Qatar Steel Company (QSC) has signed a long-term contract with Brazil’s Samarco Mineracao for the supply of iron ore pellets.

Samarco will supply the QSC plant at Mesaieed Industrial City with pellets from 2011 until 2016 under the agreement signed in Doha. The exact annual tonnage of the pellets that will be supplied was not disclosed.

Iron ore pellets are the raw material used in the production of direct reduced iron (DRI) which is also known as hot briquetted iron (HBI).

Samarco produces around 21.6 million tonnes-a-year of iron ore pellets.

Qatar Steel Company was founded in 1974 and is wholly owned by the state-controlled Industries Qatar.