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Canadian Iron Smelting Symposium
Labour Day
September 4 – 7 (Friday to Monday) 2026
Sanctuary Armoury
1504
Cameron Line
Hastings, Ontario
(about 20 minutes East of Peterborough, just south of highway 7)
This will be a
practical workshop style event, individual teams of 3 – 4
persons building, repairing, then firing their own 'short shaft'
bloomery furnace.
Using 25 kg of ore, each team will create a bloom
in the 3 – 5 kg range, which will be divided between members of that team.
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The focus of this event will be on ores, with four different ore bodies provided, assigned one to each team :
- 'Lexington Brown' – Limonite rock ore from south Virginia
- Granular Hematite – a fine, high elemental iron content material used for sand blasting
- Red 'Bog Ore Analog – an Fe2O3 material well proven in past tests
- Black Analog – an Fe3O4 material similar to the red, but with higher elemental iron
- Any formed teams who wish to bring there own local iron ores to test smelt are very welcome to do so!
- Additional amounts of Limonite will be available for those who want to double up or aim for a large ore amount bloom!
Event cost : $ 310 CDN per working participant
This covers ore, furnace materials and the 50 kg charcoal per team.
All a the basic tools needed for the build and smelt will be provided.
Registration limited to 20 individuals
There is no prerequisite for smelting or metal working experience !
Paid Registration Deadline is August 1, 2026
'Primitive' Camping spaces available on site (see detail below)
This event takes place rain or shine!
(Overhead covers will be provided in the smelting area)
Proposed Schedule :
Friday : Arrive and set your camp
Welcome BBQ
Discussion of the basic furnace design and method
Saturday : Roast and crush ores (only required for Limonite)
Crush and screen charcoal
Prepare clay / sand / organics mixture
Build the furnace
Cut tapping and extraction arches, mount tuyere
Gentle drying fire into the evening
Sunday : Workspace preparation
Initial pre-warming fire
Full ore to bloom smelting sequence (typically 5 – 6 hours)
Extraction and initial compaction
Monday : General workspace clean up
There will be limited opportunity to render bloom pieces down into working bars. One equipped coal forge on site, possibility to construct simple ground mounted charcoal trough forges. (anvils may be in short supply however).
Pack camp and depart as travel requires.
The Sanctuary Armoury site has roughly 100 acres of rolling fields.
- There will be adequate space for parking. Space will be set aside for those who bring Rvs.
- Individuals should provide their own tents and general camping equipment.
- There will be one large communal fire pit, but generally you should provide your own cooking stoves.
(At this point it is unlikely any on site food will be available).- The camping area will be separate from the smelting area
- Potable water will be available at both areas
- Portable Toilets will be set at both the camp and the smelting areas
- There will be no provision for electric power in the camping area
Go to GOOGLE MAPS
Personal equipment?
Iron smelting is both dirty and has the presence of charcoal sparks :
- Older working clothes are wise. A cap is a good idea! Long sleeves strongly recommended.
- Boots : all participants are required to wear leather boots that come up above the ankle (and under the pant leg).
- Safety Glasses : Minimum polycarbonate to be worn at all times in the smelting area. Those with there own safety glasses are recommended, especially for those who use prescription lenses. A limited quantity of simple safety glasses will be on hand
- Leather Gloves : Those who have their own work gloves are asked to bring these.
- Leather Aprons : Not absolutely required, but it is suggested those who have these do bring them.
- Extraction Safety : There will be two very basic sets of fire resistant gear (jacket / body plus greaves, gauntlets, full face shields). These will need to be quickly shared between the teams as extraction time arrives.
At this point the payment method has not been established.
Those interested should contact Darrell Markewitz (below) to express their intent.
A minimum paid registration of 12 individuals is required for this event to proceed.
Your Hosts for this Event ?
Sanctuary Armoury
the Wareham Forge
Darrell Markewitz
(info@warehamforge.ca)
519-923-9219
www.warehamforge.ca/Canadian-Iron
For a printable (PDF) of this information HERE
