Reduced iron production method and production apparatus

A reduced iron production method, comprising, in the order listed:

• (i) producing reduced iron by heating an agglomerate containing iron oxide and a carbonaceous reducing agent in a heating furnace to reduce the iron oxide, producing a product containing reduced iron, melting the reduced iron, and then solidifying the reduced iron to obtain a product comprising granular metallic iron, a first slag having less than 3 weight % of a fine granular metallic iron, and a second slag containing from 3 weight % to 15 weight % of fine-granular metallic iron, wherein the first slag and the second slag are separable by magnetic force;
• (ii) separating the granular metallic iron from the first slag with a first magnetic separator, wherein the second slag is optionally retained with the granular metallic iron or the first slag depending on the magnetic attraction force of the first magnetic separator;
• (iii) separating the second slag from the first-slag or the granular-metallic-iron with a second magnetic separator having an attraction force different from the attraction force of the first magnetic separator;
• and
• (iv) crushing the separated second slag;
• wherein the product obtained by melting and solidifying the reduced iron is not crushed and the granular metallic iron is removed as a product without grinding.