UK headquartered Brazil Iron, which has a subsidiary in the city of Piatã, Bahia state, has plans to invest $5.7 billion over the next five years to produce hot briquetted iron (HBI) in Brazil.
According to director Bob Davies, as quoted by the newspaper Valor Economico, the company plans to use its available high-quality ore from its reserves, combined with outsourced renewable energy in the form of hydro, solar, and wind, to produce HBI with “zero net” carbon emissions.
The scope of the project includes the production of pellet feed grade ore, pellets and HBI.
Davis added that the HBI can be used in electric arc furnaces (EAFs) to produce pig iron without the intensive emissions generated by coal-fired blast furnaces.
The Piatã reserves, evaluated at 1.7 billion mt, encompasses an area of 430 km2. The reserves will be developed once environmental licenses are granted to start production. The average iron contents of the ore is estimated at 67.5 percent, the company said.
