What happened to Damascus steel

"Thus, by blending the unique characteristics of Wootz steel with a forging process that included tiny amounts of specialized materials, the blacksmiths of the Islamic Civilization were able to create the Damascan steel. What happened in the mid-18th century was that the chemical makeup of the raw material altered--the minute quantities of one or more of the minerals disappeared, perhaps because the particular lode was exhausted. Such a difference would not have been apparent to the blacksmith visually; but, interestingly, the blacksmiths may have extended the life of the process by including small pieces of the previous batch in each new batch." From http://archaeology.about.com/od/ancientweapons/a/damascus_steel_2.htm
Which also links to a website on Damascuss steel. The raw maretial called 'wootz steel' was from Deccan, I think http://archaeology.about.com/od/wterms/g/wootz.htm More information in Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damascus_steel