Carol pellet quality — a decade in review

CIM Bulletin, Vol. 84, No. 950, 1991

S.T. Vessey, J. Staples, D. Pearcey and V. Hegde

Pellet quality has taken on a new dimension during the last ten years. Quality in the seventies was generally defined as adherence to certain physical and chemical specifications. Today, the talk is in terms of how the business is managed, how customer's expectations can be exceeded, not only in product quality, but in service responsiveness. Coke breeze and flux additions, lower silica levels, and improved furnace control practices have all contributed to the improvement of pellet physical and metallurgical properties. Statistical process control has provided additional insight into the parameters that affect pellet quality. Increased customer contact and product quality surveys have heightened our awareness of customer needs and also provide direction for quality improvement test work. Current work isfocussed on improving reducibility and understanding the relationshp between tumble, fired compression and metallurgical properties. This paper will review the Iron Ore Company of Canada's efforts during the past decade and describe some of its initiatives for the future.

Keywords: Iron Ore Company of Canada, Pellet production, Metallurgy.