How is smelting different from melting metal?

While the terms are sometimes used interchangeably in casual conversation, they represent distinct processes in metallurgy.

Melting is a physical change that involves heating a metal until it transitions from a solid to a liquid state. This process is primarily used in casting, where the liquid metal is poured into a mold to take a specific shape. Melting allows for the reuse of existing metal, as old tools can be added to a melt rather than discarded.1

Smelting, by contrast, is a chemical process used to extract a metal from its ore. It involves heating the ore to high temperatures, typically in the presence of oxidizing or reducing agents (such as coke or air), to chemically separate the metal from impurities like oxygen or sulfur. While smelting requires melting the material to facilitate these chemical reactions, its primary purpose is the production of metal from a raw, combined state, whereas simple melting is merely a change in the physical state of already existing metal.23