Pidgeon process

The Pidgeon process is a practical method for smelting magnesium. The most common method involves the raw material, dolomite being fed into an externally heated reduction tank and then thermally reduced to metallic magnesium using 75% ferrosilicon as a reducing agent in a vacuum. Overall the processes in magnesium smelting via the Pidgeon process involve dolomite calcination, grinding and pelleting, and vacuum thermal reduction. Besides the Pidgeon process, electrolysis of magnesium chloride for commercial production of magnesium is also used, at one point in time accounting for 75% of the world's magnesium production.