Iron Ingot

Obtained: Smelting of iron ore, crafting of Blocks of Iron, found in Dungeon, Stronghold, Abandoned Mineshaft, and NPC Village Chests, killing iron golems (naturally spawned) and killing Zombies.

Creates: sword, armor, tools, Blocks of Iron, compass, rails, flint and steel, doors, cauldrons, minecart, and Iron Bars.

Iron ingots are used to make a wide variety of useful objects including minecarts, minecart tracks, compasses, armor, buckets, and tools capable of mining anything but obsidian and bedrock. This makes it one of the most useful items in-game. It creates the middle-tier armor, one tier below diamond.

Trivia

 * While Minecraft does distinguish between ores and metals, it does not have a "steel" item separate from iron; Flint and Steel is crafted directly from an iron ingot.
 * In the coding Iron is called Steel.
 * As of 12w06a Zombies will rarely drop iron, making it a renewable resource.
 * As of 12w08a Iron Golems, will drop 3-5 iron ingots making them renewable and easy to obtain(if you have a nearby npc village).

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