TEHRAN (Iran News) – Production of direct-reduced iron (DRI), also known as sponge iron, increased by 8% during the first six months of the current Iranian year (March 20-September 21, 2020), the Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO) announced on Monday.
According to the IMIDRO report, Iranian steelmakers has reached the production of 15.56 million tons of sponge iron, while the figure for the corresponding period last year was 14.41 million tons, IRNA reported.
The Mobarakeh Steel Company (MSC) accounted for the largest share of output during the six-month period, with 3.89 million tons, up 3% year-on-year.
It also added that 2.68 million tons of DRI was produced during the month to September 21, marking a 12% rise compared to the output last year, which was 1.84 million tons.
The report added that as the first DRI-producer of Iran, the MSC produced 659,550 tons of sponge iron during the month to September 21.
According to figures released by the World Steel Association (WSA) on September 26, Iranian steelmakers produced over 18.6 million tons of crude steel during the first eight months of 2020, marking an 11.2% rise compared to the figure for the same period last year, which was 16.7 million tons.
Iran produced 2.4 million tons of crude steel in August, showing a 14.6% increase compared to the figure for the same month in 2019, which was 2.09 million tons.
Iran produced 31.9 million tons of crude steel in 2019, according to the WSA figures released in January.
The country plans to increase its annual steel production capacity to 55 million tons by 2025, with exports expected to reach between 10 million tons and 15 million tons per year.
- source : Iran Daily
