Iran exported 596,000 tons of sponge iron worth $146 million during the first six months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20-September 21), according to the data released by the Iranian Steel Producers Association (ISPA).

As ISPA reported, the country had exported 903,000 tons of the product worth $232 million in the first six months of the past year.

Sponge iron export fell 37 percent in terms of value, and 34 percent in terms of weight, in six months, year on year.

Direct reduced iron (DRI), also called sponge iron, is produced from the direct reduction of iron ore (in the form of lumps, pellets, or fines) into iron by reducing gas or elemental carbon produced from natural gas or coal. Many ores are suitable for direct reduction.

While Iran is fighting the U.S. severe sanctions on its economy, and the country’s different industrial and economic sectors have been affected by the limitations and difficulties caused by the sanctions condition, the country’s mining sector is moving forward noticeably, overcoming such barriers.

Among the mining sector’s different products, sponge iron is an outstanding example, as the production of this item is rising more and more in the country.

Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO), Iran’s largest metals and mining holding, has stated that one of the most important reasons for the increase in sponge iron production in Iran is the establishment of new sponge iron plants, adding that in recent years, with its new strategy and with the participation of the private sector, the organization has been able to launch several projects to produce sponge iron.