The process of roasting, smelting, and other high-temperature chemical reactions of metal or their ores: Pyrometallurgy has the advantage of giving fast reactions and yielding a molten or gaseous product that can easily be separated from unwanted components.

The extracted metal may need further refining or purifying. Electro-metallurgy can be used again at this stage. The molten metal that is produced may then be cast by pouring it into a mold or forming it into ingots.