Pellets

Iron ore pellets are spheres of typically 6–16 mm (0.24–0.63 in) to be used as raw material for blast furnaces. They typically contain 64%-72% Fe and various additional material adjusting the chemical composition and the metallurgic properties of the pellets.

The process of pelletizing combines mixing of the raw material, forming the pellet and a thermal treatment baking the soft raw pellet to hard spheres. The raw material is rolled into a ball, then fired in a kiln or in travelling grate to sinter the particles into a hard sphere.