A metal halide is reduced by reacting it with calcium carbide in a bath in which the calcium carbide is dissolved in a mixture of a halide of at least one alkali metal, specifically sodium, potassium, rubidium and/or cesium, with a halide of at least one alkaline-earth metal, specifically calcium, strontium and/or barium. The desired metal may be one of the aforementioned alkali or alkaline-earth metals, e.g. sodium or magnesium, in which case its halide is one of the constituents of the mixture. Otherwise, a vapor of a halide of the desired metal (e.g. titanium tetrachloride) is bubbled through the bath in order to react with the calcium carbide.