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Industry in Wales began in the 18th century with the processing of Cornish tin and copper ores. The main growth, however, which began the transformation of south Wales into one of the most important industrial areas of Britain, and for a time the world, was the development of the iron ore industry from the 1770s. It initially started in the north-east. By the 1820s it had become focused round the northern rim of the south Wales coalfield, and was responsible for making 40 per cent of Great Britain's pig iron. In the 1840s, the Dowlais Ironworks near Merthyr Tydfil, with over 5,000 employees, was the largest manufacturing concern in the world. Merthyr itself had developed over 60 years from a tiny village into the largest town in Wales, with a population of 46,000. The industry was subsequently overtaken by coal-mining in economic importance, but metalworking remained a major industry through to the 1950s. It has declined in importance since, although Wales has remained an important centre of the British tin-plate and steelmaking industries. Wales accounts for about one third of steel production in Britain, and there are large steelworks at Llanwern, near Newport, and at Port Talbot. A variety of new industries has been established since the 1950s, and especially over the past 20 years, when the country has attracted a large number of high-tech companies. A number of these new industries have located away from the traditional industrial areas, bringing employment to towns in the rural areas of mid-and north Wales. The country is now an important centre for electronics, information technology, automotive components, chemicals, plastics, and synthetic fibres. Milford Haven is one of Britain's leading ports, and its most important port for handling imported oil. Oil refining has developed into an important local industry and major employer.