Iron ore
In cast iron sulfur promotes the formation of white iron. As little as 0.5% can counteract the effects of slow cooling and a high silicon content . White cast iron is more brittle, but also harder. It is generally avoided, because it is difficult to work, except in China where high sulfur cast iron, some as high as 0.57%, made with coal and coke, was used to make bells and chimes . According to , good foundry iron should have less than 0.15% sulfur. In the rest of the world a high sulfur cast iron can be used for making castings, but will make poor wrought iron.
Malleable iron
Before the widespread use of malleable iron in everyday items, heavy-duty bench vises were made from cast steel. The use of cast steel has rapidly declined in most application due to its poor castability, and hence high-quality cast vises (as opposed to forged ones), among other tools and machine elements, are now almost exclusively made of malleable iron.