Tosyali Algérie produced 2.2mn mt or 88pc of its installed direct reduced iron (DRI) capacity in 2020. The plant is capable of producing 2.5mn mt annual capacity. Iron ore pellets for the DRI plant were primarily sourced from Tosyali’s 4mn mt on-site pellet plant.
DRI feedstock is expected to help increase billet production and improve high-quality rebar output to over 3mn mt annually. Tosyali plans to incorporate 2mn mt of annual flat steel capacity in Algeria by end of 2022. Export sales of rebar are expected to increase to 600,000mt in the future pending on improved materials handling systems and the opening of a new port.
DRI has been used in the 3.7mn mt electric arc furnace (EAF) since February 2019 and is now in its second year of full operations. Within the EAF, DRI was used in 72pc of total steel production of 1.6mn mt in 2020.The average metallization of the DRI feedstock was 94pc. Suhat Korkmaz, chief executive officer of Tosyali Holding, said that the use of DRI is in line with creating steel with a low carbon footprint.
Tosyali Holding is a Turkey-based steel company with three facilities in three continents and a 6mn mt steel production capacity. It entered the Algerian market in 2013, at a time when the country was a net importer of long steel. Tosyali installed an initial production capacity of 1.2mn mt of rebar which represented 28pc of domestic demand. In 2018, Tosyali added 2.2mn mt of crude steel capacity for billet production, two rolling mills, and a 4mn mt pelletizing plant.