Discovered : known to ancient civilisations Origin : The name comes from the Anglo-Saxon ‘iren’, and the symbol from the Latin ‘ferrum’, meaning iron. Description : Iron is an enigma - it rusts easily and yet is the most important of all metals; world production exceeds 700 million tonnes a year. Small amounts of carbon is added to iron to produce a harder steel and when nickel is added to this, the result is non-corroding stainless steel. Iron is also an essential element for all forms of life. The average human contains about 4 grammes (a seventh of an ounce), a lot of which circulates as haemoglobin in the blood, the job of which is to carry oxygen from our lungs to where it is needed. If the diet does not contain the 6 milligrammes of iron needed each day, anaemia will eventually develop. Foods such as liver, kidney, molasses, brewer’s yeast, cocoa and liquorice contain a lot of iron. Image : Alchemical symbol and rivets.