METHOD FOR PRODUCING METALLIC IRON NUGGETS

A method of producing metallic iron nuggets includes providing a hearth with refractory material, and providing a reducible mixture above at least a portion of the hearth, where the reducible mixture includes reducible iron bearing material, reducing material such that the reducible mixture has a quantity of reducible iron bearing material and between about 65% and about 90% of a stoichiometric amount of reducing material necessary for complete iron reduction of the reducible iron material, between about 1% and 4% by weight manganese oxide, between about 1% and 3% by weight fluorspar, and additives providing a slag basicity ratio of CaO/SiO2 between 1.2 and 1.7. Then the method includes thermally treating the reducible mixture in the presence of other carbonaceous material separate from the reducible mixture forming one or more metallic iron nuggets by melting.