At 35-40 Smithing in OSRS, you need 2,381 XP to go from level 35 to 40, and iron ore gives 12.5 Smithing XP per ore when smelted into iron bars. That works out to about 191 iron ore if every smelt succeeds, or about 381 iron ore if you’re smelting normally with the 50% success rate.

Iron ore needed

  • 35 to 40 Smithing: about 191 ore with guaranteed smelts.
  • 35 to 40 Smithing: about 381 ore with normal smelting.
  • The usual real-world number is the higher one, since iron bars only smelt successfully 50% of the time without special boosts.

Simple breakdown

  1. XP needed: 2,381.
  2. XP per successful iron bar: 12.5.
  3. Successful bars needed: 2,381 / 12.5 = 190.48 , so round up to 191.
  4. Since normal smelting succeeds only half the time, you’ll usually need about 382 ore , or 381-382 depending on rounding.

Practical note

If you use a method that guarantees success, like certain boosts or Blast Furnace conditions, the ore requirement drops sharply. For standard iron smelting, planning for roughly 380 iron ore is the safe answer.