Abstract: This invention relates to a method and a reactor for gasifying a carbonaceous feedstock material. The method includes the steps of choke-feeding a carbonaceous feedstock material into a pyrolysis zone of the reactor to form a discharge bed; heating the discharge bed to initiate pyrolysis of the feedstock material to form a pyrolysis product; providing a lower lying upper oxidation zone; gasifying the pyrolysis product to form a bed of char; converting thermal energy into chemical energy in an upper reduction zone; providing a lower lying lower oxidation zone; collecting any metal slag and/or slag melts in the lower oxidation zone; and discharging hot reducing gases having a temperature of at least 1300° C. and a CO/CO2 ratio of ?5, more preferably ?15.