The classification of African metalliferous relics generally lacks clarity, because African ironworking involved variable processes. The purpose of this paper was to find out how the refining process was related to or different from the smelting process, macroscopically, chemically, and microscopically. Macroscopically, refining sites or clusters in the field can be differentiated from smelting clusters based on attributes such as area size, slag morphology, quantity and composition of the remains. Chemically, it has been difficult to draw a line between the two processes, but there is a significant difference between the two based on microstructural analyses. Refining slag principally contain roundish iron prills indicative of a highly reducing process if compared to the smelting process, which results in more angular ferritic iron particles. These results indicate that the refining process was meant to consolidate incoherent and slag-rich bloom fragments into larger, denser and possibly more carbon-rich metal ready to be forged into high-quality implements.