ASTANA, Kazakhstan, December 25. Construction has begun on a hot briquetted iron (HBI) plant in the city of Rudny, located in Kazakhstan's Kostanay region, Trend reports via the region’s Akimat.
The initial phase of the project is set to receive an investment of 655 billion tenge ($1.2 billion), with the creation of over 1,000 new employment opportunities.
The planned Hot Briquetted Iron (HBI) plant is poised to become one of the largest green metallurgy facilities in Central Asia, designed to produce HBI with a metallization degree of at least 93% and an iron content exceeding 90%, ensuring both high product quality and competitiveness in the global steel market.
The plant will employ advanced iron ore direct reduction technology, utilizing the Midrex process, which is recognized for its environmentally sustainable approach. By replacing coke with natural gas as a reducing agent, the technology significantly reduces the environmental impact of production.
The plant will rely on locally produced oxidized iron ore pellets as its primary raw material. Developed by QazIron ERG, a subsidiary of Eurasian Resources Group (ERG), the facility will have an annual production capacity of 2 million tons of hot briquetted iron.