Steel Dynamics (STLD)

Iron Dynamics

        Since 1997, Iron Dynamics has worked to develop and commercialize a process of producing a form of iron that might serve as a lower cost substitute for a portion of the metallic raw material mix that goes into our electric arc furnaces to be melted into new steel. Direct reduced iron is a metallic product made from iron ore or iron ore "fines" that have been treated in a "direct reduction" furnace, such as a rotary hearth furnace, with either natural gas or coal to reduce the iron oxide to metallic iron. The method selected by Iron Dynamics is one that uses coal as the reducing agent. The direct reduced iron, or DRI, is then compacted by briquetters to form hot briquetted iron, or HBI, which is stable and can be immediately used in our melting furnaces or stockpiled for later use. Liquid pig iron, the ultimate end product intended to be produced by Iron Dynamics, is a pure metal product produced by smelting the direct reduced iron in a submerged arc furnace. We have used and plan to use all of Iron Dynamics' HBI and liquid pig iron in our steelmaking operations.

        Since the plant's initial start-up in August 1999, we have made continuous process, design and equipment modifications, as we encountered various quality and consistency issues with this pioneering technology. In connection with the liquid pig iron conversion process, the direct reduced iron is first liquefied and the hot liquid pig iron is then transferred in ladles to the flat roll mill's melt shop and combined with scrap steel in the mill's electric arc furnaces. During 2008, the Iron Dynamics facility produced 268,000 tonnes of direct reduced iron, of which 68,000 tonnes were converted into HBI and 148,000 tonnes were converted into liquid pig iron.

Iron Dynamics

        Since 1997, Iron Dynamics has worked to develop and commercialize a process of producing a form of iron that might serve as a lower
cost substitute for a portion of the metallic raw material mix that goes into our electric arc furnaces to be melted into new steel. Direct reduced iron is a metallic product made from iron ore or
iron ore "fines" that have been treated in a "direct reduction" furnace, such as a rotary hearth furnace, with either natural gas or coal to reduce the iron oxide to metallic iron. The method selected
by Iron Dynamics is one that uses coal as the
reducing agent. The direct reduced iron, or DRI, is then compacted by briquetters to form hot briquetted iron, or HBI, which is stable and can be immediately used in our melting furnaces or stockpiled
for later use. Liquid pig iron, the ultimate end product intended to be produced by Iron Dynamics, is a pure metal product produced by smelting the direct reduced iron in a submerged arc furnace. We
have used and plan to use all of Iron Dynamics' HBI and liquid pig iron in our steelmaking operations.

        Since
the plant's initial start-up in August 1999, we have made continuous process, design and equipment modifications, as we encountered various quality and consistency
issues with this pioneering technology. In connection with the liquid pig iron conversion process, the direct reduced iron is first liquefied and the hot liquid pig iron is then transferred in ladles
to the flat roll mill's melt shop and combined with scrap steel in the mill's electric arc furnaces. During 2008, the Iron Dynamics facility produced 268,000 tonnes of direct reduced iron, of which
68,000 tonnes were converted into HBI and 148,000 tonnes were converted into liquid pig iron.