ASTANA, Kazakhstan, October 20. A new hot‑briquetted iron (HBI) production plant is set to be built in the city of Rudny in Kazakhstan, Trend reports via the Ministry of Industry and Construction of Kazakhstan.
The facility is expected to become one of Central Asia’s largest next‑generation green‑steel metallurgical plants, producing iron with metallization of at least 93 percent and iron content over 90 percent, enabling Kazakhstan to enter the global steel market with a new competitively priced product.
The project is backed by Eurasian Resources Group (ERG), which has signed a strategic contract with a consortium led by Primetals Technologies Austria GmbH and Midrex Technologies Inc. (U.S.). The agreement covers detailed engineering, the supply of core technology equipment, and full project services for the plant.
The facility will use Midrex’s direct‑reduction iron (DRI) process, which, unlike traditional blast‑furnace production, uses natural gas instead of coke, making it significantly more environmentally friendly.
The plant will process oxidized iron‑ore pellets produced by ERG’s own mining and processing division, Sokolov‑Sarbai Mining and Processing Production Association (SSGPO), with the aim of supplying hot iron directly to a future steel‑making facility.
“Signing the contract with the consortium is a strategic move that confirms ERG’s leadership in the development of Kazakhstan’s metallurgical industry,” said ERG CEO and Board Chairman Shukhrat Ibragimov.
The plant is being developed by the group’s subsidiary, QazIronERG, with a planned capacity of 2 million tons of HBI per year, an investment of more than 650 billion tenge ($1.2 billion), and over 1,000 jobs to be created when operations begin in 2029.
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