Saudi Arabia's National Industrial Development Center (NIDC) has signed a memorandum of understanding with Vale to develop a 4Mt/yr capacity high-quality iron ore pellet production facility in Ras Al-Khair, Saudi Arabia.
The project aims to ensure sustainable feedstock supply at an estimated investment cost of $1.06 billion. It will create 400 direct jobs in its initial phase.
"Driven by the Kingdom's strong economic growth in the construction and industrial sectors, domestic steel demand is growing rapidly, as more production capacity is needed to meet the growth in demand.''
Statement from Saudi Arabia's National Industrial Development Center
"Driven by the Kingdom's strong economic growth in the construction and industrial sectors, domestic steel demand is growing rapidly, as more production capacity is needed to meet the growth in demand. NIDC, under the guidance of MIM [Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources], has identified more than 5Mt of annual steel capacity to be added to the Kingdom's industrial base, which already has more than 16Mt of annual capacity,” NIDC stated.
"The new capacity will support new steel products, targeting advanced sectors such as military, packaging, shipbuilding, oil and gas, automobiles, and others. Iron ore pellets, the main feedstock for steelmaking, have been identified by NIDC as a critical component necessary to ensure an uninterrupted supply of raw materials to the local industry. They [NIDC] have been working with international partners to develop local iron ore pellet capabilities,” it concluded.
"It is a sage decision and move because, if it materialises, the facility will feed a big portion of direct reduced iron production in Saudi Arabia.”
Local senior mill official
"It is a sage decision and move because, if it materialises, the facility will feed a big portion of direct reduced iron production in Saudi Arabia,” commented a local senior mill official.
Source: Kallanish