Iron Ore Pelletization Technology
Geography: Americas · South America · Brazil
Iron ore fines are too small to feed directly into blast furnaces. Pelletization agglomerates them into uniform, marble-sized pellets at high temperatures (1,200-1,350°C). Brazil built the first pelletizing plants in the 1960s and is now the world's largest producer and exporter of iron ore pellets.
Vale operates the world's largest pellet production complex at Tubarão (Vitória, Espírito Santo), with multiple plants producing different pellet grades for blast furnace and direct reduction routes. The pellets are higher in iron content and more uniform than raw ore, commanding premium prices.
Pelletization is an example of value-added resource processing: instead of exporting raw iron ore, Brazil transforms it into a higher-value industrial input. The new briquette technology (entry #39) represents the next evolution — achieving similar or better metallurgical performance at lower temperatures and emissions.
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