The Fastmet process is a solid reductant based direct reduced iron process using fine ore mixed with a carbon reductant such as pulverised coal. Developed by Midrex, as an alternative to gas based processes, plant sizes are suitable for minimill operations and offer the European steelmaker a viable source of virgin metal. Kobe Steel commissioned a demonstration plant in 1995. 

In this process, a combination of pulverized coal and iron ore fines are made into pellets.

The pellets are fed into a doughnut-shaped rotary hearth furnace and heated. At 1,350 degrees Celsius, the pellets are reduced in 8-10 minutes. Under high heat, the pulverized coal serves as the reductant and burns off the oxygen in the iron ore. DRI can be charged hot to an adjacent melting furnace or converted to briquettes for merchant shipment. Kobe Steel, Ltd. and Midrex Direct Reduction Corporation recently announced that they have discovered a refinement of this process under higher temperatures so that iron ore is reduced in a short 6 to 10 minutes Kobe Steel and Midrex plan to conduct research on the new molten iron making process in three stages. In Phase 1, running from July 1996 to March 1997, roughly 200 million yen will be invested to study the reaction mechanism and the basic technology of the process. In Phase 2, October 1996 to June 1998, the two companies plan to conduct bench-scale testing, investing some 500 million yen. Should the results of the first two phases be promising, the project will move into Phase 3, where potential process users will be invited to invest in the construction and operation of a pilot plant.

The products produced by the rotary hearth processes FASTMET, INMETCO, and IDI contain large quantities of gangue and sulfur which are associated with the coal reductant. The methods presently used for de-ashing and desulfurizing coal prior to making the composite pellet for reduction are inadequate because they are either too costly or they degrade the coal's properties. Improved methods for separation of the hot reduced iron from the sulfur and gangue are also needed.