Abstract: A process of manufacturing a sponge iron with low sulphur content by depositing a charge made up of superposed layers of finely divided material on a moving hearth, at least one of the layers being substantially made up of iron oxides and at least another of the layers being made up of a mix of a solid reducing agent containing carbon and a desulphurizing agent, heating the charge to cause at least partial gasification of the solid reducing agent containing carbon in the form of gaseous compounds of carbon and sulphur, reducing the iron oxides by at least part of carbon monoxide (CO) contained in the gaseous carbon compounds, fixing at least part of the sulphur of the gaseous sulphur compounds by the desulphurizing agent, and separating the reduced iron oxides from the material containing the residues of the solid reducing agent containing carbon and the desulphurizing agent.