John Sutherland and Dan Williams, an engineer from Canada who worked on the Lithgow Zig Zag railway project.

The Lithgow Valley Iron Works (later the Eskbank Ironworks) then consisted of a blast furnace, foundry and two bar rolling mills with the necessary fitting and smiths' shops.

About 18,000 tonnes (20,000 short tons) of pig iron was made initially from local ores, which was converted into rails and bars.

[3]The Lithgow Blast Furnace was erected by William Sandford in 1906-1907, a short distance from the Eskbank Colliery which he had purchased outright in 1892.

The construction of this later furnace over one kilometre (one mile) away from the Colliery was widely criticised, but its proximity to the railway and its size, providing scope for expansion, made it an understandable choice.

The old system had been discarded and the mills had now commenced on a partially co-operative principle, which it was expected would cheapen production and give better results generally.

During the cessation of work the plant was added to and improved, in this way the sheet mill now starts equipped to produce nearly double its former product.

Output for all classes of finished iron and steel for the three years ending 31 December 1901 averaged over 6,400 tonnes (7,000 short tons) per annum.

There was a great deal of equipment on site including immense Cornish boilers, weighing 20 tonnes (22 short tons) for raising steam by the waste heat from the furnaces.

There was a 1.4-tonne (1.5-short-ton) steam hammer, massive shears for cutting up rails into lengths, a large gantry, 91 centimetres (36 in) horizontal condensing 130-kilowatt (175 hp) engine and giant fly-wheels with 9 metres (30 ft) diameters, weighing 36 tonnes (40 short tons).

[4][2] On 24 April 1901 Sandford organised a gala dinner to announce that he and his son Esk had successfully tapped the first viable quantities of steel produced in Australia at the Eskbank Ironworks.

He could not raise capital but was unwilling to cede his management to external investors such as John Lysaght Ltd., and although Charles Hoskins and his brother George looked at the plant, they pulled out when they saw the state of the books.

[2]The Commercial Banking Company of Sydney, which had underwritten the operation, foreclosed on the ironworks on 9 December 1907, although it kept the Blast Furnace running.

[7] Although the complicated deal ensured Sandford's debts were paid and he received enough money to guarantee his financial security, he was devastated and felt deceived by Charles Hoskins.

He was also a protectionist, and although his negotiations with government over tariffs were never entirely successful, he did manage to get the Eskbank enterprise onto a solid footing before the surge in production caused by World War I.

[2][8] The outbreak of WWI saw considerable expansion in operations, although Lithgow's monopoly on iron smelting was about to be seriously challenged by BHP, who opened their Newcastle plant in 1915.

[2] The site is on the south-western edge of the former Coal Stage Hill, a natural ridge which has been much modified by the construction and operation of the furnace and plant.

[2] Construction was in three phases: As at 8 April 2009, the layout of the Blast Furnace site represents the organic and uninterrupted growth of a workplace which is now the only relic of one of Australia's major industries.

[12][2] Lithgow Blast Furnace was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999 having satisfied the following criteria.

The slag dumps which border the western part of the site powerfully evoke the elemental forces at work in the blast furnace.

[12][2] The remains represent an organic growth and refinement of a major industrial plant and are in themselves a resource for studying technical change in ironmaking.