Mianeh Steel Complex’s sponge iron plant will become operational by the end of 2016, said Mehdi Karbasian, the head of Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization during a tour of the project in East Azarbaijan Province.
The plant, which is being built by the National Iranian Steel Company, will be equipped with the so-called PERED indigenized iron ore direct reduction method developed jointly by Iran and Germany. The technology, which makes optimum use of energy and raw material, reduces production costs while being more environment-friendly compared to other direct reduction methods.
The steel plant will have a production capacity of 800,000 tons of steel blooms and billets per year.
Iran is the world’s biggest DRI producer. According to World Steel Association’s latest data, the country produced 9.1 million tons of DRI from January to July, increasing output by 6.1% year-on-year. The rise was driven by higher crude steel production as the majority of Iranian steelmakers use DRI as feedstock.
