The investment will enable this facility to convert its entire annual pellet production, currently 7 million tonnes of blast furnace pellets and 3 million tonnes of direct reduced iron (DRI), to 10 million tonnes of DRI pellets annually.
At an event held at COP26 today, ArcelorMittal (‘the Company’) and the government of Quebec announced a CAD$205 million investment by ArcelorMittal Mining Canada (‘AMMC’) in its Port-Cartier pellet plant, enabling this facility to convert its entire [1] 10 million tonne annual pellet production to direct reduced iron (‘DRI’) pellets by the end of 2025.
The investment, in which the Quebec government will contribute through an electricity rebate of up to CAD$80 million, will enable the Port-Cartier plant to become one of the world’s largest producers of DRI pellets, the raw material feedstock for ironmaking in a DRI furnace. The project includes the implementation of a flotation system that will enable a significant reduction of silica in the iron ore pellets, facilitating the production of a very high-quality pellet.
The project will deliver a direct annual CO2e reduction of more than 20% of the pellet plant’s total annual CO2e emissions. This reduction in CO2e emissions will be achieved through a reduction in the energy required during the pelletizing process.
A DRI plant uses natural gas to reduce iron ore, resulting in a significant reduction in CO2 emissions compared with coal-based blast furnace ironmaking. In Hamburg, Germany, ArcelorMittal is trialing replacing natural gas with hydrogen to make DRI, with its industrial scale pilot project anticipated to be commissioned before the end of 2025. The DRI installations the Company has announced it is developing in Belgium, Canada and Spain are all being constructed to be hydrogen-ready, so as and when green hydrogen is available in sufficient quantities at affordable prices the Company can produce DRI with near zero-carbon emissions.
Approximately 250 jobs are expected to be created during the construction phase of the project in Port-Cartier, which is scheduled to be begin mid-2023 and complete before the end of 2025.
This investment will see us become one of the biggest direct reduction pellet producers in the world, thereby propelling ArcelorMittal Mining Canada into the forefront of mining and steel decarbonization.
Mapi Mobwano, CEO, ArcelorMittal Mining Canada
From 2025 onwards we will have the capacity to produce ten million tonnes of very high-quality iron oxide pellets, with low silica content and high iron density, which will be highly strategic in the years ahead. These pellets are the feedstock for DRI-EAF steelmaking, which given its significantly lower carbon footprint is expected to replace a significant amount of blast furnace capacity in the coming decades. It also provides a boost to the local economy and community as 250 jobs will be created for the construction phase which will start in the summer of 2023.