CMH consortium company and Algerian national steel company activate 3.5 billion tons of high phosphorus iron ore with new technology of "integrated beneficiation and smelting"

Recently, China CMH Consortium (consisting of MCC International Engineering Group Co., Ltd., Sinohydro Power International Co., Ltd. and Hunan Shengshi Sunshine Technology Co., Ltd.) and Algerian National Iron and Steel Corporation signed a cooperation agreement in Tindouf Province Province, Algeria, clearly establishing two joint ventures, namely, mining company and steel company, as the main body of iron ore mining and downstream steel smelting, Integrated development of mining and metallurgy at Galajebilet Iron Mine.

It is reported that after more than two years of in-depth research and demonstration of the development plan and process technology, both parties have decided to officially launch the project. This signing marks the substantive stage of the development of the iron mine. The Galajebilet iron ore has an average natural iron grade of 53% and reserves of up to 3.5 billion tons. However, due to the limitations of beneficiation and dephosphorization technology, the iron ore has been in a "dormant" state. Since the 1960s, multiple mining companies have attempted to develop it, but they have failed, resulting in most people determining that this iron ore does not have development value.

The development plan proposed by the CMH consortium this time, Instead of the traditional idea of "beneficiation and dephosphorization", there is no separate beneficiation link, and the process path can be summarized as follows: hydrogen based reduction is used to turn the raw ore into Direct reduced iron, then melting dephosphorization is carried out to smelt qualified molten iron, and then conventional steelmaking and rolling processes are carried out. Because of the low price of industrial natural gas in Algeria, the cost of raw materials and fuels for smelting 1 ton of steel is less than 100 yuan, making the mine adopt the "integration of beneficiation and metallurgy" The technical solution has an economically feasible foundation. Subsequently, the CMH consortium cooperated with the State Key Laboratory of New Technologies for Iron and Steel Metallurgy of University of Science and Technology Beijing. On the one hand, conduct more in-depth research on the dephosphorization metallurgical process, further verify the technical feasibility of the "hydrogen based reduction+melting separation dephosphorization" process for high phosphorus iron ore, and improve the process flow; On the other hand, with foreign R&D teams as the main design team, domestic teams are responsible for component manufacturing, accessory selection, and specific engineering implementation. They jointly tackle the complete set of equipment for "hydrogen based reduction+melting and dephosphorization", and have invested in the construction of a pilot base in Shanxi. On April 12, 2023, the "Feasibility Review Meeting on Hydrogen Reduction Smelting Dephosphorization Technology of High Phosphorus Iron Ore" was held in Beijing. The review team composed of experts from China Steel Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China Mining and Metallurgy Group, Tsinghua University and China Mining Federation unanimously recognized that the technology is feasible and economically feasible in areas where low-cost natural gas or coal based raw gas can be obtained. Subsequently, the successful pilot test of the core equipment cleared the final obstacle to the industrial application of the "hydrogen based reduction+melt separation dephosphorization" metallurgical technology.

At present, the development of the Galajebilet iron mine has been listed as one of the three most important economic infrastructure structural projects in Algeria. Hydrogen metallurgy technology, with core patents and proprietary dephosphorization metallurgical equipment from China, has played an important role in promoting project progress.