Tenova and SMS Concast teamed up to build a new steelmaking plant for Chadormalu Mining & Industrial Co. (CMIC). It has been successfully started up in Ardakan, Yazd province, in central Iran. The plant, fed with DRI pellets, is equipped with a 170-ton electric-arc furnace (EAF) and ladle furnace provided by Tenova and a six-strand continuous caster provided by SMS Concast. It has provision for future installation of a vacuum degasser that will allow production of special steel grades for both internal use and export.

Equipped with a 160-MVA transformer, the EAF, which currently processes a mix of cold DRI and scrap, is designed to process hot DRI directly charged from the plant’s iron-reduction reactor at a temperature up to 600°C (1112°F), with an estimated productivity increase of 30% against the design target. When the hot DRI charging system is in place, the EAF is expected to be the first furnace in Iran to produce steel through this process.