Its population of about 500,000 was, however, gaining an expanding industrial ... Iron-making in Pontypool and Bersham, lead and silver mining in Flintshire and Cardiganshire, copper smelting ...

However, in 1709, a man called Abraham Darby finally succeeded in smelting iron ... major expansion of the iron trade, and ultimately it helped lead to the Industrial Revolution.

However, its reliance on blast furnace smelting processes ... during the Song dynasty in the 11th century, China's iron ...