Steel is the most common metal used by man. It is used in the construction of our buildings, bridges, aircraft, cars, ships and many everyday items. Without steel, our modern industrial world would not exist.

In order to produce steel, iron ore is required, in large quantities. Iron ore is dug out of the ground from open cast mines or mined deep underground. The ore is crushed into a fine powder, mixed with water, making a slurry. Clay is added to the slurry and the mixture shaped into pellets and baked, forming a hard shell. The pellets are sent to a steel mill in order to extract the iron which is normally converted into steel.

DETAILED BREAKDOWN OF THE PROCESS FROM MINING IRON ORE TO THE PRODUCTION OF IRON ORE PELLETS

1. Exploration and Extraction
Iron ore is identified through geological surveys and drilling. Once the ore body is located, it is mined either through open cast (surface) mining or underground mining.

2. Crushing and Grinding
The extracted iron ore is transported to a processing facility where it is crushed into smaller pieces. The crushing process breaks the ore down to a manageable size.
The crushed ore is then ground into a fine powder, which increases the surface area for the next stage.

3. Beneficiation
The fine powder undergoes various processes to increase the iron content and remove impurities. This may include magnetic separation, gravity separation, and flotation.
The goal is to produce a high-grade iron concentrate.

4. Slurry Formation
The iron concentrate is mixed with water to form a slurry. This slurry is easier to handle and transport for the next stage.

5. Pelletising
Clay or another binder is added to the slurry to help the iron particles stick together.
The slurry is then shaped into small, round pellets using pelletizing equipment.
The pellets are baked at high temperatures in a furnace or kiln. This hardens the pellets and forms a protective shell around them.

6. Finished Iron Ore Pellets
The finished iron ore pellets are cooled and transported to steel mills or other processing facilities.
These pellets are then used as feedstock in blast furnaces or direct reduction processes to produce iron and steel.

This process ensures that the raw iron ore is transformed into a more manageable and higher-quality product, ready for further processing in steel production.