IRON ORE BENEFICIATION AFRICA 2014Presentation by: Christopher Price - Green Iron Technology (Pty) Ltd.

This presentation contains protected Intellectual Property (IP) and “Know-How” and is protected by Patent Law. Use of this information in commerial applications is strictly prohibited, unless approval is granted in writing by the IP owner, sight of this literature is acknowledgement of its protected status on the part of the recipient.

PATENT NO. 2010/04810

The future is bright

“The cost of producing steel can be reduced

by 30%”  

Christopher Price -CEO Green Iron Technology

“The carbon footprint of steel production can

be reduced by 30%”  

Christopher Price -CEO Green Iron Technology

“Imagination is more important

than knowledge ....Knowledge

is limited to all we know and

understand...... Imagination

embraces the entire World and

all there will ever be to know

and understand”

Albert Einstein

We need to think outside of the box

The ones who are stupid enough to

think that they can change the world,

are the ones that do

Steve Jobs

At the 1968 Olympics Bob Beamon made a leap in the Long jump that minutes before would have been considered impossible.

He broke the previous world record by nearly two feet, previously the record had progressed by fractions of an inch.

Our industry needs to take a quantum leap –

Noun: An abrupt change, especially in method

Iron Beneficiation

It’s not new

It is not difficult to achieve

It need not be expensive

It is not new

The iron age in Africa dates back

2500 years when early forms of

steel were produced.

Zimbabwe Ruins –

African Iron Age City

It is not difficult

Iron-age man produced iron with

iron rock, wood and fire.

The method is simple, the

ingredients are few, cheap and

readily available.

“Everything should be as

simple as it can be”

Albert Einstein

The Direct Reduction ProcessIron ore is beneficiated by altering it’s chemistry so that iron oxide is converted into elemental iron, to achieve this oxygen is extracted from the ore using a reductant under high temperature conditions (700ºC – 1250ºC ).

Reduction* can be achieved without melting the ore, this is termed “solid state reduction” .

* Reduction means: reducing the amount of oxygen

Common reductants are coal and natural gas – the choice of which is driven by the cost and location of the reductant source relative to the iron ore deposit.

Reduction is normally a process step carried out in an industrial setting e.g. at a steel mill – it is possible given suitable equipment to carry out reduction, which provides a significant value uplift, at the mine site.

This is true beneficiation

Coal

+ Heat

+ Iron Ore

= HBI

Current solid state reduction processes

Rotary Hearth

Rotary Kiln

Shaft Furnace

Heavy steel construction – thick as amour

Conventional iron reduction plant is constructed from very heavy steel plate

Strong enough to support huge rotating masses

Refractory linings – thick as Castle WallsThick refractory linings are:

Heavy

Expensive

Poor insulators

Have high thermal mass

Large expensive mechanics

Expensive gearing

High component wear

Large rotating mass

High component wear

The solution

Space age materials

Light-weight

Ultra high temperatures

Reduced costs

Reduction time

Small particles = fast

1mm = 5 minutes

Large particles = slow

12mm = 10 hours

Rotary Kiln

High velocity gas flow

Not suitable for fines

Fines get blown out

High Titanium and low-grade ores

These ores present processing difficulties and increased costs to the steel maker.

South Africa has substantial deposits of these ores, which would be of significant commercial benefit to the country if they could be beneficiated locally.

High percentages of titanium are deleterious to blast furnace operation.

Low-grade ores need to be ground to small particle sizes to liberate and concentrate the iron content, after grinding these ores cannot be used in commercial scale production plants.

The solution:

Pre-reduce – Briquette - Melt in an arc furnace = pig iron

Process time is temperature dependent

Low temperature = slow

High temperature = fast

Rotary kilns operate at low temperatures

CO

CO

CO

1600ºC

1250ºC

Fe₂O₃+C

CO + O₂ = CO₂ + HEAT

250ºC

CO₂O₂O₂

H₂CH₄

O₂

1100ºC

850ºC

AIR 20ºC

Fe

Fe

HBI

CO

COCO

CO

CO

CO

COCO

CO

O₂O₂

O₂

O₂

O₂ O₂

O₂CO₂

CO₂CO₂CO₂

CO₂O₂

O₂

O₂

O₂ O₂

O₂

O₂

CO₂

CO₂

CO₂

O₂

O₂O₂ O₂ O₂O₂

Static slope furnace

Has a fixed slope down which fine ore feed slides under gravity

Makes use of the principal of the angle of repose of granular solids

Controlled residence time governed by rate of removal of DRI

Thermal coal fines are used as the reducing agent

Suitable for ore fines without further pre-treatment

Furnace constructed from light-weight materials

It has no moving parts within the furnace hot zone

Allows heating from above and below the hearth- result is high production rates

Special hearth floor has very high thermal conductivity

Very low power requirement – can operate off a generator

Lowest production cost of any process

Modular - projects can commence with low capital investment

Proof of concept completed – ready for commercial applications

Key facts

Steel construction is 1/6th of the weight of conventional equipment

Space age insulation is 1/10th of the weight of industry standard

Temperatures of 1550ºC are possible

Extremely short residence time – 5-10 minutes

All energy is used in the process – no CO emissions

Very low maintenance costs

Packaged concept

A packaged design has been designed for use in remote locations

Built off-site in a factory setting

Modular

Can be relocated

Built in power supply

Modules from 25kt/yr

High return on investment – R.O.I. of over 50%

Equipment built into standard 12m shipping containers for easy transport

Capital $450

Inputs $150

Outputs $400

Profit $250R.O.I + 50%

HBI Production

“It seems impossible until it’s done“

46664Nelson Mandela

Thank You