Iron ore pellets and fines
LKAB's two core products are iron ore pellets and fines. Both products are extracted from magnetite, highly enriched and require less energy and generate less slag in steel production than the alternatives. Another characteristic that make our iron ore products unique is their high and consistent quality.
Our iron ore pellets and fines are made from magnetite and have high iron ore content – pellets at around 67 percent concentration and fines over 70 percent. This means they have lower impact on the environment than competing pellets and products such as sintered hematite fines.
Using pellets instead of sinter (slightly larger pieces of iron ore) in customers’ pig iron processes saves emissions at steel plants. The high concentration of iron combined with the carefully tested and balanced additives in our pellets also result in lower emissions in customers’ ironmaking processes.
Blast furnace pellets are used in steel production and are ready for production upon delivery. Our product provides great added value in that process, as it contains various minerals that improve high temperature properties.
Customers producing steel in electric steel furnaces instead use our direct reduction pellets, commonly referred to as DR pellets. Our high pellet quality generates less slag, lower energy consumption, higher productivity and lower maintenance and wear in steelmaking.
About 20% of our iron ore production is turned into magnetite fines (MAF). They are particularly suitable for high temperature agglomeration (sintering).
40
pcs
Number of quality parameters continuously measured in our pellet production.
67
percent
Proportion of iron in our magnetite-based iron ore pellets.
1250
°C
Temperature required for our pellets to reach the quality we deliver.
Our mineral reserves and assets
LKAB’s mineral reserves and assets are our most important assets and the foundation of our business. The size and quality of the assets and reserves are crucial for us to deliver high product quality, significant production and low costs.
The intensive exploration activities conducted since 2019 have resulted in a significant increase in mineral resources in Kiruna, Malmberget and Svappavaara. In the Kiruna mine, the ore reserves available from 1365 metres are expected to secure the life of the mine until the 2040s. In Malmberget (Gällivare), the main haulage level of 1250 metres provides a mine life until the mid 2030s.
As of 2019, Mineral Resources and Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves are recognised in accordance with the PERC Reporting standard. More information on the iron ore reserves and assets is presented annually in the Annual and Sustainability Report.
