Solid agglomerate of fine metal particles comprising a liquid oily lubricant and method for making same

A solid agglomerate of fine metal particles consisting essentially of:

• a mixture of fine metal particles, said mixture comprising metal particles having a maximum size of about 1 mm, wherein said fine metal particles are selected from the group consisting of iron oxides powders, metallic iron powders, ferroalloy(s) powders, powders from steel mill waste, metallic silicon powders, graphite powders and mixtures thereof;
• and
• about 2.5% w/w to about 10% w/w of a liquid oily lubricant which is liquid at ambient temperature;
• wherein said fine metal particles and said liquid oily lubricant are cold pressed together at ambient temperature to form said solid agglomerate, and wherein said solid agglomerate has a density of about 4 g/cm3 to about 6 g/cm3.

A method for agglomerating fine metal particles, comprising:

• mixing fine metal particles with a liquid oily lubricant to obtain an oily metallic mixture,
• wherein said fine metal particles have a maximum size of about 1 mm,
• wherein said fine metal particles are selected from the group consisting of iron oxides powders, metallic iron powders, ferroalloy(s) powders, powders from steel mill waste, metallic silicon powders, graphite powders and mixtures thereof, and
• wherein said liquid oily lubricant is liquid at ambient temperature;
• pouring the oily metallic mixture into a cavity or mold;
• and
• cold pressing at ambient temperature the oily metallic mixture into a desired shape to obtain an agglomerate in a solid form.

A method for manufacturing a solid ferrous brick, comprising:

• mixing fine metal particles with an oil to obtain an oily ferrous mixture, wherein said fine metal particles are selected from the group consisting of iron oxides powders, metallic iron powders, ferroalloy(s) powders, powders from steel mill waste, metallic silicon powders, graphite powders and mixtures thereof,
• pouring the oily ferrous mixture into a mold;
• and
• cold pressing at ambient temperature to apply a pressure of at least 145 MPa to the oily ferrous mixture in the mold to obtain said solid ferrous brick.