Process for production of iron

A process for producing iron metal and slag by smelting iron-containing source material in a reactor containing a molten bath comprising slag or having a slag layer, wherein the process comprises the steps of:

• (a) injecting fuel/reductant and oxygen-containing gas into the slag, by at least one top-submerged lance, to generate heating and reducing conditions in at least one reducing region in the bath;
• (b) feeding the source material to the reactor, together with additional reductant comprising coal and with flux, at or adjacent to the at least one reducing region, whereby the source material is subjected to smelting reduction which generates combustion gases comprising CO and H.sub.2 ;
• (c) controlling the rates of injection of the oxygen-containing gas and fuel/reductant by said at least one lance to achieve required, sufficient reducing conditions;
• and
• (d) post-combusting, in the reactor above the bath, the combustion gases generated by the smelting;
• wherein the controlling of step (c) is conducted to result in the injected oxygen-containing gas having an oxygen content of from about 40 volume % to about 100 volume % and sufficient for a degree of combustion of from about 40 weight % to about 50 weight % of the fuel/reductant injected by the at least one lance.