PURPOSE: To improve productivity in molten pig iron manufacture and to reduce fuel consumption by connecting an opening at a furnace top to an exhaust gas recovering apparatus and recovering high-pressure exhaust gas in the process of melting and reducing scrap and ore.

CONSTITUTION: A packed bed of coke is formed in the bottom of a cylindrical furnace, and a packed layer of scrap and iron ore is formed on the above layer. A combustion supporting gas is blown through a primary tuyere and a secondary tuyere to heat, melt, and reduce the scrap and the iron ore. In the course of the above process, an opening at a furnace top is connected to an exhaust gas recovering apparatus and the inside of the furnace is kept in a pressurized state, by which high-pressure exhaust gas in the furnace is recovered. It is preferable to keep furnace pressure ail 0.1-10kgf/cm2 by gage pressure in the above process. By the above high pressure operation, thermal efficiency and reaction efficiency can be improved.