Labs · Value-chain explorer
How many tonnes go in and out at each stage, from ore to finished product?
For 300,000 t of products a year, about 319,000 t of liquid steel, melted from scrap and imported direct-reduced iron.
Result
DerivedTo make 300,000 t of rebar and wire rod a year takes about 319,000 t of liquid steel and 362,000 t of metallic charge, including 109,000 t of direct-reduced iron. If that iron were one day made from Cameroonian ore (a later stage; Phase 1 uses scrap and imported direct-reduced iron), it would take about 176,000 t of ore at 64% Fe.
319kt
Liquid steel
362kt
Metallic charge
109kt
Direct-reduced iron
176kt
Ore equivalent per year (later stage)
44.6kt
Recoverable slag
Mass balance
From ore to products, tonne by tonne
Swipe the diagram sideways; the table below carries the same figures.
| Stage | Inputs | Outputs | Losses and by-products |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beneficiation and pelletising | Iron ore 176 kt | Pellets 150 kt | Tailings 25.9 kt |
| Direct reduction | Pellets 150 kt | Direct-reduced iron 109 kt | Oxygen removed 41.7 kt |
| Electric melt shop | Scrap 254 kt Direct-reduced iron 109 kt Additions 5.9 kt | Liquid steel 319 kt | Slag 44.6 kt Dust 4.8 kt |
| Continuous casting | Liquid steel 319 kt | Billets 313 kt | Casting crops 6.4 kt |
| Rolling | Billets 313 kt | Rebar 210 kt Wire rod 90.0 kt | Scale and crops 12.5 kt |
Model assumptions
19 assumptions
| Parameter | Value used | Range | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Target output (Phase 1) | 300,000 t/yr | 50,000 – 1,000,000 | Assumption | Cameroon Steel, planning estimate (2024): 0.3 Mt/yr first phase; 1 Mt/yr target design capacity (Cameroon Tribune, 2 Jan 2025) |
| Direct-reduced iron (DRI) share of the charge | 30% | 20 – 50 | Assumption | Cameroon Steel reference configuration RC-1, edition 10 Oct 2026 (planning estimate, not a design figure): imported DRI/HBI share, balance scrap |
| Ore grade (later stage) | 64.0% Fe | 62.0 – 66.0 | Assumption | Planning value within a 62–66% Fe range, for a later direct-reduction stage fed with Cameroonian ore; to be replaced by test results on the ore actually supplied |
| Grade of direct-reduction concentrate and pellets | 67.5% Fe | 66.5 – 68.5 | Assumption | Planning assumption: direct-reduction pellets need about 66.5–68.5% Fe and little silica; planning value 67.5% |
| Iron recovery in beneficiation | 0.90 share | 0.80 – 0.95 | Assumption | Planning assumption: iron recovery depends on the ore, lower for lean itabirite and higher for rich hematite |
| Total iron in DRI | 0.92 share | 0.90 – 0.94 | Assumption | Planning assumption for gas-based shaft-furnace DRI (metallisation above 92%) |
| Iron yield of direct reduction (fines losses) | 0.985 share | 0.970 – 0.995 | Assumption | Planning assumption: 1.5% of iron lost as fines and dust; gives ~1.4 t of pellets per t of DRI, in line with the 1.4–1.5 rule of thumb |
| Metallic yield of scrap in the furnace | 0.900 t/t | 0.880 – 0.920 | Assumption | Calibrated so that a 70/30 scrap–DRI charge gives the RC-1 melt-shop yield of 0.88 (range 0.85–0.91) |
| Metallic yield of DRI in the furnace | 0.833 t/t | 0.800 – 0.870 | Assumption | DRI carries 6–8% gangue and unreduced oxide; calibrated with the scrap yield on the RC-1 value 0.88 |
| Metallic yield of pig iron in the furnace | 0.93 t/t | 0.91 – 0.95 | Assumption | Planning assumption: carbon and silicon of pig iron are oxidised in the furnace |
| Furnace slag, 100% scrap charge | 110 kg/t liquid steel | 100 – 130 | Derived | IFC EHS Guidelines for Integrated Steel Mills (2007): EAF solid waste 110–180 kg/t, mostly slag; lower bound for an all-scrap charge |
| Extra slag from DRI gangue | 100 kg/t per 100% DRI | 70 – 150 | Derived | Calibrated so that 30% DRI gives the RC-1 slag rate of 140 kg/t (IFC range for solid waste 110–180 kg/t) |
| Furnace dust (hazardous, captured) | 15 kg/t liquid steel | 10 – 20 | Assumption | Planning assumption, within the 10–30 kg/t of the EU BREF for iron and steel (2013) |
| Continuous-casting yield | 0.98 share | 0.97 – 0.99 | Assumption | Planning assumption; casting × rolling = 0.94 as in RC-1 (range 0.92–0.96) |
| Rolling yield | 0.96 share | 0.93 – 0.98 | Assumption | Planning assumption; casting × rolling = 0.94 as in RC-1 |
| Rolling-mill scale | 20 kg/t product | 15 – 25 | Assumption | Cameroon Steel reference configuration RC-1, edition 10 Oct 2026 (planning estimate, not a design figure): mill scale 15–25 kg/t, recovered as iron units |
| Iron in pig iron | 0.945 share | 0.930 – 0.955 | Assumption | Planning assumption for merchant pig iron (about 4% carbon, 1% silicon and manganese) |
| Iron yield of the blast furnace (ore → pig iron) | 0.97 share | 0.95 – 0.99 | Assumption | Planning assumption, including sintering fines; coke and fluxes are outside the iron balance |
| Wire-rod share of products | 30% | 0 – 100 | Illustrative | Illustrative split; the product mix will follow the market |
How this is calculated
The calculation works back up the chain from the target output. Billets = products ÷ rolling yield; liquid steel = billets ÷ casting yield; metallic charge = liquid steel ÷ Y, where Y is the furnace yield of scrap (0.90), direct-reduced iron (0.833) and pig iron (0.93) weighted by their shares: 0.88 for the 70/30 reference charge, as in the RC-1 reference configuration.
Slag is 110 kg per tonne of liquid steel for an all-scrap charge, plus 100 kg per 100% DRI, whose gangue goes to slag; dust is 15 kg/t. Additions (lime, carbon, alloys, net of gases) close the furnace balance. Upstream, iron is conserved: pellets = DRI × 0.92 ÷ (0.675 × 0.985), about 1.4 t of pellets per tonne of DRI, then ore = pellets × 0.675 ÷ (grade × recovery); tailings are the difference.
Limits. Solids balance only: reducing gas, coke, injected oxygen and process gases are not shown, and crops recycled to the furnace are not looped back. The planned Phase 1 runs on scrap and imported direct-reduced iron: the “ore” columns show what Cameroonian ore would have to supply to carry the same iron units, a later and indicative step. With the default values the model reproduces the RC-1 Phase 1 balance within 0.2%.
Sources
- Cameroon Steel, RC-1 reference configuration (10 Oct 2026): capacities, yields, slag, dust
- IFC, EHS Guidelines for Integrated Steel Mills (2007): EAF solid waste 110–180 kg/t, mostly slag
- European Commission JRC, Iron and Steel Production BREF (2013): dust 10–30 kg/t; 10–20 kg/t taken as the planning assumption