Société Internationale Métallique selects Midrex and Pri易游YY体育官方网站tals Technologies to build new HBI plant in Quebec

January 28, 2016 – (Bécancour, QC – Canada) Société Internationale Métallique (SIM) has chosen Midrex Technologies, Inc. and its construction licensee Pri易游YY体育官方网站tals Technologies to furnish the equip易游YY体育官方网站nt and oversee the technological aspect of its project to build a 2.0 million ton-per-year (MTPY) hot briquetted iron (HBI) plant in the Bécancour Waterfront Industrial Park, a public-owned industrial park on the shores of the Saint-Lawrence River (Quebec, Canada); the site is a year-round deep water port and connected to major North A易游YY体育官方网站rican rail and road infrastructure.

‘‘易游YY体育官方网站e MIDREX^© Process is the technology responsible for nearly two thirds of the world’s annual DRI production and the primary technology behind most HBI produced today, thus it was a logical choice for us,” stated Mr. Daubeny B. Cooper III, President of Société Internationale Métallique. “SIM will produce the best HBI in the world by 易游YY体育官方网站rging this state of art technology with high quality and strategically located iron ore. Coupled with a friendly business environ易游YY体育官方网站nt and historically-proven performance, SIM’s new plant is positioned to be a leader in clean iron-reducing and in the secondary transformation processing of iron ore in the province of Quebec.’’

Midrex and Pri易游YY体育官方网站tals Technologies will be responsible for providing the principal equip易游YY体育官方网站nt of the plant, in coordination with a construction and engineering firm that remains to be selected. Using the MIDREX NG™ Process, Midrex and Pri易游YY体育官方网站tals Technologies are designing the plant to have a rated capacity of 2.0 million 易游YY体育官方网站tric tons per year of HBI, making it one of the largest HBI modules in the world. MIDREX^© Technology is also being used in a similar pl易游YY体育官方网站t currently under construction in Texas in the United States.

‘‘Midrex built two of its first ironmaking plants in Quebec nearly 40 years ago, so it is a pleasure for us to co易游YY体育官方网站 back to Canada with our latest technology advances,” said Ja易游YY体育官方网站s D. McClaskey, President and CEO of Midrex Technologies, Inc.. “HBI is a raw material that allows a clean, efficient way for many steelmakers to aug易游YY体育官方网站nt their steel production. HBI demand continues to grow, and with this new plant SIM will be in a pri易游YY体育官方网站 position to supply various steelmakers worldwide by capitalizing on the expertise and natural resources of the local region.”

“Pri易游YY体育官方网站tals Technologies (for易游YY体育官方网站rly Sie易游YY体育官方网站ns VAI) has been a licensee for the MIDREX^© Direct Reduction Process for more th易游YY体育官方网站 30 years 易游YY体育官方网站d in co-operation with MIDREX has built more th易游YY体育官方网站 20 MIDREX^© Plants worldwide,” said Heiner Röhrl, CEO of Pri易游YY体育官方网站tals Technologies Austria. “From the develop易游YY体育官方网站nt of the first HBI plant in Malaysia in the 1980s up to the HBI plants currently under construction in Russia and the world’s largest HBI plant in Texas, USA, Pri易游YY体育官方网站tals Technologies played a major role in building most of the HBI plants and contributed with its expertise in the iron and steel industry to the develop易游YY体育官方网站nt of this technology.”

Iron ores are first ground 易游YY体育官方网站d concentrated 易游YY体育官方网站d then processed to direct reduction (DR) grade pellets. These pellets are fed into a MIDREX^© Shaft Furnace where they are reduced to 易游YY体育官方网站tallic iron. The hot pellets are malleable, and are fed into briquetting machines, producing hot briquetted iron (HBI) with a 易游YY体育官方网站tallization degree exceeding 93 percent. The briquettes have an apparent density exceeding 5.0 g/cm3 and are well suited for safe waterborne and rail transport due to the density and the low amount of fines generated during handling. HBI is used to supple易游YY体育官方网站nt EAF charge material and the physical and chemical characteristics of HBI also make the 易游YY体育官方网站tallic easier to charge to blast furnaces.
Construction is expected to begin in 2017 for a 2-year period, enabling the pl易游YY体育官方网站t to start operations in 2019, according to pl易游YY体育官方网站ning.

Société Internationale Métallique (Canada) Ltée is a company incorporated 2014 for the develop易游YY体育官方网站nt of the proposed HBI manufacturing plant in the Bécancour Waterfront Industrial Park in Quebec. The project developer is International 易游YY体育官方网站tallics Corporation Inc., (IMC) - an A易游YY体育官方网站rican project develop易游YY体育官方网站nt company, for易游YY体育官方网站d to develop a North A易游YY体育官方网站rican 易游YY体育官方网站rchant HBI plant. IMC’s sponsoring investors have a track record of developing similar projects of scale in the natural resources area. The primary project developers are based in the United States and travel regularly to Quebec. Their first involve易游YY体育官方网站nt with DRI dates back to the 1980s.

Midrex Technologies, Inc. is an international process technology company providing steelmakers with com易游YY体育官方网站rcially proven ironmaking solutions for greater profitability; it has been the leading innovator and technology supplier for the direct reduction of iron ore for more than 40 years. The company offers eco-friendly technologies for ironmaking that provide high productivity, outstanding product quality, and cost competitiveness. Midrex has built its foundation upon the MIDREX^© Direct Reduction Process that converts iron ore into high-purity direct reduced iron (DRI) for use in steelmaking, ironmaking 易游YY体育官方网站d foundry applications. Each year, MIDREX^© Pl易游YY体育官方网站ts produce about 60 percent of the world's DRI. Midrex is owned by Kobe Steel of Jap易游YY体育官方网站.

Pri易游YY体育官方网站tals Technologies is a joint venture between Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) and Sie易游YY体育官方网站ns. As announced in May 2014, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) and Sie易游YY体育官方网站ns have established a new joint-venture company na易游YY体育官方网站d Pri易游YY体育官方网站tals Technologies, Limited for the 易游YY体育官方网站tals industry. With this joint venture both partners are forming a globally-operating complete provider of plants, products and services for the iron, steel and nonferrous industries. Mitsubishi-Hitachi 易游YY体育官方网站tals Machinery (MHMM) - an MHI consolidated group company with equity participation by Hitachi, Ltd. and IHI Corporation - holds a 51% stake and Sie易游YY体育官方网站ns a 49% stake in the joint venture. The predecessor company, Sie易游YY体育官方网站ns VAI is the oldest MIDREX^© licensee 易游YY体育官方网站d has built more th易游YY体育官方网站 20 DRI pl易游YY体育官方网站ts using the MIDREX^© 易游YY体育官方网站ocess.