Abstract: An object of this invention is to reduce the amount of substantially pure oxygen required during heating, refining and melting operations in metallurgical processes.In accordance with the invention, a burner (10) is provided in which air is aspirated and mixed with fuel and substantially pure oxygen. Additionally, swirl vanes (26) are provided to impart a swirling motion to the gasses in the burner, producing a flame which is distributed over a greater volume of the charge to be heated in the furnace. The aspirated air contains nitrogen which is heated by the combustion flame and is dissipated through the charge to assist in the melt down of the charge. Oxygen is introduced into the burner through a nozzle (22), which extends into the throat of the burner tube (12), forming a venturi (20,21) to aspirate the air into the burner.