Cleveland-Cliffs hosts ceremony at new HBI plant

Cleveland-based steelmaking and iron mining and production firm Cleveland-Cliffs held a ribbon-cutting ceremony at its hot-briquetted iron (HBI) facility in Toledo, Ohio. The company invited several regional politicians to the event, which it says celebrated “the initial six months of continued operation and production” at the facility, which it also calls a direct reduction or direct reduced iron (DRI) plant.

“Today we are celebrating a new era for the iron and steel industry in the United States,” stated Cleveland-Cliffs Chairman, President and CEO Lourenco Goncalves. “This event formally marks the culmination of our $1 billion investment to build and operate the world’s most modern and environmentally friendly direct reduction plant, and the first plant of its kind constructed for the present and for the future.”

Goncalves made a specific reference to the plant’s ability to help it cut back on ferrous scrap purchases, commenting, “The production and use of HBI within our operations has catalyzed what has been a phenomenal year for us and, very importantly, has supercharged our greenhouse emissions reduction program. It has also boosted our profitability through enhanced productivity in our blast furnaces and the avoidance of prime scrap purchases from third parties for use in our EAFs [electric arc furnaces] and BOFs [basic oxygen furnaces].”

“This plant is bringing new life to a site that is now producing domestically a much-needed product for the steel industry using an environmentally friendly process and providing jobs and opportunities for workers in Northwest Ohio,” said Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, who was among the elected officials attending the event.

Cleveland-Cliffs says it has the “nominal capacity” to produce 1.9 million metric tons per year of HBI at the plant.

A video of the June 9 ribbon-cutting ceremony can be found on this web page.