US Steel completes pilot project in Minnesota to produce DR pellets

Last December, US Steel produced DR pellets at its Minnesota Ore Operations Keetac plant. This is reported by S&P Global with reference to information from a company spokesperson.

In 2024, US Steel intends to improve the operational practices of this production facility and ship products in the first half of the year.

The cost of this project is $150 million. After the main construction work is completed, pilot runs and testing of DR pellets will continue, the company explained on LinkedIn, without specifying a timeframe.

The DR pellet project supports the company’s strategy of using low-cost iron ore, which improves US Steel’s ability to produce steel smelted in the US from US raw materials and helps the sustainability of the steel industry.

In June 2022, US Steel first announced plans to build a DR pelletizing system at Keetac to supply raw materials for its growing electric arc furnace fleet.

The company previously stated that after the project is completed, it will have the option of selling the new products to third-party DRI/HBI producers or using them for potential future in-house production of direct reduced iron or hot briquetted iron.

The new project is expected to produce about 4.5 million tons of DR pellets per year.

As GMK Center reported earlier, Danieli will supply a hybrid DRI plant for the Ternium plant in Mexico. It will provide high-quality direct reduced iron to the company’s new steelmaking facilities. The DRI plant is part of a project aimed at integrating Ternium’s processing operations to meet the requirements of the USMCA Agreement between the United States, Mexico and Canada to determine the origin of steel products on a smelted and cast basis, and also contributes to the company’s commitment to decarbonize its production by 2030.