The Development of New Iron Making Processes

Kobe Steel, along with MIDREX Technologies, is the world leader in direct reduction (DR) technologies. Kobe Steel has developed a coal based DR process which utilizes non-coking coal as a reductant instead of natural gas and is expanding the market share in the coal-based iron-making field. FASTMET, FASTMELT and ITmk3 are low cost processes that produce directly reduced iron (DRI) without coke, hot-metal without fired- pellets and iron-nuggets without lump-ore, respectively. These processes are currently being, or are about to be used commercially.