Mining Industry Sees Bright Future for Direct-Reduced Iron Technology

---

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Mining companies in the U.S and elsewhere have shown significant interest in direct-reduced iron (DRI) technology as an added-value product to ore or pellet production. In North America, affordable natural gas and low iron ore prices make DRI economically viable, not to mention the fact that steelmakers are looking for furnace feedstock alternatives to steel scrap and iron pellets.

Industrial Info is tracking more than 100 active DRI projects with a total investment value of $22.31 billion. The projects come from steelmakers and, most recently, mining companies around the globe.

Cliffs Natural Resources Incorporated (NYSE:CLF) (Cleveland, Ohio) recently announced plans to build a 5 million-ton-per-year DRI pellet plant with a potential to expand to 10 million tons per year. DRI pellets are among the highest-quality iron products on the market and are used widely in electric arc furnaces. Cliffs Natural Resources also is considering a DRI plant in the future.

Another mining company looking into DRI technology is London Mining plc (London, England), which is pursuing a $2 billion, three-phase, 5 million-ton-per-year DRI project near the Red Sea port of Duba in Saudi Arabia, with future plans to add a 5 million-ton-per-year beneficiation plant.

Furthermore, many mining executives expect a rise in demand for high-carbon DRI products over the next decade. No one currently sells high-carbon DRI products, so its production could give some mining companies a competitive advantage.

In steelmaking, high-carbon DRI can reduce operational cost in mini-mills. Its use in electric steelmaking reduces the power consumption rate as the carbon contained in DRI becomes an energy source. Steelmakers' interest in DRI remains elevated, as mining companies are looking to add value to a depressed iron ore market, giving them an edge against their competitors.

Steelmaking companies, such as Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) (Charlotte, North Carolina), are banking that DRI will reduce raw material costs at mills in the U.S. Nucor has invested billions on a new DRI plant in St. James Parish, Louisiana.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, five offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.