Azerbaijan Metal Company has completed the feasibility study for the construction of an HBI production plant

Azerbaijan Metal Company has successfully completed the bankable feasibility study (BFS) for the construction of a hot-briquetted iron (HBI) plant with a capacity of 2 million tonnes per year. At an event in Baku, an agreement was signed with the Chinese company Sinosteel to move on to the basic engineering phase. This was reported by AzerGold.

Key project indicators:

• Investment and financing: total capital expenditure is estimated at $800 million. A significant portion will be raised through international loans led by ING Bank (Netherlands) and supported by the export credit agencies Sinosure (China) and SACE (Italy).
• Timeline and location: the plant is due to be commissioned in late 2029 in the Shamkir district. The facility will utilise the environmentally friendly ENERGIRON ZR technology with a low carbon footprint and will benefit from state incentives.
• Economic impact: the plant will contribute approximately $1 billion annually to the country’s GDP and create 1,600 jobs.

The project is part of a three-stage processing chain for ore from the Dashkesan deposit, covering extraction, enrichment, transport of concentrate via Azerbaijan’s first slurry pipeline, and pellet production. Full implementation of all phases of the integrated chain will contribute around $19 billion to the country’s GDP, create up to 4,000 jobs, eliminate Baku’s dependence on imported raw materials for steel production, and boost the country’s export potential.

It should be recalled that last year an agreement was signed in Azerbaijan to establish Azerbaijan Metal Company LLC and build an HBI plant with a capacity of 2 million tonnes per year. The project is scheduled to launch in early 2029. At that time, total investment was estimated at $700 million.