MNA � A new pelletizing project called Asadabad Pelletizing Plant, located in Hamedan province, was inaugurated by First Vice President Es�hagh Jahangiri on Tuesday.

The project has come on stream with 1.3 trillion rials ($31 million) of investment and is slated to produce 2,000 tons of pellets per day.

The iron ore for the new pelletizing plant will be supplied from the nearby mines in the mineral-rich province. The pellets will also be offered in the domestic market for local direct-reduced iron producers and steelmakers to cover the growing needs in melting feedstock.

Iron ore pellet is an enriched form of the metal shaped into balls and used as raw material for blast furnaces, which is used in integrated steelmaking, during which coke, iron ore and pellets react together under a hot air flow to form liquid hot metal, also called pig iron.

Domestic demand for pellets stands at 30 million tons per year. The production of the material currently amounts to around 30 million tons per year, which is set to rise to 85 million tons by 2025.