Description

The Iron plate is a material that can be made by smelting iron ore in a furnace. It is a component or subcomponent of almost every item in Factorio, and it is recommended to create a large stockpile when possible. When smelted in a furnace for a second time, iron plates will transform into steel plates, with a ratio of 5 iron plates per 1 steel plate.

When starting a new freeplay game, the player starts out with 8 iron plate, along with 1 burner mining drill and 1 stone furnace. These iron plates are generally used to create an iron axe right away to not have to slowly mine your first resources by hand.