SteelMint attended 6th World DRI & Pellet Congress organised by Metal Bulletin on 25-26th April, 2018 in Dubai (UAE). The agenda of the conference comprised of demand, supply and price trends for Middle Eastern steel and DRI production and scrap as alternative to DRI in steel production.
Saeed Al Ghaferi, VP Supply Chain Management, Emirates Steel shared views on how Scrap can be used as DRI substitute in a fluctuating commodities market.
Global DRI industry is gaining momentum since 2012 amid upcoming capacities. Global DRI making capacities grew at CAGR of 7.4% over 2012-17. Global DRI production has increased in 2017 primarily due to rise from India and Iran.
Emirates Steel has increased its scrap purchases from 85,000 MT in CY15 , 181,000 MT in CY16 to 225,000 MT in CY17.
”Scrap is a strategic alternative to DRI in terms of feed mix flexibility and sustainable development”, he shared.
Scrap metal recovery is a very important contributor in growing circular economy. Emirates Steel has comissioned a shredder to handle up to 350,000 MT pa of local scrap.
Why is scrap availability for domestic markets a problem in UAE?
UAE – the 10th largest steel scrap exporter in the world exports around 1.5-2 MnT pa scrap annually. It majorly exports 75-80% of its scrap generated to India and Pakistan.
Key scrap consumers within UAE are Emirates Steel and Arabian Gulf Steel Industries with total target of 700,000 MTPA.
Though in 2017, UAE govt. was looking forward to reinforce a decree imposing a USD 68/MT on scrap exports, which is yet to be reflected in the market, he added.
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