Iron Ore

Iron ore raw materials (IORMs) are Fe-containing minerals prepared for further processing into iron, direct reduction iron (DRI) and ferroalloys. IORMs come from iron ore, a rock containing Fe in such quantities that it is advantageous to process the ore.
 

Iron Ore Concentrate

Iron ore concentrate – An enriched product, the content of elements and mineralogical composition of which meet the requirements of further metallurgical processing. The concentrate is supplied as a commercial product and used as a semi-finished product to make blast-furnace pellets and pellets for metallisation, and can also be used to make iron-containing briquettes. The development of technologies for injecting iron ore concentrate into furnaces through tuyeres (in combination with pulverised coal or independently) is considered one of the promising areas for blast furnace production, which can significantly replace sintered IORMs.

Iron ore concentrate is produced from the magnetite iron ore in the beneficiation process and is used for the production of pellets for blast furnaces and sinter.  The concentrates are non-toxic, non-flammable and non-explosive. The concentrate is shipped as a bulk commodity by rail using the open-top rolling stock and by sea.    

* Metinvest sells the products produced by YuGOK

Iron Ore Pellets

Iron ore pellets – A material generated from fine (powdered) ore and finely ground concentrates by pelletising and hardening through induration or an unfired method. Blast-furnace pellets with at least 62% Fe are used in blast furnaces to make hot metal. Pellets for metallisation made from an upgraded concentrate have at least 66% Fe and are used primarily to produce direct reduction iron (DRI, HBI).

Iron ore pellets are produced from the iron ore concentrate by pelletizing and sintering and are used as the feedstock for the blast furnace process.
Metinvest offers a range of iron ore pellets for the blast furnace process, such as non-fluxed pellets produced by Central GOK with a basicity of 0.1. and 65.5% iron content, non-fluxed pellets produced by SevGOK with a basicity of 0.12 and 62.5% iron content, and fluxed pellets with 60-61.9% iron content and a basicity of 0.5.

To date, SevGOK has launched the pilot production of pellets with 65.5% Fe.
Non-fluxed and fluxed pellets are non-toxic, non-flammable and non-explosive. The pellets are shipped as a bulk commodity by rail using the open-top rolling stock and by sea.

Iron Ore Sinter

Iron ore sinter – A bulk material for blast-furnace smelting, which is made by sintering ore, limestone, fine coke, screened sinter and blast-furnace dust on special belt sintering machines. Sinter quality is determined by the Fe content of iron ore, strength, destruction during heating and reduction in a blast furnace.

Iron ore sinter is produced by lumping and sintering the iron ore concentrate, sintering ore, coal dust, and flux additives (the agglomeration process). In the iron and steel industry, iron ore sinter is used as the primary iron ore feedstock for ironmaking in blast furnaces.
The sinter product mix comprises the products of YuGOK, such as non-fluxed sinter 62% Fe and fluxed sinter 50-57% Fe.
The sinter is non-toxic, non-flammable and non-explosive. The sinter is shipped as a bulk commodity by rail using the open-top rolling stock.

Production

Fe in the ore is present in the form of oxides or salts combined with gangue. More than 10 varieties of iron ore are mined in the world, the main ones being:

• Magnetic iron ore (magnetite) – This contains Fe in the form of Fe3O4. Red iron ore (hematite) contains Fe in the form of Fe2O3 oxide.

• Brown iron ore – This contains Fe in the form of hydrate. The most common types are limonite (2Fе203 х ЗН2О) and goethite (Fe203 х H20). Siderite (FeC03) is the poorest ore. Fe content in them ranges from 35% to 48%. The reserves of these ores are small./p>

The gangue consists of silica (SiO2), clay soil (Al2O3) and sometimes calcareous (lime) compounds. In addition, the gangue contains harmful impurities: sulphur, phosphorus, arsenic and zinc. The composition and quality of gangue is of great importance, as it affects the choice of flux, its amount, and the volume of fuel consumed during processing.

Iron ore is extracted in mines and open-pit mines, and then supplied to special iron ore enrichment works (known as GOKs) for preparation and beneficiation. Here, it goes through several stages:

• Crushing and grinding – This reduces the size of the ore pieces by crushing, abrasion, cracking or impact. For this, crushers and mills are used.

• Enrichment (separation and flotation) —This increases the content of useful elements in ore and reduces the content of gangue and harmful impurities (beneficiation). The main method of iron ore enrichment is magnetic.

• Filtration – This removes excess process moisture from the concentrate.

• Pellet production – This creates an iron ore material of a certain size necessary for the normal operation of a blast furnace. When producing pellets, the concentrate is pre-mixed with fluxes and binders, then pelletised and roasted.

• Storing and shipment
   

Purchase

Metinvest is one of the world’s 10 largest producers of iron ore. It conducts mining and beneficiation of iron ore at Ukrainian iron ore enrichment works based on the Kryvyi Rih deposit. Iron ore raw materials – sinter, concentrate and pellets – can be purchased through its global sales network, with 38 sales offices in Europe, Asia, Africa and America.