven’t written/published is essentially very weak.