Hot Briquetted Iron

Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) – or sponge iron – is processed iron ore that is iron-rich enough to be used as a scrap substitute in electric furnace steelmaking. It is made by the reduction (removal of oxygen) of iron oxide (iron ore) at temperatures below the fusion point of iron.
As mini-mills expand their product abilities to sheet steel, they require much higher grades of scrap to approach the quality of output from integrated mills. DRI enables mini-mills to use iron ore without having a blast furnace. It serves as a low residual raw material and alleviates the mini-mills’ dependence on cleaner, higher priced scrap.