Australia based Centaurus Metals Ltd. confirmed that it has the capabilities to produce direct reduction grade pellet feed at its Jambreiro Project, located in the Brazilian southeastern state of Minas Gerais.
The essay in a pilot plant produced half a ton of a concentrate with average 68.7 percent iron content, low silica (1.45 percent), low alumina (0.48 percent), and low phosphorus (0.02 percent), which the company considers as adequate for the use by the steel industry as an alternative to reduce CO2 emissions.
The company will evaluate the alternative of producing a direct reduction grade pellet from the Jambreiro ore, resulting in a pellet with 68 percent iron and combined content of silica and alumina under 2 percent.
DR pellets are used as feedstock to electric arc furnaces (EAF), having a lower overall carbon footprint compared to ore that can only be fed into blast furnaces, helping steel producers with their strategies to reduce their carbon footprint.