1st DRI Consignment Transported by Railroad

Direct-reduced iron was transported to an Iranian steelmaker via railroad for the first time in the country.

Coming from Ardakan Steel Complex in Yazd Province’s Ardakan County, the supply was transported to Iran Alloy Steel Company about 100 kilometers to the southeast, IRNA reported.

According to Mostafa Davoudi, director general of Yazd Railroad Company, the delivery was made possible following the renovation of a 14-kilometer-long rail track from Ashkezar Train Station in Yazd to IASCO.

Davoudi noted that the renovation cost about 200 billion rials ($5.29 million.

“DRI was only transported using trucks until now. This railroad not only helps cut down transportation cost and time, but also causes less pollution,” he said.

Direct-reduced iron, also called sponge iron, is produced from the direct reduction of iron ore to iron by a reducing gas or elementary carbon produced from natural gas or coal.

Iran is the biggest producer of sponge iron in the world.