  We present a spectroscopic study of the inner circumstellar ring around SN
1987A. The aim is to determine the elemental abundances and density structure,
with particular emphasis on the abundance of iron. We acquired and analysed
optical spectra at the Anglo-Australian Telescope (AAT) between 1400 and 4300
days post-explosion. We also assembled from the literature all available
optical/near-IR line fluxes of the inner ring. The observed line light curves
were then compared with a photoionisation model for the inner ring. This
indicates an iron abundance of (0.20+-0.08) x solar which is lower than that
generally seen in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC).
