DRI & HBI (Direct Reduced Iron)

Hot briquetted iron and DRI by metallisation, carbon and gangue for EAF melt shops

Direct reduced iron is iron ore reduced to metallic iron in a natural gas shaft or coal-fired rotary kiln without melting, bought as a clean chemistry sheet to dilute tramp residuals in steelmaking. Metallisation (the share of total iron present as metallic Fe, 92–95% for gas-based shaft HBI, 85–90% for coal-based rotary-kiln sponge iron) sets the furnace yield; total Fe runs 90.5–93.0% and metallic Fe 83.5–88.0%; carbon (1.0–2.0% for gas-based HBI) adds chemical energy to the electric-arc furnace bath and helps foam the slag; while gangue (SiO₂ + Al₂O₃, typically 2.8–4.0%) is slag the furnace must melt. EU buyers require documented non-sanctioned origin on every DRI and HBI cargo, and European melt shops that once relied on sanctioned-origin HBI now buy from other origins.

CBIL brokers non-sanctioned DRI and HBI from gas-based plants on the US Gulf (Corpus Christi), in Malaysia and in Oman (Sohar), and coal-based sponge iron from India for induction and EAF feed. Availability from Oman is confirmed cargo by cargo. Under the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, gas-based DRI and HBI carry a lower carbon intensity than blast-furnace iron, which matters to European importers; the emissions figure for each cargo comes from the producer's own installation data. The physical carriage form is paramount under the IMSBC Code: HBI is compacted hot into high-density briquettes and carried under schedule DRI (A), in ordinary dry bulk holds with surface ventilation. Cold-moulded DRI pellets and lump are porous DRI (B), which react with water and air to generate heat and hydrogen and must be carried under a continuous inert-gas (nitrogen) blanket; DRI fines by-product ships under DRI (C). Because CBIL also operates a chartering desk (LaycanDesk), ocean fixtures are checked against the applicable IMSBC schedule before the vessel is fixed.

Need the ship as well? Our chartering desk prices Chattogram to Vietnam mill scale freight on LaycanDesk.

Excluded origins are not offered, including product re-exported, blended or re-processed through a third country. Every lot moves with a certificate of origin naming the producing plant, mine or grower country, and nothing is quoted before the seller and loading point are known.