The upstream steel industry registered growth in the production of iron ore concentrate, pellet and direct reduced iron in the first quarter of the current fiscal year (March 21-June 21) compared with last year’s corresponding period, latest data released by the Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization showed.
The IMIDRO report takes into account the output of major producers only, hence the overall production should be higher than the figures quoted in the following text.
Iron Ore Concentrate
A total of 13.69 million tons of iron ore concentrate were produced during the three months under review, marking a 15% increase compared with the same period of last year.
According to IMIDRO, Golgohar Mining and Industrial Complex had the highest share of the output by producing 4.66 million tons. The figure is 21% higher than the same period of last year.
Chadormalu Mining and Industrial Complex came next with 3.1 million tons (up 18% YOY), followed by Middle East Mines and Mining Industries Development Holding Company with 1.79 million tons (up 2% YOY) and Goharzamin Iron Ore Company with 1.33 tons (up 23% YoY) of output during the three-month period.
Other major producers included Iran Central Iron Ore Company with 966,075 tons (down 3% YOY), SIMIDCO with 572,821 tons (down 5%) and Opal Parsian Sangan with 554,517 tons (unchanged from last year’s corresponding period).
Sabanour Mining and Industrial Development Company recorded the highest increase in iron ore concentrate production in Q1 of the current fiscal year. The company’s output increased by 28% to 382,642 tons.
Iron ore concentrate output during the third Iranian month amounted to 13.69 million tons, registering a 15% growth compared with the same period of last year.
Golgohar Mining and Industrial Complex was the leading producer during the month, solely accounting for 1.46 million tons of the monthly output. Chadormalu Mining and Industrial Complex followed with 1.14 million tons of monthly output.
Goharzamin Iron Ore Company registered the highest increase of 46% during the month under review.
Pellet
Pellet output of major steel mills amounted to 12.65 million tons during the period, posting a growth of 11% compared with the same period of the previous year.
Golgohar was again the largest producer with 3.24 million tons (up 5% YOY), followed by Mobarakeh Steel Company with 1.99 million tons (up 4% YOY), MIDHCO with 1.71 million tons (unchanged YOY), Khouzestan Steel Company with 1.57 million tons (down 3%) and Khorasan Steel Company with 1.11 million tons (up 65%).
Other major pellet producers included Opal Parsian Sangan with 1.04 tons (up 28% YOY), Chadormalu with 690,000 million tons (down 21% YOY) and Khorasan Steel Company with 581,914 tons (up 41% YOY).
Khorasan Steel Company registered the largest growth of 65% in pellet output during the above-mentioned period, compared with the same period of last year.
Pellet production witnessed a 1% year-on-year increase during the third month of the Iranian year to 4.13 million tons, IMIDRO’s data show.
Khorasan Steel Company again registered the highest growth of 36% in output during the month to June 21.
Direct-Reduced Iron
The production of direct-reduced iron stood at 8.59 million tons during the first three months of the fiscal year, up 7% YOY.
Mobarakeh accounted for the largest share of the output with 2 million tons (down 2% YOY), followed by KSC with 1.04 tons (down 2% YOY), Hormozgan Steel Company with 467,585 tons (up 16% YOY), South Kaveh Steel Company with 459,134 tons (up 9% YOY) and Chadormalu Steel Company with 446,565 tons (up 6% YOY).
As per the figures, MIDHCO recorded the highest growth in DRI output during the period, with 96% compared with the same period of last year.
DRI production reached 2.71 million tons during the month to June 21, indicating a 2% growth YOY.
Mobarakeh Steel Company produced 583,849 tons of DRI to lead the market during the third month of the fiscal year. MSC's monthly output registered a 59% fall, year-on-year.
The World Steel Association’s latest report shows Iran is the world’s second biggest producer of direct reduced iron after India.
A total of 12.18 million tons of DRI, also known as sponge iron, were produced in Iran during the first five months of 2021 (January-May) to register a 1.6% decline compared with the corresponding period of 2020, the latest report released by the World Steel Association shows.
The country has remained the second biggest DRI producer in the world, after its primary rival, India, which produced a total of 16.27 million tons (up 40% year-on-year) during the period under review, according to the Brussels-based international trade body for the iron and steel industry.
The world’s total DRI output in the first five months of 2021 stood at 42.84 million tons to witness a 16.3% growth YOY.
Other major DRI producers in the world were Saudi Arabia with 2.6 million tons (up 21.1% YOY), Mexico with 2.4 million tons (up 23% YOY), Egypt with 2.1 tons (down 4.2% YOY), the UAE with 1.6 million tons (up 25.8% YOY), Canada with 747,000 tons (up 52.8% YOY), Libya with 321,000 tons (up 41.1% YOY), Argentina with 552,000 tons (up 132.7% YOY), Qatar with 314,000 tons (down 28.9% YOY), Venezuela with 148,000 tons (up 1% YOY) and South Africa with 91,000 tons (up 152.4% YOY).
Mobarakeh Steel Company, located in Isfahan Province, is Iran's biggest producer of sponge iron. MSC is the biggest steel producer in Iran and the wider Middle East and North Africa region.
Iran is the engineer of the so-called direct-reduction technology called PERED, or Persian Reduction, invented and patented by Mines and Metals Engineering GmbH, an Iranian engineering company registered in Germany.
PERED technology, which makes optimum use of energy and raw materials, reduces production costs with the added advantage of being more environment-friendly compared to other direct reduction methods.
There are generally three methods for DRI production: HYL process, presently marketed under ‘Energiron’ trademark, jointly developed by Tenova and Danieli; MIDREX Process patented by Midrex Technologies Inc. along with its parent company Kobe Steel Ltd; in addition to PERED.
The replacement of MIDREX and Energiron with PERED cuts production costs by cutting on the required initial investment and operational costs. Moreover, it is more eco-friendly.
Sponge iron is produced from direct reduction of iron ore in the form of lumps, pellets or fines by a reducing gas. It can be processed to create wrought iron.
