Interesting comment Ann, I thought the same. First the European mass production of iron/steel put a great preassure on the local markets, and a bit later the weapon technology did the rest.
RhysMichael and Ian, I don't intend to say that metals like lead and mercury did not play a role, they may have, but the author does not mention it. As Ian writes these dangers were known early, and as the book was written in 1942 I guess the author would have mentioned it when writing about 'Virgin Iron'.
The pits were like on the picture, a whole in the ground, and normally not more than about two to three meters deep. A thing mentioned in the book, which seems to be more of a danger than lead and mercury was the collapse of the pit, burying the one working in the pit.
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