Emirates Steel and Mauritania’s Société Nationale Industrielle Et Minière (SNIM) will look into the feasibility of creating a joint venture company to produce iron oxide pellets.
Under an 18-month agreement, the two companies will study joint plans to produce iron oxide pellets, the primary feedstock required for Direct Reduction steel plants.
Saeed Ghumran Al Remeithi, Group CEO of Arkan and CEO of Emirates Steel, said the collaboration with SNIM is aligned with the goals of the UAE’s Industrial Strategy to enhance self-sufficiency.
Increasing the production of quality metals and materials will support national industries and foster a vibrant export hub that will further strengthen the company’s presence in the 50 countries around the world that import Emirate Steel products, he said.
“By investing in the production of this essential raw material, we are also securing a steady supply of feedstock that will shield us against global raw material market volatility and fuel our ambitious growth plans to expand our product range to include flat steel,” he added.
Mohamed Vall Ould Telmidy, CEO of SNIM, said Iron pelletizing projects in the Middle East and North Africa will accelerate the development of the regional steel industry and enhance its competitiveness regionally and globally.
“At 1.5 billion tons, Mauritania has the largest iron reserves in the Arab world and Africa and we are very keen to establish strategic partnerships that allow us to take advantage of our mineral wealth in the most optimal manner,” he said.