WO2024161378A1

WO2024161378A1 - A method for producing agglomerated pellets

Info

Publication number: WO2024161378A1
Application number: PCT/IB2024/051033
Authority: WO
Inventors: Ryan Michael MCCONNACHIE; Jeffrey Santos CHAUKE
Original assignee: Sylvania South Africa Pty Ltd; Tizer International Pty Ltd
Current assignee: Sylvania South Africa Pty Ltd; Tizer International Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2023-02-03
Filing date: 2024-02-05
Publication date: 2024-08-08
Anticipated expiration: 2025-08-03

Abstract

The disclosure relates to a method for producing agglomerated pellets and extends to use of said agglomerated pellets to produce reduced metal and/or metal alloys. Typically, said agglomerated pellets comprise mineral ore fines and a reductant agent. The disclosure extends to the pellets themselves which are typically porous, and to a method of producing a metal and/or alloying utilizing the pellet.

Description

A METHOD FOR PRODUCING AGGLOMERATED PELLETS

FIELD OF DISCLOSURE

This disclosure relates to a method for producing agglomerated pellets and extends to use of said agglomerated pellets to produce reduced metal and/or metal alloys. The disclosure also relates to agglomerated pellets, typically porous, comprising mineral ore fines and a reductant agent.

BACKGROUND

Extracting metal from ore, and the production of alloys, is well known. There remains an ongoing need to produce alloys (and other final metal products) that have enhanced physico-chemical properties including enhanced hardness, hardenability, anti-corrosion characteristics, anti-abrasion characteristics, and wear resistance, and to do so in a profitable manner.

The established processes for metal extraction and alloy production are extremely energy intensive. The ongoing rise in energy costs worldwide hampers ongoing research and development of new alloy and metal products having enhanced physico-chemical characteristics. Coupled with this problem is the intermittent electricity supply in developing world countries where mining of ore, metal extraction and/or subsequent alloy production often takes place.

Providing new technologies having lower overall carbon footprints also remains topical as large consumers of energy (such as mining and processing industries) often obtain their energy requirements from unsustainable fossil fuel sources and look toward decreasing their contribution to the negative effects of climate change.

There is a need to reduce the overall energy required for metal extraction and alloy production.

The production of ferrochrome from chromite ore has seen the development of several known processes with the view to enhance energy efficiencies.

An initial attempt to lower energy consumption associated with alloy production was to grind the ore into a fine material, such that in use, in a conventional smelting process, it would be easier to extract metal from finer particle sizes. However, when the fine ore is reduced and smelted in conventional apparatuses such as an open or semi closed arc furnace, ore fines having diameters of about 6mm or less increases the risk of damage to the furnace resulting from bed turnovers and/or blowouts. Consequently, these initial attempts have since been largely abandoned.

U.S. Patent No. 4,576,637 describes a process for producing alloys from pellets, wherein said pellets comprise a metal oxide and a carbonaceous reducing agent. It is now established that producing agglomerated pellets of metal oxide ore, and conducting a solid state pre-reduction prior to a smelting process lowers the overall energy required to produce alloys. However, the carbonaceous reducing agent contributes to an increased carbon footprint which is undesirable.

EP 1 274 870 Bl relates to a smelting process, wherein ferrochrome alloy is produced by adding carbide to material containing chromium and iron as oxides.

WO 2013/071955 teaches use of silicon carbide in green (or wet) pellets (the so-called sintering feed) when producing sintered pellets of ore before commencing a smelting process to produce corresponding alloys, wherein the silicon carbide surprisingly allowed for the exclusion of an additional carbonaceous reducing agent typically required in a sintering process to form pellets. This was seen as an advancement on the reduction of the overall carbon footprint associated with alloy production, however, the cost of silicon carbide per kilogram as a raw material is significantly more than the cost of coal (including anthracite) per kilogram as a raw material carbonaceous source.

However, EP 1 274 870 Bl also teaches that use of silicon carbide results in a loss of chromium during the smelting process, and as such teaches the further inclusion of additional fluxing agents present during smelting such as MgO, CaO, AI2O3 or SiCK This adds further cost and complicates the overall process design. As such, the apparent advantage of using silicon carbide becomes redundant when taking into account the negative impact on the downstream smelting process.

The sintering process to produce the pellets has been improved over time by the inclusion of binders such as clay and/or bentonite to ameliorate the risk of particulate matter from disintegrating pellets resulting in bed turnovers and/or blowout and/or otherwise compromising the smelting process.

It has also been reported that pre-oxidation of fine chromite ore, prior to pelletized pre- reduction, significantly decreases electricity consumption and lumpy carbonaceous reductants required for furnace smelting. However, such additional pre-oxidation step introduces a further step with increased costs.

There remains a need for a process to extract metal from ore and/or a process to produce alloys that is more economically viable, uses less energy, and/or has a lower overall carbon footprint when in use. In turn, there is a need for improved methods for the production of agglomerated pellets and pre-reduction (including solid state reduction) steps ahead of smelting or reduction processes to produce metal or alloy products. There remains a need for new and innovative pellet design that does not have negative downstream consequences.

The disclosure described herein below strives to ameliorate at least one of the problems described above and/or otherwise known in the prior art.

SUMMARY

Broadly, in accordance with this disclosure, there is provided a method for producing agglomerated pellets from mineral ore fines and a reductant agent, typically a carbonaceous reductant agent, wherein the method includes the steps of combining the mineral ore fines and the reductant agent to produce a first mixture and pelletizing the first mixture to produce agglomerated pellets. The agglomerated pellets may then typically by cured at a desired temperature. The agglomerated pellets may typically be porous.

In accordance with a first aspect of this disclosure, there is provided a method for producing porous agglomerated pellets, the method comprising the following steps: resizing mineral ore fines such that the particle size distribution D50 is less than or equal to about 1mm in diameter, including less than or equal to about 600 pm in diameter, to provide resized mineral ore fines; resizing a carbonaceous reductant material such that the particle size distribution D50 is less than or equal to about 1mm in diameter, including less than or equal to 600 pm in diameter, including less than or equal to about 500 pm in diameter, to provide resized carbonaceous reductant material; admixing the resized mineral ore fines and the resized carbonaceous reductant material in a container; introducing into the container at least one additive to provide a pre-agglomerated composition; agglomerating the pre-agglomerated composition into pellets; curing the pellets to provide cured pellets; exposing the cured pellets to temperatures of between about 800°C to about 1800°C, including between about 1000°C to about 1500°C, for a time period of between about 5 to about 60 minutes, including between about 10 and about 30 minutes, such that at least partial solid state reduction of the cured pellets occurs to provide porous agglomerated pellets. The Applicant has surprisingly and unexpectedly found that the particular particle size distribution D50 of the resized mineral ore fines and the resized carbonaceous reductant material provide porous agglomerated pellets that result in reduced energy requirements when employed in the downstream smelting or reduction processes to produce metal or alloy products in accordance with the second aspect of this disclosure.

The person skilled in the art would not be motivated or occasioned to resize the mineral ore fines such that the particle size distribution D50 is less than or equal to about 1mm in diameter, including less than or equal to about 600 pm in diameter, nor to resize the carbonaceous reductant material such that the particle size distribution D50 is less than or equal to about 1 mm in diameter, including less than or equal to 600 pm in diameter, including less than or equal to about 500 pm in diameter, since the prior art teaches reduced particle sizes negatively impact on safety and efficiency of a smelting process by increasing the risk of bed turnovers and/or blowout. This together with the additional cost associated with resizing would deter the person skilled in the art from considering such steps as being technical solutions to the technical problem at hand.

Further, a person skilled in the art would not set out to achieve porosity which would typically increase friability and/or brittleness, which in turn, will pose an increased risk of bed turnovers and/or blowout.

Despite the obvious teaching away in the prior art regarding the subject matter of this disclosure, the Applicant surprisingly found that overall energy efficiencies of the methods described herein outweigh, surprisingly and unexpectedly, the disadvantages that the person skilled in the art would have anticipated.

The mineral ore fines may typically be chromite, hematite, calamine, zincite, tenorite and magnetite.

It is to be understood that the at least partial solid state reduction of the cured pellets occurs to provide porous agglomerated pellets provides for the at least partial conversion of the mineral ore fines to an alloy. Where the mineral ore fines is chromite, it is to be understood that the at least partial solid state reduction of the cured pellets occurs to provide porous agglomerated pellets provides for the at least partial conversion of chromite to ferrochrome. Further downstream processes will see further conversion and/or complete conversion of chromite to ferrochrome.

The carbonaceous reductant material may typically be coke, coal and/or anthracite. In a preferred embodiment the carbonaceous reductant material is anthracite. The resized carbonaceous reductant material may be between about 1 and about 50% of the mass of the resized mineral ore fines, including between about 5 to about 35% of the mass of the resized mineral ore fines.

The additive may include at least one of, but not limited to, the following group including: a binder, a strengthening agent, a curing agent, and a water repellent.

The binder may include at least one of, but not limited to, the follow group including: sodium silicate, bitumen, bentonite, aluminosilicates, biological plant material, paper waste and/or geostabilisation agents. The binder may in use facilitate binding of the resized mineral ore fines and the resized carbonaceous reductant material. In a preferred embodiment the binder is an inorganic binder comprising water, dibasic ester (DBE) and sodium silicate.

The binder may comprise between about 1 and about 20% by mass of the agglomerated pellet, including between about 4 and about 15% of the agglomerated pellet.

The strengthening agent may include at least one of, but not limited to, the follow group including: fibre glass, paper, cotton, or organic fibre. The strengthening agent may in use improve the structural strength and/or tensile strength of the resulting agglomerated pellet.

The strengthening agent provides a demonstrable increase in resistance to shear or elastic damage of the pellets, especially during the curing process. The strengthening agent further facilitates providing an increase in compressive strength of the porous agglomerated pellets.

The strengthening agent may comprise between about 1 to about 20% by mass of any solid material being utilized to produce the agglomerated pellet, including between about 5 to about 10% of any solid fines material being utilized to produce the agglomerated pellet.

The curing agent may include at least one of, but not limited to, the follow group including: dibasic ester (DBE), carboxylic acid, carbon dioxide, formic acid or other aqueous acidic solutions that may promote and/or accelerate the formation of a binder matrix in the pellets.

The curing agent may comprise between about 0.1 to about 20% by mass of the binding agent utilized, including between about 0.5 to 10% by mass of the binding agent.

The water repellent may include at least one of, but not limited to, the follow group including: latex, natural rubber, linseed oil, viscous hydrocarbons, paraffin, BS16, and proprietary water and geotextile sealers. The binding agent has demonstrated a behavior of reduced curing and strengthening rate in the presence of atmospheric or free water applied after the formation of the pellet. To combat this, and reduce the necessity of water free storage for uncured pellets, the addition of a water repellent has the dual effect of speeding the curing rate and preventing deleterious effects of high humidity in during curing.

The water repellent may comprise between about 1 to about 20% by mass of any solid material being utilized to produce the agglomerated pellet, including between about 2 to about 15% by mass of any solid fines mineral material being utilized to produce the agglomerated pellet.

The water repellent may be added to the container before curing and/or before at least partial solid state reduction. Alternatively, and/or additionally, the water repellant may be provided to the porous agglomerated pellets after production, and may be provided by way of a spray and/or a dip.

The step of agglomerating the pre-agglomerated composition into pellets may take place utilizing conventional pelletizers, including without limitation either a drum or disc pelletizer or combination thereof.

The step of curing may include utilization of at least one, but not limited to, the following group including: an ambient curing process, a forced airflow process, an open air exposure process, and a low temperature enhanced curing process. The low temperature enhanced curing process may include temperatures up to about 150°C.

The step of curing may take place for a period of between about 30 minutes to about 20 days, including a period between about 1 hour to about 10 days. In a preferred embodiment of this first aspect of the disclosure the step of curing limits exposure to moisture and/or limits mechanical agitation. Limiting exposure to moisture and/or limiting mechanical agitation is necessary to preserve mechanical integrity and curing rate of the pellet during the step of curing while the cured strength develops. Further to this, any moisture content in the pellet has a direct linear impact on the increased power requirement for the reduction of the pellet.

The step of exposing the cured pellets to temperatures of between about 800°C to about 1800°C, in use, causes the resized carbonaceous reductant to reduce (at least partially) the resized mineral ore fines to provide porous agglomerated pellets, and in turn, improves the overall energy efficiency of a smelting process. It is to be understood that the at least partial solid state reduction of the cured pellets occurs to provide porous agglomerated pellets provides for the at least partial conversion of the mineral ore fines to an alloy. Where the mineral ore fines is chromite, it is to be understood that the at least partial solid state reduction of the cured pellets occurs to provide porous agglomerated pellets provides for the at least partial conversion of chromite to ferrochrome. Further downstream processes will see further conversion and/or complete conversion of chromite to ferrochrome. The Applicant was surprised that the particular particle sizes of the resized carbonaceous reductant and the resized mineral ore fines resulted in porous agglomerated pellets that showed, when in use in a smelting process, an improvement of between about 1% and about 21%, including between about 10% and about 21%, compared to current state of the art methods in regard to energy efficiencies. This efficiency improvement is reproducibly demonstrated in furnace runs comparing the porous agglomerated pellets produced via the method of this disclosure and those produced from current industrial processes.

Without being limited to theory, the particular particle size distribution of the resized mineral ore fines and/or the resized carbonaceous reductant enhances the likelihood that a resized carbonaceous reductant particle will come into close enough contact with a resized mineral ore fine particle such that at least partial solid state reduction of a metal oxide included within the resized mineral ore fine particle should take place.

Without being limited to theory the pores within the porous agglomerated pellets facilitate more efficient and effective heat and gas transfer throughout a majority of a volume of said porous agglomerated pellet, such that in use, the at least partial solid state reduction is greater when compared to non-porous pellets, and in turn the energy efficiencies in a downstream smelting process is greater.

Pores formed in the step of curing and/or the step of at least partial solid state reduction are further enlarged and/or enhanced during a reduction process downstream due to the removal of volume from reduced metal oxides and the consumption of the carbon based reductant providing increased volume or space in the porous agglomerated pellet for gas flow.

The method may include a further step of determining size of the pellets such that in use any pellets outside a preferred pellet particle size are not exposed to the step of curing and/or cured pellets outside a preferred particle size are not exposed to the step of at least partial solid state reduction. Pellets falling outside of the ambit of the preferred pellet particle size are recycled within the method. Typically, the pellets falling outside of the ambit of the preferred pellet particle size and which are greater than the preferred pellet particle size are resized to reduce their size (including via crushing or other conventional means). This is necessary to provide optimal gas flow and packing in a reduction furnace downstream.

In accordance with a second aspect of this disclosure, there is provided a method for producing a metal product or alloy, the method comprising the following steps: smelting and/or reducing the porous agglomerated pellets according to the first aspect of this disclosure. The step of smelting and/or reducing may take place in a furnace and/or a kiln and/or another known smelting and/or reducing apparatus.

The Applicant has surprisingly found that the use of the porous agglomerated pellets (that have already undergone at least partial solid state reduction) results in overall increased energy efficiencies.

In accordance with a third aspect of this disclosure, there is provided a porous agglomerated pellet for use in methods for producing a metal product and/or alloy (typically via a smelting and/or reduction process), the porous agglomerated pellet comprising: resized mineral ore fines having a particle size distribution D50 less than or equal to about 1mm in diameter, including less than or equal to about 600 pm in diameter; resized carbonaceous reductant material having a particle size distribution D50 less than or equal to about 1mm in diameter, including less than or equal to 600 pm in diameter, including less than or equal to about 500 pm in diameter; and an additive.

The additive may include at least of, but not limited to, the following group including: a binder, a strengthening agent, a curing agent, and a water repellent.

The binder may include at least one of, but not limited to, the following group including: sodium silicate, bitumen, bentonite, aluminosilicates, biological plant material, paper waste or geostabilisation agents. The binder may in use facilitate binding of the resized mineral ore fines and the resized carbonaceous reductant material. In a preferred embodiment the binder is an inorganic binder comprising water, dibasic ester (DBE) and sodium silicate.

The binder may comprise between about 1 and about 20% by mass of the porous agglomerated pellet, including between about 4 and 15% of the porous agglomerated pellet.

The strengthening agent may include at least one of, but not limited to, the follow group including: fibre glass, paper, cotton, maize meal or organic fibres. The strengthening agent may in use improve the structural strength and/or tensile strength of the resulting agglomerated pellet.

The strengthening agent may comprise between about 1 to about 20% by mass of any solid material being utilized to produce the porous agglomerated pellet, including between about 5 to about 10% of any solid material being utilized to produce the agglomerated pellet. The curing agent may include at least one of, but not limited to, the follow group including: dibasic ester (DBE), carboxylic acid, carbon dioxide, formic acid and/or other aqueous acidic solutions.

The curing agent may comprise between about 0.1 to about 20% by mass of the binding agent, including between about 0.5 to about 10% by mass of the binding agent.

The water repellent may include at least one of, but not limited to, the follow group including: latex, natural rubber, linseed oil, viscous hydrocarbons, paraffin, BS16, and proprietary water and geotextile sealers.

The water repellent may comprise between about 1 to about 20% by mass of any solid material being utilized to produce the agglomerated pellet, including between about 2 to about 15% of any solid material being utilized to produce the porous agglomerated pellet.

The resized carbonaceous reductant material may be between about 1 and about 50% of the mass of the resized mineral ore fines, including between about 5 to about 35% of the mass of the resized mineral ore fines.

The porous agglomerated pellet of this third aspect of the disclosure may be produced in accordance with the method described in the first aspect of this disclosure.

There is further provided for a method for producing agglomerated pellets, a method for producing a metal product or alloy, and/or a porous agglomerated pellet, substantially as herein described, illustrated and/or exemplified.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the disclosure will be described below by way of non-limiting examples only and with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings in which:

Figure 1 shows green strength mapping of pellets from 70:30 chromite (mineral ore fines) to anthracite (carbonaceous reductant material) ratio;

Figure 2 shows green strength mapping of pellets from 70:30 chromite (mineral ore fines) to anthracite (carbonaceous reductant material) ratio;

Figure 2 shows green strength mapping of pellets from 80:20 chromite (mineral ore fines) to anthracite (carbonaceous reductant material) ratio;

Figure 4 shows overall compressive strength for 70:30 ferrochrome carbon pellets; Figure 5 shows overall compressive strength for 80:20 ferrochrome carbon pellets;

Figure 6 70:30 chromite: coal at various binder mix;

Figure 7 80:20 chromite: coal at various binder mix;

Figure 8 90: 10 chromite: coal at various binder mix;

Figure 9 100:0 chromite: coal at various binder mix;

Figure 10 shows pellets size distribution;

Figure 11 shows pilot plant trial runs compressive strength;

Figure 12 shows compressive strength of porous agglomerated pellets of the disclosure and of Samancor prior art;

Figure 13 shows 100 kg small scale compressive strength;

Figure 14 shows trial runs curing rate;

Figure 15 shows moisture content results of the 100 kg runs;

Figure 16 shows moisture content results of the 250 kg runs; and

Figure 17 shows laboratory compressive strengths for all the pellets.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THIS DISCLOSURE

The Summary of the disclosure, including all its various aspects, is repeated hereunder by way of reference only to avoid repetition. Only specific embodiments of the disclosure are described in detail herein below, but these should not be viewed as limiting the scope of this disclosure. The person skilled in the art could readily conceive of alternative embodiments that fall within the ambit of the general disclosure herein.

In accordance with a first aspect of this disclosure, there is provided a method for producing porous agglomerated pellets, the method comprising the following steps:

(a). resizing mineral ore fines such that the particle size distribution D50 is less than or equal to about 1mm in diameter, including in a preferred embodiment less than or equal to about 600 pm in diameter to provide resized mineral ore fines;

(b). resizing a carbonaceous reductant material such that the particle size distribution D50 is less than or equal to about 1mm in diameter, including less than or equal to 600 pm in diameter, including less than or equal to about 500 pm in diameter, to provide resized carbonaceous reductant material;

(c). admixing the resized mineral ore fines and the resized carbonaceous reductant material in a container;

(d). introducing into the container at least one additive to provide a pre-agglomerated composition;

(e). agglomerating the pre-agglomerated composition into pellets;

(f). curing the pellets to provide cured pellets;

(g). exposing the cured pellets to temperatures of between about 800°C to about 1800°C, including between about 1000°C to about 1500°C, for a time period of between about 5 to about 60 minutes, including between about 10 and about 30 minutes, such that at least partial solid state reduction of the cured pellets occurs to provide porous agglomerated pellets. [Step (g) is an at least partial solid state reduction of the cured pellets].

Preferred embodiments of the various steps in the method of the first aspect of the disclosure are provided here below.

GENERAL EXAMPLE

Materials and methods

Chemicals

Coal (Anthracite) (as example of carbonaceous reductant material), chrome containing ore (typically chromite) (as example of mineral ore fines), sodium silicate (S.S), dibasic ester (DBE), water, fibre , and black box (wherein black box is a proprietary chemical blend of oils, alcohols and surfactants) Apparatus for agglomeration into pellets via pelletization technique

2 x electronic scale (heavy and light) accurate to 0.05g with 30 kg capacity, disc pelletizer, moisture analyser, loading bins, tensile strength instrument, electronic stirrer, stopwatch, screens: 75pm, 150pm, 300pm, 500pm and 1000pm, logbook.

Apparatus for agglomeration into pellet via briquetting technique

Muffin pan, cling wrapper, compression weight, mixing vessel, hand drill/high shear mixer, 16 kg of weight, stoptime/timer

General Description of Steps:

Steps (a), (b) and (c):

Raw material characteristics are extremely important for the agglomeration step to produce pellets.

For the mineral ore fines a particle size of less than about 1mm in diameter, including in a preferred embodiment less than or equal to about 600 pm in diameter, chrome particle size (as an example mineral ore fines) was employed, and for the carbonaceous reductant material a particle size of about 500 pm coal (as an example of the carbonaceous reductant material) as utilized for agglomeration/pelletization purposes (Step (e)).

On arrival, the raw material is fairly coarse and non-ideal for agglomeration/pelletization requirements. Therefore, a hammer mill available was used to mill the particles to at least 1mm and 500 pm for ore (chromite) and coal (anthracite) respectively. The milling procedure took roughly an hour to process one set of material. The milled fines were then stored in bulk bags. All the laboratory tests used bulk fines available from the bulk bags. Thereafter, dry anthracite coal and chromite, passing 500 pm and 1mm respectively, were mixed using hand drill (high shear mixer) to form a uniform mix of powder to be used for pelletization. The total operating quantity was fixed to 4kg including the liquid solution (excluding fibre) per test.

However, the ratio of chromite to coal was split into 70:30, 80:20, 90:10 and 100:0 for specific tests respectively. The required masses per test were measured using an LBK 30 (electronic scale). The quantities for each test were based on table 3.1 and 3.2, also the tests were conducted at one test at the time, consecutively. It was necessary to mix the carbon chromite using the high shear mixer to achieve an even mix throughout the tests.

Particle distribution of the raw material was screened through hand sieves. The resultant categories as per size were recorded as given in Table 1 below. From the Table 1 it can been seen that supplied coal utilized for the tests was slightly coarser than the ore (chromite) particles. From previous experience, it is known that chromite particles above 1 mm in diameter and above 2mm in diameter, and coal above 500 pm in diameter tend to form rough and undefined pellets which then favours an increased surface area particle for binding, and also the finer the clay the stronger the pellets will be. Generally, fine particles are critical for seamless agglomeration/pelletization.

Table 1 Raw Material Particle Size Distribution

Step (d):

Before the addition of the binder, the binder needs to be prepared.

Binders are usually any substance that can be utilized to cause particles to agglomerate together into a single mass. The function of the binder is to create a moist fine plastics material, this provides nucleate seeds that grow at a controlled rate into well -formed and uniformly shaped pellets.

Further, during the step of curing, the binder holds the particles in the pellets together while the water is removed and continues to bind them together until the pellet is fully cured to provide the cured pellets.

In a preferred embodiment the binder is an inorganic binder comprising a combination or mixture of water, dibasic ester (DBE) and sodium silicate.

Sodium silicate is an inorganic polymer that offers cross -linking structures and tends to create chains when it interacts with other mineral materials in the pellet curing process. The compound comprises two major components namely di-sodium oxide (NazO) and silicone dioxide (SiOz) in defined ratios. The binder goes through a precipitation process where it can form either gel-like silica, silicic acid or sodium silicate depending on the concentration, pH and temperature. However, the mechanism of binding needs to go through a curing stage where compound could be heated or reacted with carbon dioxide to form a polysilicon acid polymer which is the actual binder formed in the final pellets. Both the commercial sodium silicate (Natsil 3044 & Natsil 3245) samples used, and the proprietary sodium silicate of the Applicant were used to conduct the pelletization and briquetting test runs.

The purpose of using the aforementioned mixture of water, dibasic ester (DBE) and sodium silicate is to create the baseline binding effects on solid raw material to form spherical pellets. There were two commercial batches of sodium silicate that were used to conduct these test; NAtsil 3044 and Natsil 3245 mass percent. Due to poor mixing effects (immiscible components), the sequence of preparing the inorganic binder would start with water (polar), sodium silicate (polar) and DBE (nonpolar), in that particular order. The specific order was necessary to prevent separation and skinning effects between the components.

Within the inorganic binder, the DBE component brings about drying effects when added to the silicate binder. Therefore, it is necessary to mix the components of the inorganic binder using a high mixer for at least 5 minutes. Additional observations were noted when the mixing is conducted at high temperature (above 60°C) and low temperatures (below 25°C). At high temperature, the inorganic binder tends to solidify due to the presence of DBE. Also, at low temperatures, the mixture becomes extremely vicious to an effect where the binder is not usable.

As a result, the sequence of preparation had to be optimised to mitigate such negative performance from the binder. The three reagents were all mixed in a IL (one litre) beaker and were vigorously mixed with an aid of electronic stirrer to achieve a homogenous solution. These preparations were conducted in ambient conditions.

Two different grades of proprietary sodium silicate binder (SiC^NazO; 3.2, 2.2) were utilized.

Step (e):

Two agglomeration techniques were utilized to develop an understanding of the performance of different binders and the effect of dosage thereon. The techniques utilized are briquetting and pelletization. By definition, briquetting comprises compressing of fine particles into lumps of consistent shapes. Briquetting is usually used for direct reduction processes due to the metal produced being ductile to agglomerate together by mechanical deformation without the requirement for a binder. However, for this investigation briquetting technique was used with a binder to develop control samples/pellets. The incorporation of the binder was to ensure complete coverage of the fines/particles being agglomerated. Pelletization technique varies slightly from briquetting in a sense that, through pelletization, the fine particles are first formed into ball like shapes by combining moist ore with a binder and rolling into balls using a pelletization disc. However, for pelletization to be successful the following requirement must be met: (i) sufficient particle size distribution, (ii) effective binder (the binder should be able to hold particles together after the pellet is dried), and (iii) sufficient moisture content.

Ultimately, the selection of an optimum binder and dosage is of critical importance in producing high-grade pellets. As a good practice, all the working apparatuses (loading bins, stirrer, pelletization disc and electronic scale) were cleaned through the use of water and paper towel to get rid of any obvious debris and dust that could affect the results during the runs.

Agglomeration requires a pelletization disc, stopwatch, logbook, and electronic scale and transfer bottle. A plastic bin/sample vial of known mass was placed on the scale at proximity to disc pelletizer, this was to simplify the transfer of fine material into the disc. The moment the first load was transferred into the disc pelletiser the time was monitored to keep track of the additional rates of material.

Next, the disc pelletizer was set at a frequency of 8.0 Hz. The agglomeration/pelletization occurred after seed formation and extra binder addition would increase the size of the pellets in the rotating disc. The time and mass transfers of both the binder and raw material were recorded to attain the rates of addition.

The behaviour of material inside the disc was noted throughout the runs. At some stage, the frequency of the disc was adjusted based behaviour of the material. Most of the runs were viable at a frequency of 8.0 Hz, worst case scenario - a case where the material was sliding on the wall or failing to pelletize the speed would be adjusted to 13.0Hz, and this would improve the compression of material to form pellets.

Pelletization Technique

The following technique was followed to achieve the pelletization. For seeding purposes 500g of fine powder of resized and mixed anthracite and chromite was weighed and added to the pelletization disc; rotating the disc started on a frequency of 8.0Hz (adjustable to 13.5Hz to optimize pelletization); the total binder available before pelletization for each test run must be recorded noting record of mass and time as added; note the starting time was noted before spraying the binder onto the powder in the rotating pan, wherein spraying being necessary to ensure that each particle of the fine material is covered with binder content; allowing for seeding (small pellets) to occur before adding a second load of the fine powder; addition of more powder (chrome and coal) followed by the binder to grow the pelletizing material. In the embodiments herein described, 440 ml of the binder was optimum to convert all the solid raw material (chromite and anthracite).

Table 2 Ideal Compositions of the required material to pelletize 70:30 (chromite: antracite) fines

Table 070:30 chromite: antracite compositions

Table 4. 80:20 chromite: antracite composition

Briquetting Technique

The reason for including the briquetting technique was to develop control samples to assist in the selection of the best performing mix in terms of binder composition and carbon and chrome ore and eliminate the variations arising from the agglomeration techniques. The technique was executed using muffin pan and 16 kg compressing weight. The mixtures were prepared, compressed with the 16kg for 20 minutes, before they were allowed to cure.

Briquetting procedure typically proceeds as follows: coal fines (anthracite) passing 500pm and chromite particles passing 1mm were mixing using a hand drilling (high shear mixer) in a 5L bucket for 5 minutes; the inorganic binder was then mixed with anthracite and chromite (sufficient mixing was achieved after 10 minutes of blending the binder with dry particles); a clean muffin pan was laid on a flat surface followed by laying a cling wrapper on pan opening; a slurry mix of carbon ferrochrome and binder filled up the pan opening and extended cling wrapper was used to cover the surface of the slurry; 16kg weight was applied on top of the slurry mix after being wrapped; the weight was allowed to compress the mixture for 20 minutes before it was removed to tip off the resultant muffins; the compressed muffins were placed in a plastic tray where they were allowed to cure (Step (f)) for a 144 hours. Compressive strength was measured on an interval of 24hours. Step (f):

Curing the pellets to provide cured pellets may take place via conventional means known to the person in skilled in the art. In the examples herein above, curing took place via natural means (ambient air drying/curing). Curing took place for about 144 hours.

Step (g):

Exposing the cured pellets to temperatures of between about 800°C to about 1800°C, including between about 1000°C to about 1500°C, for a time period of between about 5 to about 60 minutes, including between about 10 and about 30 minutes, such that at least partial solid state reduction of the cured pellets occurs to provide porous agglomerated pellets. Step (g) is an at least partial solid state reduction of the cured pellets.

Results of the preferred embodiment of the disclosure:

Phase One Compressive Strength Results

On phase one (pelletization technique), overall pelletization occurred in the frequency range of 8 - 13 Hz of the disc pelletizer, 10 - 8% binder content and total water (inherent moisture, DBE, sodium silicate) content of 13.5 - 14.00%. These range of parameters presented a seamless and easy pelletization relatively to the 6% binder content with a water content of 5.2%, 6.7% and 7.2%.

The tests conducted at low binder content (6%) showed poor pelletization performance and this could be due to lower binder solution which resulted in the less viscous mix which in turn offered a low adhesive effects solution compared to a binder solution over 8%. The results discussed were selected from the overall matrix is presented in Table 2. The results represented only discusses the feasible results obtained from the overall tests conducted (1, 2, 3, 5, 7 and 8).

These results include test 9 and 4 as presented on the ideal composition Table 3. The two sets comprised 8% and 10% binder (sodium silicate) with 14% total moisture respectively. Low moisture content showed poor performance in terms of agglomeration using lab disc pelletizer.

Figure 1 shows the compressive green strength trend of the 70:30 composition which was prepared from Natsil 3245 (binder) and it was tracked for 96 hours.

However, Natsil 3245 was exhausted and it was replaced with Natsil 3044 which was used to prepare pellets that resulted in data shown in Figure 2 and 3. Figure 3 shows green strength mapping of pellets from 70:30 chrome to coal ratio. Essentially, an additional ratio of chromite to anthracite (80:20) was added to create a comparative strength test data and the data is presented in Figure 3. There is a clear variation between the two batches of the commercial binder utilized to produce the pellets in discussion. Batch Natsil 3044 showed a slight improvement in terms of compressive strength after 72 hours of curing. The highest achieved strength on Natsil 3245 was only 9.42kg while the Natsil 3044 resulted in 38.74kg after 72 hours. Nevertheless, these results showed no feasibility in terms of ideal compressive strength requirements. The required strength should at least exceed 100kg. As result, the commercial binder used to produce these pellets would not be viable or recommended.

Ultimately, additional tests were conducted using the same commercial binder in which the content of carbon was reduced from 30 parts to chrome to 20 parts of anthracite coal to chromite. The results are shown in Figure 3. The results were fairly comparable to 70:30 case, the highest average strength achieved on 80:20 case 25kg.

Figure 4 shows green strength mapping of pellets from 80:20 chromite to coal (anthracite) ratio.

Figure 5 shows overall compressive strength for 70:30 ferrochrome carbon pellets.

Upon completion of the evaluations, an extended curing period (22days) was allowed to measure the compressive strength to establish an understanding of the binder and presence of carbon in the ferrochrome pellets. Figure 4 presents compressive strengths for 70:30 ferrochrome carbon pellets after 22 days. Test 4 and 7 showed an improved strength of 74.5kg on average, this slight improvement could be the result of an increased binder content of 10%. However, a significant improvement on strength was realized on the 80:20 ferrochrome carbon pellets presented in Figure 5.

Figure 6 shows overall compressive strength for 80:20 ferrochrome carbon pellets.

Test 4 showed exceptional strength on both fibre and non-fibre pellets. These results correspond to the results seen in Figure 4 where non-fibre pellets showed better strength relative to the other tests. This suggests that the presence of carbon hinders the strength of the pellets that are produced in a pelletization disc. Also, the extended curing period suggests that the strength of the pellets could be improve when offered sufficient time to cure.

Lastly, resistance strength through Micum test was applied for all pellets produced through pelletization after 72 hours of curing. The results are presented as per figure for each test in appendix A. In essence, micum tests relatively measure the resistance of degradation by abrasion. The tests were evaluated and presented on a basis of before and after micum test and are presented for all the tests conducted on carbon ferrochrome pellets. Phase two compressive strength results

Phase two (briquetting technique) compressive strength for proprietary sodium silicate containing inorganic binder at various grades/composition of raw material and inorganic binder. The solid material was categorized (mass basis) into three class as per chrome to coal ratio. Also, the phase two study was investigating the decisive control sample for upscale purposes. Additional parameters such as a hot binder, different silicate grades (2.2, 2.6 & 3.2), inclusion of black-box, fibre were also investigated.

Figure 6 shows 70:30 chromite: coal (anthracite) at various binder mix. Increased content of coal (anthracite) relative to the other combinations of chromite to carbon (anthracite) is reported in Figure 6. An exceptional performance was observed on the 3.2-grade silicate on an average of 106kg.

Figure 7 shows 80:20 chromite: coal (anthracite) at various binder mix.

The evaluation of 80:20 ferrochrome carbon showed an achievable strength of the agglomerates from 60 - 125kg after 144 hours. From this observation, it was preliminary concluded that the average curing rate ranges between 72 - 96 hours for either 2.2 or 3.2 silicate grade. 2.2-

Figure 8 shows 90:10 chrome: coal at various binder mix

The results presented in Figure 8 maps the performance of a 90:10 ferrochrome carbon evaluated at various reagents and different grades of silicate binder (excluding grade-2.6). The potential grades involved 2.2 and 3.2 silica to sodium. Ultimately, silicate of grade 2.2 showed an exceptional performance of an average of 125kg. This combination showed a best-case scenario excluding fibre. However, 3.2 silicate grade binder without DBE and showed a potential performance (114kg) after 2.2-grade silicate.

Figure 9 presents pure ferrochrome carbon pellets, these were produced through briquetting method to ensure that full coverage of the particles is achieved and measured. As mapped out in Figure 9, different reagents that were blended with sodium silicate binder to enhance the compressive strength are presented. An exceptional performance was observed on 3.2-grade sodium silicate binder followed by silicate binder with no DBE.

The black box (as described above) showed no effect in terms of the compressive strength relative to another mixture. However, there were limited pellets for an extended evaluation beyond 144 hours as a result the performance presented is inconclusive. Conclusions to General Example:

Two methods of agglomeration were investigated, the methods include pelletization and briquetting processes in which the briquetting technique was used as the basis of the control sample. The briquetting method was achieved by mixing the appropriate quantities of binder and fines to form a slurry/sludge-like mixture, the wet sludge was then dispersed in a muffin pan where it was compacted with 16kg object for 20 minutes to form stable briquettes. Moreover, pelletization method was achieved through charging dry fine and spraying binder solution into a rotating disc set at the frequency range of 8 - 13Hz and 45° angle.

On phase one (pelletization technique), the fine particles were screened to passing 1mm for chromite and 500pm for anthracite (coal) and these were mixed with binder solution of 10 - 8% sodium silicate and total moisture (inherent moisture, DBE, sodium silicate) content of 13.5 - 14.00%. These range of parameters presented a seamless pelletization relatively to the 6% binder content with a water content of 5.2%, 6.7% and 7.2%. The tests conducted at low binder content (6%) showed poor pelletization performance and this could be due to lower binder solution. The low binder content resulted in the less viscous mix which in turn offered a low adhesive effects solution relative to high binder solution above 8% and 13% total moisture.

The highest strength achieved was 38.7 kg after 72 hours from 70:30 (chromite: anthracite [coal]) ratio produced from batch Natsil 3044 (commercial binder). This high strength was obtained from test 9a with a composition of 60.2% chromite, 25.8% coal, 5.2% water and 8% binder as given in Table 3. This composition amounts to 14% moisture and 8% binder. The presence of fibre seems to have a diminishing effect, this is supported by a plot of test 4 in Figure 3 in which the strength exponential increases to a maximum of 27.6 kg after 48 hours and declines to 25.7 kg at 72 hours. Furthermore, test 4 in discussion comprised of 80:20 (chromite: anthracite [coal]) ratio, and binder: water ratio (10:14) % which was a slight improvement compared to 70:30 chromite to coal ratio.

Ultimately, the pellets from test 4 (80:20 chromite to anthracite [coal]) showed a significant increase in strength after being allowed to cure for 22 days. The strength attained after 22 days was 105 kg which was by far the strongest compared to the rest of the samples. Precisely, the same test 4 without fibre also showed a significant strength (94.2 kg) after 22 days.

Additionally, the strength of the pellet is proportional to the size of the resultant pellet and this was consistent for all the samples. Further, it has been observed that it is necessary to induce tumbling and scrapping during pelletization technique. Therefore, it is recommended to scrape off the material as they pelletize inside the pan. On phase two (briquetting method) investigation, the best pellets performance was achieved through grade 2.2 silicate (DBE inclusive) on 90:10 chromite :carbon. A common decline in compressive strength is realized throughout the pellets and this could be linked to the nature of sodium silicate that seems to be sensitive to environmental weather conditions. Lastly, warm binder showed poor performance in terms of compressive strength.

From the muffin method, an optimum binder dosage was realized on 12% sodium silicate to the total mass of the pellet produced. There is a great likelihood that the fines get coated/coverage of the binder at an increased dosage relative to the 8% and 10% dosage evaluated on the pelletization technique. A lower binder dosage favours greater curing rates due to volume/viscosity effects. Excess water in the binder wets the fines and hinders effective agglomeration.

FURTHER EXAMPLE:

The purpose of this further example is to report the production and the performance of ferrochrome coal porous agglomerated pellets at various compositions (70:30, 80:20, 90:10, 100:0) with the use of a sodium silicate binder at two different grades LSiCUNazO ; 3.2 & 2.2) on the demonstration scale pilot plant.

Steps (a), (b) and (c):

The mineral ore fines (particularly in this example chromite), were resized via conventional means to having a particle size of about 1 mm. Carbonaceous reductant material in the form of anthracite was reduced in particle size from -3 mm to -500 pm. The resized mineral ore fines (chromite) and carbonaceous reductant material (anthracite) were mixed via conventional means in a first ratio.

Solid raw material (chromite and anthracite) was milled to the desired particle size from arrival. A Hammer mill J-101 was utilized to process the material where the outlet screens are changed in-between the milling procedures. It required an hour to process a ton of chromite through the mill under normal operation where the 1mm screen is set on the outlet of the J-101. Subsequently, it took a further hour to process the anthracite through the mill where 500um is set on the outlet. The screened material was transferred into hopper H-101 and H-102 using tractor loader backhoe (TLB).

After feedstock preparations, an equipment inspection was conducted to confirm functionality and mitigation of any potential interruptions during the process. The chromite is loaded onto running conveyor through screw conveyor. The reason for mounting the running conveyor to the screw conveyor is to further eliminate any coarse particles from chromite, this is achieved through an additional crushing mechanism offered by the screw conveyor. The chromite and anthracite coal material are admixed in a high shear mixer.

Step (d):

Before adding the binder it needs to be prepared. Conventionally, organic binders have been employed including bitumen binders. However, organic binders were showed unfavorable performance under thermal conditions. Consequently, the inorganic binder as described in the General Example above was prepared and employed herein.

The inorganic bind is preferably a sodium silicate wherein the SiO : Na O ratio varying from 2.2 to 3.2. In the presence of aqueous silicate, carbon dioxide gas, or acid, such as that released by hydrolysis of ester such as dibasic ester (DBE), causes precipitation of a silica gel which solidifies the agglomerates into pellets during step (e). The produced hydrated silica namely silica gel is responsible for giving the necessary strength for the agglomerates and pellets. Sodium silicate solution as an inorganic binder is of particular importance mainly because the curing time of the agglomerates is low, and it is environmentally extremely beneficial.

After the anthracite and chromite are admixed, then required amount of the inorganic binder is pumped through providing the pre-agglomerated composition.

Step (e):

The pre-agglomerated composition is a wet material, and is fed into a drum pelletizer at a rate determined by an operator to either form seed or grow pellets. The drum pelletizer has an adjustable angle and speed/frequency.

Seed Formation Phase

The wet pre-agglomerated material is gradually loaded into the drum pelletizer. After a growth period of between 5 -7minutes of process initiation, the seed material is sufficiently grown to produce mature pellets, +13mm.

Growth Phase

After the initial seed pellets have formed, the feed of material to the drum is increased and the pellets are then grown by the addition of material to the outer layer. Once the pellets achieve a desired size, they are removed from the pelletizing drum and offloaded into a rolling drum where they are further conveyed through to bulk storage. The growth process continues at a steady state until all batched feed material is consumed and transformed into pellets. Step (f):

Step (g):

Pilot Plant:

The same steps above were utilized in a pilot plant production of the porous agglomerated pellets of this disclosure, however, utilizing a pilot plant scale of equipment. Pilot plant production differs from small scale production which impacts the preferred or optimized embodiments produced via each process.

Optimized embodiments for pilot plant production of the pellets following Steps (a) to (e) [before Step (f) and Step (g)]are shown below for varying chrome: anthracite ratios are compared below to same for small scale production.

Table 4. Optimized batch ratios for small scale pelletization for 70:30 combination.

Table 5. Preferred upscale (pilot plant) pelletization batch for 70:30 carbon ferrochrome.

Table 6. Optimized ratios for small scale pelletization batch for 80:20 combination.

Table 7. Optimized upscale (pilot plant) pelletization batch for 80:20

Table 8. Optimized ratios for small scale pelletization batch for 80:20 combination.

Table 9. Optimized ratios for small scale pelletization batch for 90: 10 combination.

Table 10. Optimized upscale (pilot plant) pelletization batch for 90: 10

Table 11. Optimized ratios for small scale pelletization batch for 100:0 ferrochrome

Table 12. Optimized upscale (pilot plant) pelletization batch for 100:0 ferrochrome

The set points for achieving a homogenous mixture for the pelletization feed and agglomerate formation are presented in Table 13 below. Table 13. Equipment Settings for optimized/preferred operation

Physico-chemical analyses:

The cured pellets [after Step (f)] of this disclosure were evaluated to ascertain certain physicochemical properties. It is noted that two different sodium silicate binders that were investigated were 3.2 and 2.2 grades of sodium silicate as described above. The mechanical strength of the porous agglomerated pellet was evaluated “green”, in other words, directly from the production process, and then every 24 hours to monitor the impact and effect of the curing.

Pellets Size Distribution (PSD)

Particles or pellet size distribution was measured through the use of shaker screens. The purpose of using these tools was to grade the size of the pellets/particles from both the Samancor (the industry standard known in the art) and the porous agglomerated pellets of this disclosure and the input feed materials. This enabled categorization and standardization of the overall assessment.

The screens were also utilized in the evaluation of the abrasion test products to determine the resulting size classification from those tests. The test was conducted on the cured pellets [after Step (f)] of this disclosure.

Physical Strength Tests

A compressive strength tester (rated to a maximum 500kg capacity) mounted on a Loadtech LT 1240 control panel was used to conduct compressive breakage strength measurements of the porous agglomerated pellets of this disclosure. A minimum sample size of 10 pellets was randomly selected from both the disclosure and commercial pellet (Samancor). The instrument used a hydraulic mechanism to apply pressure and ensure test reproducibility and minimise inaccuracy. The test was conducted on the cured pellets [after Step (f)] of this disclosure.

Tumbler Tests

The cured pellet samples (of the disclosure and of Samancor) were subjected to abrasion (tumbler) tests. These tests measure the toughness of the pellets in terms of degradation, crushing and disintegration properties under a rotational load. Three kilograms (3kg) of pellets (of the disclosure and of Samancor) were placed in a drum, and the drum rotated at a frequency of 33Hz for 10 minutes.

The resulting pellets and fine particles are then separated into the amounts passing 20mm, 16mm, and 6mm and 500pm screens. The tests are intended to demonstrate the abrasion durability of the pellets under standard handling processes.

The test was conducted on the cured pellets [after Step (f)] of this disclosure. Drop Tests

Drop tests were conducted to evaluate the ability of the pellets (of the disclosure and of Samancor) to withstand drop impacts. This assessed the ability to resist deformation or breaking during handling. The tests were conducted on pellets of the disclosure and of Samancor (industry available pellets). The pellets were loaded into the 2 m tubes with steel plates on both ends. The tube was rotated in the vertical axis 10 times to simulate a repeated dropping scenario at a height of 2 metres. The resulting material is then separated into those passing a +4mm screen to measure the mass of fines generated as a percentage of the starting mass.

For the drop test cured pellets [after Step (f)] and porous agglomerated pellets [after Step (g)] were tested. The Samancor pellets were sintered first before testing.

Porosity Test

The porosity test was conducted by Mintek on the porous agglomerated pellets of this disclosure [after Step (g)] . The porosity measurement was conducted to assess the pore volume that is accessible to reducing gases or liquid ingress within the pellets. The porosity methodology was executed as follows on pellets of the disclosure and of Samancor:

1. Two pellets were crushed to a fine powder and compacted into a known volume and weighed. The mass obtained and volume of the container was used to determine the packed bulk density of each material from each produced batch. D = Density = mass / volume.

2. Five pellets from each batch were weighed (Mi) and covered with a thin coat of lacquer to ensure total coverage. The thickness of the layer was kept below 0.5 mm. The pellets were then left to dry for 24 hrs.

3. For each lacquered pellet the testing procedure was as follows: a) Weigh a dry petri dish or equivalent flat container and record the mass (A) b) Place a container of less than 100ml in the flat container and fill with water to the brim.

If any water is spilt empty the flat container before proceeding. c) Place the pellet into the mercury-filled container displacing mercury which should overflow into the flat container. d) Remove the mercury-filled container and weigh the flat container with overflowed mercury (Bi) subtract A to get Ci (mass of mercury displaced) = Bi - A. e) The volume of the pellet (ml) Vi = mass of displaced mercury/ 13.6 g f) Density of pellet = M/Vi g) Volume of pellet solid content Vs; = Mi/D h) Porosity of pellet i, Pi = (Vi - VsQ/Vi i) Remove the pellet from the mercury-filled container and place in another container to drain off and recover any residual mercury. j) Repeat the process for each pellet i.

Hot Compression Strength

The hot compression test is conducted to evaluate the behavior of the binder at elevated temperatures on pellets of the disclosure and of Samancor. The pellets were placed in a furnace (1200 °C) for 4 hours.

The average mass of five pellets were measured before and after the furnace test to determine any loss in mass during the high-temperature test. After four hours elapsed, the pellets were removed from the furnace and the compression strength test is conducted on each agglomerate, while still hot, and the data is recorded and the strength is compared to the cold compression strength.

To obviate doubt, the test was conducted during Step (g). In other words, during the at least partial solid state reduction pellets were taken out and tested.

Results and Discussion of physico-chemical analyses

The pellets of the disclosure were produced from the silicate-based binder in which carbon ferrochrome fines and anthracite were utilised as the raw material. Before pelletization, the fines were mixed on three set ratios of chromite to anthracite to produce the sample pellets. The mass basis ratios used to produce these were as follows: 90:10 (chromite to coal), 80:20 (chromite to coal) and 100:0 (chromite to coal).

The pellets of the disclosure were cured in ambient conditions. Samancor (prior art) pellets, which are heat sintered/cured, were sourced from Samancor’ s Tubatse ferrochrome and TC Smelters (Mooinooi plants). Subsequently, samples of both the disclosure and Samancor pellets were analysed for physical properties such as abrasion and compressive strength.

Product Size Distribution

Figure 10 shows pellets size distribution. The overall particle size distribution for the porous agglomerated pellets of the disclosure is coarser when compared to Samancor agglomerates. The majority of the pellets of the disclosure ranged between -25 mm and 16 mm with an average of 74.125% retained on +20 mm and + 16 mm. The size distribution of the pellets of the disclosure relies on the production/pelletization procedure which can be adjusted to achieve any desired size. The pilot plant is flexible to accommodate any desired size pellets and this information is merely included for completeness of the assessment. Compressive Strengths Results

Compression strength tests were tracked every 24 hours after production/pelletization. The purpose of this exercise was to measure the load/weight required to cause a pellet to break. 10 pellets were selected from each batch (Samancor and in-house pellets).

Preliminary Pilot Plant Trial Runs

On inception, it was necessary to conduct reproducibility trials on the plant to assess the reproducibility and to establish consistency. Figure 11 shows a range of trial tests that were executed on the plant. These tests include the investigation of DBE effect (in terms of dosage) and strength properties.

The ideal compressive strength was against the reference (160kg) sample received from AR Samancor pellets. From the trial assessment, it was clear that the silicate binder of grade 2.2 was not viable. This could be seen by the performance mapped in Figure 11 where the highest compressive strength was under 100kg. The poor performance of grade 2.2 silicate was common through all the tested ratios of carbon ferrochrome (90:10, 80:20 & 100:0).

However, grade 3.2 silicate pellets showed exceptional performance in contrast to grade 2.2 silicate binder. Poor performance can be observed on the grade 2.2 pellets of 80:20 chromite: anthracite composition, these pellets resulted in an average of 51.00 kg in terms of compressive strength as shown in Figure 11. The highest compressive strength achieved by grade 2.2 silicate pellets was 99.46kg on pure ferrochrome pellets (100:0). Above and beyond, 2.2-grade silicate showed low performance and it was therefore eliminated on the samples to be compared against commercial pellets.

The effectiveness of relative amounts of hardener (DBE) was also tested in the range between 2.2% and 1.5% content. DBE is an additive that utilized to enhance the performance of curing and the ultimate strength of the sodium silicate binder. However, due to its cost of supply, this additive presents serious cost burden and it was necessary to optimize the dosage. Previously 3% DBE had been used to blend into the sodium silicate binder. This was further reduced to 2.2% which showed acceptable result on the laboratory scale. The result of the up-scaled runs trial showed that the further reduction of the DBE content showed a negligible effect as all the 90:10 - chromite: coal pellet.

Grade 3.2 silicate, 14.5% moisture content, 12% binder inclusive of 2.2% DBE was selected an optimum combination for the final pilot.

Final Pilot Plant Runs

Figure 12 shows compressive strength of pellets (of the disclosure and of Samancor prior art), and particularly shows strength development of the pellets over the curing step of Step (f) [before Step (g)]. In other words, strength tests from green pellets to cured pellets (with no at least partial reduction). The prior art comparison uses sintered Mooinooi pellets and sintered Samancor pellets.

The 3.2-grade sodium silicate based pellets (of the disclosure and of Samancor) compressive strengths and moisture content for the final runs were monitored for at least 13 days of curing. There were seven runs conducted on the pilot plant at 12% binder dosage (DBE inclusive) and 14.5% total moisture. Four of these runs were produced in 100 kg batches with different chromite: anthracite ratios (100:0, 90:10, 80:20 & 70:30), and three were produced in 250 kg batches (100, 90:10, 80:20). The compressive strengths of the porous agglomerated pellets of the disclosure were directly compared to sample received from Samancor.

Figure 13 presents the compressive strength results for the 100 kg batches and Figure 12 for the 250 kg batches. The compressive strength of agglomerates took six days of curing to surpass the 100 kg specification, except the 70:30 compositions that remained below 100 kg for 17 days of curing.

After 15 days of curing, the performance of the pellets of the disclosure with 100%, 90%, and 80% chromite content all exceeded the provided Samancor prior art pellets, with the average compressive strengths of 140 kg for the Tubatse ferrochrome and 160 kg for TC smelters. The agglomerates with 100% chromite content achieved the highest strength of 303.34 kg on average, after 18 days of curing. The second highest compressive strength obtained was from the agglomerates with 90% chromite content, which reached 270.49 kg after 17 days of curing.

The 80% chromite agglomerates reached the highest compressive strength of 210.48 kg after 20 days of curing, and 70% reached 120 kg after 18 days of curing.

The scale up runs were conducted to evaluate the reproducibility of the agglomerates and the maximum capacity that could be handled by the pilot plant units. The high-shear mixer and the screw feeder could handle maximum capacity of 250 kg per batch. The results obtained from the three compositions of chrome content are presented in Figure 12. The 100% chromite batch cured at a higher rate due to high ambient temperatures, the maximum compressive strength of 252.89 kg was achieved after six days of curing. A small sample was taken from the batch and was sprayed with 1 % DBE to evaluate its effect.

It is depicted from the results that introducing DBE after agglomerate formation has a detrimental effect on the integrity of the agglomerates and the ultimate strength. The maximum compressive strength achieved was 76.22 kg after 12 days of curing.

The 90% and 80% chromite agglomerates had a gradual increase in strength for the upscale runs when compared to the 100 kg run. The compressive strength of both runs surpassed the 100 kg target after 8 days of curing and both Samancor samples after 12 days of curing. The 90% achieved a maximum compressive strength of 281.40 kg after 15 days curing and the 80% chromite agglomerates achieved a maximum of 195 kg after 15 days of curing.

The strength results from both the 100 kg and the 250 kg run show a common trend of gradual strength increase, then a maximum strength is reached and the strength falls off and keeps fluctuating thereafter. This trend could be explained by evaluating the susceptibility of the agglomerates towards moisture absorption under different environmental conditions.

Moisture Analysis

Trial Runs

Figure 14 shows trial moisture runs curing rate. The curing rate of the 2.2 and 3.2 sodium silicate agglomerates were monitored every 24 hours by measuring the moisture content in the curing pellets. It is shown in Figure 14 that 2.2 sodium silicate pellets of the disclosure were curing at a slow rate and the moisture was fluctuating due to the hygroscopic nature of these pellets. The 3.2 sodium silicate agglomerates took 11 days for their moisture content to fall below 2% moisture whereas the 2.2 remained above 2% until the 13^th day. The lowest moisture achieved was observed from the 90: 10 agglomerates with 1.5% DBE content at 1% after 18 days of curing.

Final Runs

During the curing period of the final runs the 3.2 sodium silicate pellets of the disclosure, the ambient moisture content and the weather conditions were monitored to correlate the strength behavior as the weather changes. The moisture content curves for the 100 kg and 250 kg runs are presented in Figure 14 and 15 respectively the average ambient temperatures during the curing period are presented in Figure 16.

The figures show a direct correlation between the higher moisture and low morning temperatures incidents. The strength of the agglomerates falls off during these cooler moister periods. This is very evident from the 100 kg runs for 2 September 2020 and 10 September 2020. There was a cold front on the former and heavy rain with drizzle on the latter. The heavy rain is detrimental to this binder composition resulting in the breakdown of the agglomerates. This has implications for the curing and pellet storage requirements in later implementations of the technology

Drop Weight Test Results

The drop test analysis was conducted with a minimum of 10 agglomerates from each composition (varying mass ratios of chromite to coal). The tube used for testing was rotated in the vertical axis for 10 times to simulate a repeated dropping scenario at a height of 2 metres. The resulting material is then separated into particles passing -4mm screen to measure the mass of fines generated as a percentage against the starting mass.

Trial Runs

The drop results for the trial runs presented in table 9-1 below were obtained after 13 days of curing. These were compared with Samancor sintered agglomerates to determine the target performance before the final runs.

Table 14. Trial runs drop test

The overall fines generated for all the compositions were less than 3%. Samancor generated more fines when compared to the in-house agglomerates, it was observed that majority of the as received Samancor pellets had cracks which contributed to their deformation.

In contrast the porous agglomerated pellets according to the disclosure were of great size (- 25mm to +16mm) with no cracks, this could explain the generation of fewer fines by the pellets of the disclosure. Nevertheless, pellets made from 80:20 chromite to carbon with an optimized binder mix showed a slight generation of fines even though it was lower than fines generated by Samancor pellets. Final Runs

Table 15. Small scale (100 kg) runs compared with AR Samancor TC smelters pellets

Table 16. 250 kg runs with compared with AR TC smelters pellets

The results presented in Table 16, show that the fines generated during the drop tests remain constant for the porous agglomerated pellets according to the disclosure with an exception of the pellets that were sprayed with 1% DBE after pelletization. This also, addresses the effect of spraying DBE on the surface of the produced agglomerates, the results suggests that the spraying a harden (DBE) potentially have an adverse effect on the physical properties of the pellets. Otherwise, both TC Smelters and Tubatse pellets (the prior art pellets) generated relatively more fines (2% & 3%) when compared with the pellets of the disclosure. Abrasion Tests Results

The size of the porous agglomerated pellets according to the disclosure ranges from +16mm to 20mm thus the 3kg sample required for abrasion tests comprised 50% +16mm agglomerates and 50% of 20mm agglomerates. For standardizing purposes, the tests only accounts for the -20mm +16mm cumulative passing. This is considered as a measure of fines generated after 10 minutes of abrasion. The results obtained for each batch for the trial and final runs are presented in the respective tables below.

Table 17. Trial run, Abrasion tests results of disclosure compared to Samancor Pellets

The average cumulative fines generated after abrasion for the porous agglomerated pellets according to the disclosure was 5.14%. These have shown better performance when compared to the Samancor agglomerates which generated 24.78% of fines on average. The porous agglomerated pellets according to the disclosure fines were consistently less than 10%, with a maximum of 9% from ‘3.2 SS 80:20 - 2.2% DBE, 14.5% moisture’ composition.

The minimum fines generated can be observed from the ‘3.2 SS 90: 10 - 1.5% DBE, 14.5% moisture composition’ composition’. On average the 2.2 binder compositions performed better than the 3.2 with averages of 6.08% and 3.57% respectively.

Table 18. Small scale abrasion assessment results of the disclosure compared to Samancor

Pellets

Table 19. Upscale abrasion assessment results

These were tested against the porous agglomerated pellets according to the disclosure at various chrome to anthracite composition. The 70:30 agglomerates for the 100 kg runs generated a significant portion of fines when compared to the other pellets, achieved 46% cumulative passing 16 mm. On average the porous agglomerated pellets according to the disclosure outperformed Samancor pellets with an average of 16%. The least percentage fines generated were obtained on the “3.2 SS 90:10 - 2.2% DBE, 14.5% moisture” composition as presented in Table 18. Table 20. Abrasion strength test results of as received (AR) pellets from Samancor (prior art)

Table 21. Abrasion strength results of sintered pellets

Pure chromite pellets showed better abrasion over Samancor and the other two sample set (90:10 & 80:20 pellets). A significant decline in abrasive strength was realized for 20% coal content chromite pellets

(80:20) after sintering procedure. 90: 10 - chromite: coal pellets relatively remained constant between AR pellets and sintered pellets. Lastly, the abrasive strength of pure chromite pellets improved after sintering procedure on both industrial and Sylvania pellets.

Hot Compression The hot compression strength tests were conducted at 1200°C for a period of four hours, the results obtained are presented in Table 22 below: Table 22. Hot compression strength at 1200 °C

The lowest mass reduction is 8% for the 100% chromite pellets, with the highest hot strength of 243.48 kg. The overall performance for the pellets after being subjected to the furnace was good for the 90% and 100% chrome. The 80% and 70% chrome had significant strength loss and they were marshmallow like when taken out of the furnace. The pellets with the low carbon content cools down at a rapid rate. This was observed during pellets discharge from the furnace. Chromite pellets containing high carbon content tend to maintain their heat, hence the softness behavior during compression strength measurements.

Porosity Test Results

Table 23. Porosity measurement of porous agglomerated pellets of the disclosure compared to

Samancor prior art pellets

From the results above, it is clear that the porosity increases with an increase in coal content

Phase Characterization

Similar to the porosity test, phase characterization requires the specialized instrument to extract the mineralogical properties of the pellets. Analyses showed that the porous agglomerated pellets of the disclosure are predominately made of chromite, with the substantial dissolution of aluminium and magnesium in the chromite structure. It was also reported that the pellets containing coal (90:10 - chromite: coal and 80:20 - chromite: coal) result in more alloy phases (higher Cr to Fe mass ratio) which is not observed in the pure chromite pellets (Samancor and 100:0 pellets).

The high FeCr alloy and mass ratio of Cr to Fe was attributed to the high content of coal/carbon which enhanced the reduction of Fe and Cr oxides in the pellets during sintering procedure.

Chemical Compositions

A specialized analytical tool called Inductively Coupled Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-EOS) was utilized to estimate bulk elemental composition of as received (AR) pellets from Samancor. Additional tests on carbon estimations were attained through the use of combustion method (LECO).

The carbon content of AR Sylvania pellets ranged from 1.4% to 13.7% and it was reported that AR pure chromite pellets contained at least 1.4% carbon. This indicated that some coal fines were present during the production of the pellets (this could be caused by using a common equipment during the production). Sintered pellets consist of carbon range of 0.21% to 9.68% which indicates a proportional decline in carbon after sintering procedure.

Iron to chromium ratio was relatively high for industrial pellets compared to the porous agglomerated pellets of this disclosure, however comparable with 0.72 and 0.68 ratios respectively

Further Samancor Test Results

The best performing porous agglomerated pellets according to this disclosure that were produced in the pilot plant was sent to Samancor for external quality assurance and control. On average, the porous agglomerated pellets according to this disclosure outperformed the Mooinooi pellets in terms of the compressive strength across the board. The porous agglomerated pellets according to this disclosure strength ranged between 200 kg and 245 kg. The highest being the pellets with no carbon content (100:0).

Figure 17 shows laboratory compressive strengths for all the pellets.

The performance of the Mooinooi sintered pellets was the weakest in comparison to the naturally cured. On average, Mooinooi pellets reached a compressive strength of 196 kg which is less than the overall average strength for porous agglomerated pellets of this disclosure. Table 24. 100:0 Chromite: Coal Pellets

*90:10 (Chrome: Coal), 100A: 0(Chrome: Coal), 80:20 (Chrome: Coal) & 100B:0 (Mooinooi Pellets)

Waterproofing

Four reagents were incorporated into the inorganic binder solution using spraying and mixing techniques. The four reagents involved; Linseed oil, Paraffin, BS-16 and Latex. The techniques were tested on two types of chromite mixtures (different ratios of carbon ferrochrome). The mixture tested comprised of 90-10, 80-20 chromite samples, and results are presented respectively below.

The losses in strength after the 90-10 chromite samples are immersed in water for 60 minutes were determined. The characterization was conducted for 16 days. On inception, all the samples showed poor strength (>50%) retention characteristics except for the samples treated with BS-16 reagent (15% average strength loss).

Between day 5 and 13 an average strength loss of the dry and wet samples was under 50% for all the samples excluding the chromite pellets sprayed with paraffin and normal 90-10 chromite pellets. At that stage, it can be observed that an average dry strength was above 100 kg across the samples, which is consistent with historic binder performance. Towards the end, an overall gradual improvement can be seen on the strength loss across all the reagents. However, only BS-16 (optimum through spraying technique) and latex (works under blending method) agents showed feasibility in terms of waterproofing the chromite samples.

Ultimately, the water up-take testing showed material erosion or dissolution of the chromite samples. The erosion of the material resulted in material losses and presented a significant sample disintegration. The erosion of the chromite samples were observed across the samples treated with linseed and paraffin agents. In addition, it was noted that the reagents are linear related to the content of carbon content.

It was found that an increase in coal content directly translates into high water absorption overall samples. Waterproofing agent dosing methods

In parallel, the effectiveness of the techniques was also compared in which the reagent was directly incorporated into binder solution or sprayed unto fully developed chromite pellets. The results supports the concept of spraying the reagent after pelletization.

Conclusions

The 3.2 sodium silicate grade produced best porous agglomerated pellets according to this disclosure as far as mechanical properties are concerned. In addition, 3.2 - Silicate based pellets cures at a high rate relative to 2.2 - silicate based binder. In terms of harden dosage, 2.2% DBE content showed optimum performance compared to 3% and 1.5% dosage in the binder mix. An effect of spraying DBE on the surface of pellet after production showed poor mechanical properties.

On a large scale, the curing rate of the pellets is slower, and their green strengths are poor. It takes at least 16 days for the porous agglomerated pellets according to this disclosure to start showing optimum performance. The compressive strengths porous agglomerated pellets according to this disclosure are currently outperforming the Samancor prior art sintered pellets. The 90:10 composition outperforms the other chromite: anthracite compositions, followed by the 100% chrome. The fines generated during the drop test and the abrasion tests are less than 10% for the inhouse agglomerates except for the 70:30 composition which achieved 46% of fines. These conclusions are based on internal quality assurance and control.

The strength of the porous agglomerated pellets according to this disclosure is compromised when exposed to humid environmental conditions. It is concluded that high humid conditions affects the pellets of the disclosure adversely. It is therefore, recommended that the pellets should be kept in less humid environment to enhance curing rates.

Once the pellets according to this disclosure get to maximum compressive strength, they have a tendency to fluctuate with respect to the conditions they are exposed to. There is an inversely proportional relationship between the carbon/anthracite content and the strength of the pellets. High temperature treatment had a minimal effect on the integrity of the pellets. However, the pellets containing high content of coal declined in the compressive strength after high temperature treatment. FURTHER EXAMPLE SHOWING ENERGY EFFICIENCIES:

The Applicant was surprised that the particular particle sizes of the resized carbonaceous reductant and the resized mineral ore fines resulted in porous agglomerated pellets that showed, when in use in a smelting process, an improvement of between about 1% and about 21%, including between about 10% and about 21%, compared to current state of the art methods in regard to energy efficiencies.

The energy efficiency may, without being limited to theory, in part also be attributed to the binder, particularly the inorganic binder. The energy efficiency may, without being limited to theory, in part also be attributed to the method of producing the porous agglomerated pellets according to this disclosure and/or the unique composition of the porous agglomerated pellets themselves.

This energy efficiency improvement is reproducibly demonstrated in furnace runs comparing the porous agglomerated pellets produced via the method of this disclosure and those produced from current industrial processes.

Savings calculations

A cost model was developed for the FeCr (ferrochrome) smelting pipeline with detailed calculations on efficiencies, raw material cost, unit consumptions and exchange rates. The accuracy of the model was tested with actual data from a FeCr (ferrochrome) smelter and proved to be more than 98% accurate.

The FeCr (ferrochrome) production cost from the porous agglomerated pellets according to this disclosure for the full pipeline were compared with the cost of FeCr produced from a conventional pellets/route. Background

During conventional FeCr production the cost drivers, impacting on this project, are as follows:

1. pellets are produced through the Outokumpu process at Cira R360/t conversion cost and contained a max of 1,6% Carbon;

2. It of FeCr requires Circa 2,2t of conventional pellets;

3. furnace reductant mix consists of approximately: 45% coke, 10% char and 45% anthracite;

4. electricity consumption is circa 3,6Mwh/t.

The newly developed porous agglomerated pellets according to this disclosure were designed to agglomerate carbon and chromite ore into a pellet. The close proximity of the carbon and ore particles in the pellet proved to have significant technical advantages over the conventional prior art pellets. The results from small furnace tests at RaySA show the following results and impact on FeCr production costs:

1. porous agglomerated pellets of the disclosure agglomerate Cr ore and contain +-20% anthracite;

2. conversion cost for these pellets according to the disclosure is between R585/t and R824/t (much more than conventional process) ;

3. It of FeCr requires circa 2,63t of pellets according to the disclosure (due to carbon in pellets);

4. anticipated furnace reductant mix (as shown at RaySA) should be: 15% coke, 0% char and 5% anthracite;

5. electricity consumption is 16% lower at 3,02Mwh/t;

6. furnace throughput is 16% higher due to lower electricity consumption (furnace output is limited due to furnace availability and specific energy consumption of the raw material) ;

7. recovery of Cr via utilizing the porous agglomerated pellets of the disclosure was 10% higher than conventional pellets.

Summary

From the test work and calculations from the cost model following can be concluded:

1. although the conversion cost of the porous agglomerated pellets of the disclosure are much higher than the conventional prior art pellet, the cost of the FeCr pipeline should be significantly lower;

2. the unit consumption of the porous agglomerated pellets of the disclosure is higher than the furnace, as it contains 20% anthracite (same amount of Cr units per tonne FeCr); 3. carbon is supplied to the furnace via the porous agglomerated pellets of the disclosure and a 75% cost saving on reductants should be achievable;

4. electricity consumption prove to be 16% lower;

5. throughput is 16% higher, thus 16% saving on amortised fixed cost. Tables below are extracts from the cost model showing potential savings on the FeCr pipeline.

Due to the conversion cost for the porous agglomerated pellets of the disclosure that could vary between R585/t and R824/t, depending on the business model requirements (internal rate of return [IRR], cost of fine anthracite and transport cost), the savings for the pellets of the disclosure vary between R1847/t to R2476/L Table 25: Savings calculated for anthracite at R150/t plus delivery cost and internal rate of return [IRR] at 20%:

Table 26 Savings calculated for anthracite at RO/t, no delivery cost and IRR at 20%:

Table 27 Savings calculated for anthracite at RO/t, no delivery cost and break even:

Ferrochrome production utilizing prior art pellets from Samancor (Samancor-F004 to Samancor-F007) and the porous agglomerated pellets according to this disclosure (Disclosure Example 1 and Disclosure Example 2) was undertaken to determine whether or not the different pellets impacted the overall energy efficiencies of ferrochrome production.

Table 28 shows various data for the tests conducted

Table 29 continues to show various data for the tests conducted

Table 30 continues to show various data for the tests conducted

Table 31 continues to show various data for the tests conducted

In summary, and as can be seen in Table 31, the average power consumption prior art pellets from Samancor (Samancor-F004 to Samancor-F007) was 7.65 Mwh/ton, and the average power consumption of the porous agglomerated pellets according to this disclosure (Disclosure Example 1 and Disclosure Example 2) was 6.43 Mwh/ton, which represents an energy saving of 16%. The energy saving of 16% obtained when employing the agglomerated pellets according to the disclosure provided a significant improvement when compared to the prior art Samancor pellets. The Applicant believes that the disclosures of this disclosure at least ameliorate the disadvantages known or described in the prior art in a surprising and unexpected manners.

While the disclosure has been described in detail with respect to specific embodiments and/or examples thereof, it will be appreciated that those skilled in the art, upon attaining an understanding of the foregoing may readily conceive of alterations to, variations of and equivalents to these embodiments. Accordingly, the scope of the present disclosure should be assessed as that of the claims and any equivalents thereto, which claims are appended to this patent application.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A method for producing porous agglomerated pellets, the method comprising the following steps: resizing mineral ore fines such that the particle size distribution D50 is less than or equal to about 1mm in diameter, including less than or equal to about 600 pm in diameter to provide resized mineral ore fines; resizing a carbonaceous reductant material such that the particle size distribution D50 is less than or equal to about 1mm in diameter, including less than or equal to 600 pm in diameter, including less than or equal to about 500 pm in diameter, to provide resized carbonaceous reductant material; admixing the resized mineral ore fines and the resized carbonaceous reductant material in a container in a first ratio; introducing into the container at least one additive to provide pre- agglomerated composition; agglomerating the pre-agglomerated composition into pellets; curing the pellets to provide cured pellets; exposing the cured pellets to temperatures of between about 800°C to about 1800°C, including between about 1000°C to about 1500°C, for a time period of between about 5 to about 60 minutes, including between about 10 and about 30 minutes, such that at least partial solid state reduction occurs to provide porous agglomerated pellets.

2. The method according to Claim 1, where the mineral ore fines is chromite.

3. The method according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein the carbonaceous reductant is coke, coal and/or anthracite.

4. The method according to any one of Claims 1 to 3, wherein the resized carbonaceous reductant material is between about 1 and about 50% of the mass of the resized mineral ore fines, including between about 5 to about 35% of the mass of the resized mineral ore fines.

5. The method according to any one of Claims 1 to 4, wherein the additive includes at least one of the group consisting of: a binder, a strengthening agent, a curing agent, and a water repellent.

6. The method according to Claim 5, wherein the binder includes at least one of the group consisting of: sodium silicate, bitumen, bentonite, aluminosilicates, biological plant material, paper waste and geostabilisation agents.

7. The method according to Claim 5 or Claim 6, wherein the binder comprises between about 1 and about 20% by mass of the agglomerated pellet, including between about 4 and about 15% of the agglomerated pellet.

8. The method according to any one of Claims 5 to 7, wherein the strengthening agent includes at least one of the group consisting of: fibre glass, paper, and cotton or organic fibers.

9. The method according to any one of Claims 5 to 8, wherein the strengthening agent comprises between about 1 to about 20% by mass of any solid material being utilized to produce the agglomerated pellet, including between about 5 to about 10% of any solid material being utilized to produce the agglomerated pellet.

10. The method according to any one of Claims 5 to 9, wherein the curing agent includes at least one of the group consisting of: dibasic ester (DBE), carboxylic acid, carbon dioxide formic acid and other aqueous acidic solutions.

11. The method according to any one of Claims 5 to 10, wherein the curing agent comprises between about 0.1 to about 20% by mass of the binding agent, including between about 0.5 to about 10% by mass of the binding agent.

12. The method according to any one of Claims 5 to 11, wherein the water repellent includes at least one of the group consisting of: latex, natural rubber, linseed oil, viscous hydrocarbons, paraffin, BS16, and proprietary water and geotextile sealers.

13. The method according to any one of Claims 5 to 12, wherein water repellent comprises between about 1 to about 20% by mass of any solid material being utilized to produce the porous agglomerated pellet, including between about 2 to about 15% of any solid material being utilized to produce the porous agglomerated pellet.

14. The method according to any one of Claims 1 to 13, wherein the step of curing includes utilization of at least one of the group consisting of: an ambient curing process, a forced airflow process, an open air exposure process, and a low temperature enhanced curing process.

15. The method according to any one of Claims 1 to 14, wherein the step of curing takes place for a period of between about 30 minutes to about 20 days, including a period between about 1 hour to about 10 days.

16. A method for producing a metal product or alloy, the method comprising the step of smelting and/or reducing the porous agglomerated pellets produced according to the method of any of Claims 1 to 15, or the porous agglomerated pellets according to Claim 17.

17. A porous agglomerated pellet for use in methods for producing a metal product and/or alloy (typically via a smelting and/or reduction process), the porous agglomerated pellet comprising: resized mineral ore fines having a particle size distribution D50 less than or equal to about 1mm in diameter, including less than or equal to about 600 pm in diameter; resized carbonaceous reductant material having a particle size distribution D50 less than or equal to about 600 pm in diameter, including less than or equal to about 500 pm in diameter; and an additive.

18. The porous agglomerated pellet according to Claim 17, wherein the additive agent includes at least one of the group consisting of: a binder, a strengthening agent, a curing agent, and a water repellent.

19. The porous agglomerated pellet according to Claim 17 or Claim 18, wherein the binder includes at least one of the group consisting of: sodium silicate, bitumen, bentonite, aluminosilicates, biological plant material, paper waste and geostabilisation agents.

20. The porous agglomerated pellet according to Claim 19, wherein the binder comprises between about 1 and about 20% by mass of the agglomerated pellet, including between about 4 and about 15% of the agglomerated pellet.

21. The porous agglomerated pellet according to any one of Claims 17 to 20, wherein the strengthening includes at least one of the group consisting of: fibre glass, paper, and cotton or organic fibers.

22. The porous agglomerated pellet according to any one of Claims 17 to 21, wherein the strengthening agent comprises between about 1 to about 20% by mass of any solid material being utilized to produce the agglomerated pellet, including between about 5 to about 10% of any solid material being utilized to produce the agglomerated pellet.

23. The porous agglomerated pellet according to any one of Claims 17 to 22, wherein the curing agent includes at least one of the group consisting of: dibasic ester (DBE), carboxylic acid, carbon dioxide, formic acid and other aqueous acidic solutions

24. The porous agglomerated pellet according to any one of Claims 17 to 23, wherein the curing agent comprises between about 0.1 to about 20% by mass of the binding agent, including between about 0.5 to about 10% by mass of the binding agent.

25. The porous agglomerated pellet according to any one of Claims 17 to 23, wherein the water repellent includes at least one of the group consisting of latex, natural rubber, linseed oil, viscous hydrocarbons, paraffin, BS16, and proprietary water and geotextile sealers.

26. The porous agglomerated pellet according to any one of Claims 17 to 23, wherein the water repellent comprises between about 1 to about 20% by mass of any solid material being utilized to produce the agglomerated pellet, including between about 2 to about 15% of any solid material being utilized to produce the agglomerated pellet.

27. The porous agglomerated pellet according to any one of Claims 17 to 24, wherein the resized carbonaceous reductant material is between about 1 and about 50% of the mass of the resized mineral ore fines, including between about 5 and about 35% of the mass of the resized mineral ore fines.

28. A method for producing agglomerated pellets, a method for producing a metal product or alloy, and/or a porous agglomerated pellet, any of which being substantially as herein described, illustrated and/or exemplified.