Direct reduction ironmaking in North Africa

North Africa is emerging as a focal point of direct reduction-based ironmaking. Algeria and Egypt are transitioning from the blast furnace/basic oxygen furnace (BF/BOF) steel production route to take advantage of the economy of scale of EAF-based steelmaking and the operating cost advantages of producing and using direct reduced iron (DRI). Algeria is a rising star in the world of DRI production, with the two largest MIDREX Plants in the world located in the steelworks of Tosyali Algérie and Algerian Qatari Steel (AQS) in Bethioua (Oran) and Bellara, respectively…