Abstract: A liner for a ladle is formed of a body of refractory material defining a hollow interior which is bounded by a continuous sidewall. Within the interior is a barrier of refractory material which faces the interior surface of part of the sidewall and is spaced inwardly therefrom in the hollow interior of the body to define with said facing part of said sidewall a spout for discharging molten metal, in use, from the ladle. The barrier has two longitudinal edge surfaces received at two facing inner portions of the sidewall respectively which are extended inwardly. By providing these inward extensions the barrier can be positioned within the interior of the liner thereby obviating the need for an outward extension from the liner body to define a spout. This enables the liner to be used with ladle shells without the shell requiring modification to accommodate such an outward extension.