Nippon Steel and Kobe Steel form JV to produce DRI from steel mill dust

Tuesday, 25 May 2010 13:32:53 (GMT+2)

On May 25, Japanese steelmakers Nippon Steel Corporation and Kobe Steel, Ltd. announced that they plan to begin construction of a plant to recycle steel mill dust into direct reduced iron. As part of the objectives to enhance and expand their alliance, the two companies decided to carry out the project through a joint venture and undertook preparations to start the new business.

The companies said that they intend to secure competitive iron units in a business environment of unstable raw material prices and availability, following significant increases in raw material prices primarily due to the sharp increase in steel demand centered on emerging countries.
 
Nippon Steel and Kobe Steel will use steel mill dust and iron ore fines from their steel mills as raw materials to recycle iron into direct reduced iron (DRI) and recover zinc. For this purpose, a joint venture company has been established within Nippon Steel's Hirohata Works, namely Nittetsu Shinko Metal Refine Co., Ltd., with a capital of JPY 900 million, in which Nippon Steel holds a 70 percent equity share and Kobe Steel 30 percent.

Nittetsu Shinko Metal Refine will construct a direct reduction plant utilizing Kobe Steel's FASTMET Process within Nippon Steel's Hirohata Works. Nittetsu Shinko Metal Refine will recycle the steel mill dust it receives and use it to produce DRI. The DRI will be supplied to Nippon Steel and Kobe Steel, with a portion also going to Sanyo Special Steel Co. Ltd., a group company of Nippon Steel.

The new plant, with a total investment of approximately JPY 10 billion, will produce about 220,000 metric tons of DRI each year. The project is expected to start production by October 2011.

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