Rome vs Han essay- want get some opinions

[Eleatic Guest]

I actually found - by chance - a primary source reference as to the supreme quality of ancient Chinese iron. It is in Pliny 34.41:

But of all the different kinds of iron, the palm of excellence is awarded to that which is made by the Seres,8 who send it to us with their tissues and skins;9 next to which, in quality, is the Parthian10 iron. Indeed, none of the other kinds of iron are made of the pure hard metal, a softer alloy being welded with them all.

In our part of the world, a vein of ore is occasionally found to yield a metal of this high quality, as in Noricum11 for instance; but, in other cases, it derives its value from the mode of working it, as at Sulmo,12 for example, a result owing to the nature of its water, as already stated.

Pliny 34.41

The footnote number 8, however, says "this Seric iron has not been identified", apparently meaning that it is unclear to what people or region Pliny actually refers to. Moreover, it is not clear to me, whether Pliny speaks of iron as a raw material or of worked iron. While Pliny seems to speaks in the first passage about man worked iron ("made", "welded"), the second passage rather suggests he means the natural quality of the iron as found in the earth, prior to any working process (" a vein of ore is occasionally found to yield a metal of this high quality").

Anyone can help?

Edit: On a second view - I am no native speaker - Pliny speaks of the raw material, doesnt he?