According to a report Thursday from the International Iron Metallics Association (IIMA), 2011 was a strong year for the global merchant hot briquetted iron (HBI) industry, with production increasing by almost 30 percent while sales increased 15 percent. Total production of HBI for merchant purposes was 6.7 million metric tons (mt). Sales approached 6.3 million mt, with almost 5.5 million mt to export customers.
IIMA members accounted for more than 5.5 tonnes of total HBI production and almost 5.3 million mt of total sales. Approximately 4.6 million mt of these sales were to customers outside the producing country.
Lebedinsky GOK, of Russia's Metalloinvest Group, led IIMA members with more than 2.4 million me of HBI produced and sold in 2011. Shadeed Iron & Steel in Oman, owned by the Jindal Group of India, had a strong first year producing and shipping approximately 1.1 million mt. Comsigua led the five Venezuelan HBI plants with output of almost 850,000 mt and sales of nearly 750,000 mt. Welspun Maxsteel, a member of IIMA in 2011, was limited by natural gas availability and produced 77,000 mt. Metalloinvest's OEMK produced and shipped about 135,000 mt of DRI and with the Venezuelan HBI plants accounted for sales of more than 879,000 mt of DRI/HBI fines.
Non-members of IIMA produced almost 1.2 million mt of HBI in 2011. Antara Steel Mills and Lion DRI of Malaysia's Lion Group accounted for 822,000 mt of the total, approximately 764,000 mt of which were shipped to export and domestic customers. Qatar Steel produced 240,000 mt of HBI (1.97 million mt of DRI were produced for consumption in the adjacent steel mill) and shipped 155,000 mt of HBI and 31,000 mt of DRI. Libyan Iron & Steel Company (LISCO), in limited operation, produced and shipped 104,000 and 41,000 mt of HBI and 199,000 and 8,000 mt of DRI, respectively.