Turkish integrated steelmaker OYAK Mining and Metallurgy Group has announced that its iron ore producing subsidiary Ermaden has started the construction of the pelletizing plant in the mining area in Avnik, Bingöl, with an investment of approximately $550 million. With the drilling exploration works, 80 percent of which were completed in 2023, about 250-300 million mt of potential magnetite iron ore reserves were detected in the region.
Noting that there are sufficient iron ore resources in the region for 30-35 years, Süleyman Savaş Erdem, general manager of OYAK, stated that, with this investment, Erdemir's foreign dependency on pellets will decrease significantly. When the Bingöl Avnik pelletizing plant is completed, the group's self-sufficiency rate in pellets is aimed to increase from 25-30 percent to 80-85 percent, and its self-sufficiency in total ferrous raw material resources is set to increase from 15-20 percent to 40-45 percent.
The pelletizing plant, which will soften the effects of quotas, emission trading systems, commodity crises and disruptions in the supply chain that have affected the steel industry in recent years, will also contribute to the competitiveness and sustainability of the group. The plant will employ approximately 2,000 people during the construction process and approximately 1,000 people when production commences.