Taxonomy — Feed Families & Product Forms
Iron Ore Types
The form of iron ore decides which specification fields govern and what has to be proven before a plant will accept it. The mistake is to read the form as a grade — the two are separate, and a lot can be exactly what its name says and still be wrong for your route.
Sort by the decision each page settles rather than by name. If you are unsure which one you need, the sorter below takes what you have and what it must do and names the family that matches — plus the evidence still outstanding.
Price on request. No grade, analysis or availability is stated on this page — each form is qualified against its own certificate.
Form-path sorter
Which form does your requirement actually point to
State what you have, what it has to do, and what evidence you hold. The sorter names the feed family that matches the route and reports what is still outstanding. It supplies no grade, size range or limit of its own.
The physical state of the material — this is material identity, not a grade.
The route the material serves. This is process suitability, which is a separate question from what the material is.
A figure without the method and sampling standard behind it cannot be compared with another offer.
Nothing selected yet
No form family is named because nothing has been stated. The most useful starting pair is what you have and what it must do — material identity and process suitability are different questions, and a form that satisfies one can fail the other.
Method and limits
- The sorter maps your two statements onto the form families described on this site. It supplies no grade, size range, gangue limit or moisture figure.
- It reports what is outstanding, never whether material will be accepted — the receiving plant's route decides that.
- No stock, price, lead time or availability is estimated from anything entered here.
The ore forms
Grouped by the decision each one settles
These pages are not interchangeable and are not alternatives to one another. Each answers a different question about the material, so open the one that matches what you still need to establish.
What arrives without processing
These forms are sold as the deposit produced them. Because nothing has been done to raise the grade or remove gangue, the delivered analysis has to stand on its own.
Lumps
Coarse natural ore screened to a band suitable for direct furnace charge.
Settles: Whether the coarse band matches what the receiving furnace can accept without further crushing.
Fines
Fine natural ore, typically destined for agglomeration rather than direct charge.
Settles: Whether the fines suit the agglomeration route the buyer intends.
Direct-shipping ore
Sold as mined, with no upgrading step between the deposit and shipment.
Settles: Whether the natural grade clears the buyer's floor unassisted, since no later step will raise it.
What has already been processed
These forms carry a deliberate processing step before sale. That changes what the analysis describes — it reflects the process as well as the deposit — and it changes what has to be documented.
What feeds an agglomeration route
These are bought as feedstock into a plant that will shape them. They are judged on what the route asks of them, and the two agglomeration paths impose different requirements on material of broadly similar size.
Sinter feed
Fines bought into a blend, bonded on a moving strand.
Settles: Whether the feed can be assessed on its own at all — its contribution depends on the mix it joins.
Pellet feed
Ground feedstock that a balling circuit will shape and indurate.
Settles: Whether the fineness and gangue ratio suit the balling circuit, which the iron figure alone does not answer.
What the plant produces
This is a product of a process rather than an input to one. It is judged on physical quality as much as chemistry, and it is not interchangeable with the feedstock it is made from.
How to choose
Material identity and process suitability are separate questions
Most form-choice errors come from answering the first question and assuming it settles the second. These are the criteria that actually move the choice.
| Criterion | The question it answers | Where it is established |
|---|---|---|
| Physical state | Is the material coarse, fine, ground, beneficiated or shaped? | Stated by the buyer from what is actually held. |
| Natural vs processed | Has anything been done to it before sale? | Determines whether the analysis reflects the deposit alone or a processing step too. |
| Intended process route | Direct charge, sinter strand, balling circuit or reduction? | Named by the buyer — no type name carries it. |
| Governing chemistry | Which elements does the route control, and at what limits? | Buyer-defined per element, each with its analytical method. |
| Size and its basis | Does the sizing suit the route's intake? | The sizing record with the method and sieve series that produced it. |
| Mass and moisture basis | Is the tonnage quoted wet or dry? | The moisture figure, compared against offers on the same basis. |
| Commercial route | Is the material consumed on site or held and resold? | The buyer's own position, which changes what has to be documented. |
The substitution trap: naming a neighbouring form in a quotation does not make the two interchangeable. If an offer swaps one for another, treat it as a different requirement — what has to be established changes with the form.
Delivery destinations
Where the form has to arrive
The destination decides the receiving pattern and the documentation regime, so the form and the delivery basis belong in the same enquiry. Each route below is an import-planning page, not a claim of local presence.
United Arab Emirates
EAF-led demand; ore assessed as a feedstock against the buyer's own route.
Saudi Arabia
Project-scale volumes arriving with a full specification and hold points.
Qatar
Reduction-oriented demand; the process route governs which elements matter.
Kuwait
Contractor procurement tied to a delivery window and a named discharge port.
Bahrain
A compact receiving leg, where the document set has to be settled before dispatch.
Oman
Movements that often continue inland, so the delivery place needs naming.
Buying process
From form choice to delivery
A compact route showing what happens between identifying the form family and the handover — each stage tied to a real concern rather than a generic claim.
Form identified
What the material actually is, which is material identity rather than a grade.
Route named
The process it has to serve, which decides which properties govern.
Bases fixed
Method, moisture basis and sizing method travel with every figure quoted.
Evidence checked
Open items are carried into the enquiry rather than discovered after the order.
| Buyer concern | How it is addressed | Evidence required |
|---|---|---|
| Form mistaken for a grade | The enquiry separates what the material is from what it contains. | An assay with its analytical method, distinct from the form name. |
| Agglomeration routes assumed equivalent | Sinter feed and pellet feed are treated as different requirements, not variants. | The intended agglomeration route, stated explicitly. |
| Tonnage quoted on an unstated basis | Each offer must state whether the tonnage is wet or dry. | A moisture figure with its mass basis. |
| Sizing quoted without its method | The sizing record is required to name the sieve series and method. | A size distribution with the method that produced it. |
| Substitution presented as a variation | A swapped form is treated as a different requirement with its own evidence. | Written confirmation of the form actually offered. |
Buyer FAQ
Questions that come up before a form is chosen
These are the questions buyers and procurement teams raise while narrowing an ore requirement to a feed family — not definitions, which the sections above already cover.
Is a form name the same as a grade?
Can sinter feed and pellet feed be used interchangeably?
What has to be settled before two ore offers can be compared?
How do I know which type page answers my question?
Does a higher iron figure always mean a better ore?
Request a Quote
Once the form family is settled, the specification fields that matter follow from it. Send the specification with the form and the route stated, and the commercial desk responds against the scope you set rather than a type name.
- Form and intended route stated together
- Each figure carrying its method and basis
- Open items carried into the enquiry rather than found later
Price on request. Availability and documents are confirmed for the exact consignment before any offer is made.
Carry the record into an enquiry
Copy the form-path record and attach it, or state the fields directly. Nothing is pre-filled.
Complete the sorter above to generate a record you can attach.
The type pages
Open the form whose question is still open
Each page below settles one decision. Open the one that matches the question you have not yet resolved; the others will not answer it.
Lumps
Coarse ore that goes into the furnace as it arrives.
Fines
Fine ore sold for agglomeration rather than direct charge.
Concentrate
Beneficiated material, upgraded from a lower-grade feed.
Iron ore pellets
Finished balls produced by a pellet plant.
Direct-shipping ore (DSO)
Natural ore that ships without beneficiation.
Sinter feed
A fine feed sized for a sintering strand.
Pellet feed
A fine feed specified for a balling circuit.