Turkey's largest steelmaker Erdemir Group has announced its plans for the construction of a second iron ore pellet plant to be located in the southeastern Turkish province of Malatya, Hasancelebi.
Having a total 14 iron ore mines and one manganese mine, Erdemir Group's mining venture is the Turkey's largest single pellet producing plant. The mill in question is located in Divrigi, Sivas and accounts for 50 percent of the Turkish total domestic iron ore production and meets 20 percent of the iron ore requirements in the country.
Upon the completion, the Hasancelebi Iron Ore Enrichment and Pellet Plant will have an annual production capacity of 2 million mt of iron ore pellet. Erdemir plans to invest $350 million in the construction of the plant, with $72 million to be invested in 2008.
Hasancelebi site has 885 million mt of proven iron ore reserves with an iron content of over 23 percent and an operational life-span of 75 years if operated at planned production capacity.
The project is expected to start in the second quarter of 2008, while the commissioning of production is scheduled for the second half of 2010.
The group's subsidiary Isdemir is sourcing only around 30 percent of its iron ore and pellet requirements from Erdemir's mining venture in Divrigi. The new plant in Hasancelebi is expected to source additional 2,5-3 million mt of iron ore pellets to Isdemir.