Process for making a steel melt for continuous casting

A process for producing a casting which comprises the steps of:

• a. forming a sulfur-containing steel melt below an iron-oxide-containing slag in a smelter vessel;
• b. discharging said sulfur-containing steel melt from said vessel while retaining said slag therein;
• c. deoxidizing said sulfur-containing steel melt discharged in step (b) from said vessel in a ladle by adding at least one substance selected from the group which consists of silicon and aluminum thereto to produce a deoxidized sulfur-containing steel melt;
• d. introducing said deoxidized sulfur-containing steel melt into a covered ladle and forming above said deoxidized sulfur-containing steel melt in said covered ladle a synthetic slag which consists of pulverulent lime and 10 to 30% of a silica-free fluxing agent;
• e. blowing into said deoxidized sulfur-containing melt in said covered ladle at a depth of at least 2000 mm and about 300 mm above the bottom of said covered ladle in a neutral carrier gas a finely divided calcium-containing compound in a quantity in excess of the quantity of calcium required to stoichiometrically react with the sulfur of said deoxidized sulfur-containing melt, said covered ladle having a silica-free lining;
• and
• f. continuously casting the melt formed by blowing said calcium-containing compound into said deoxidized sulfur-containing melt.