In this picture the cupola is being "charged" with coke.  The coke will be layered with iron i.e..  coke/iron/coke/iron and so on.  At some point a small amount of limestone will be added into the cupola to act as a flux to help the iron flow and isolate impurities.  

When we throw in 25 pound bags of iron, we then throw coke on top of the iron so that the metal is surrounded by the fuel - thus heating and melting the iron quickly. The metal "rains" down through the pieces of coke to the bottom, or "well," of the cupola. Timing is important and each cupola has its quirks. The blower sends a constant blast of air to maintain the fuel's high
temperature. Amount of air required is dependent on the type of cupola and observations while operating.

 

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Dyaros/stlmanuf.htm   This web site will give you some more explanation about how iron is made.  It is important to understand that steel is cast iron which has been further refined. All steel started out as iron.

This picture gives a better view of the blower forcing air into the cupola.

 

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