Smelting is a metallurgical process involving the extraction of usable metals from their sulfide or oxide ores by heating them to temperatures high enough to induce chemical reduction. This process typically occurs within a furnace, where the raw ore is mixed with a reducing agent, such as carbon or coke, and subjected to intense heat. The heat drives off impurities and volatile compounds, chemically separating the metal component from the rock matrix. Depending on the mineral composition, the resulting products can be various forms of metal, slag (a glassy waste material), and gases. Modern applications of smelting are essential for recovering valuable elements from mined materials and for refining recycled sources, fundamentally underpinning the industrial production of elemental metals.