The sintering process agglomerates the fine material into a clinker-like aggregate, with a size range that is acceptable to the blast furnace.  In modern sinter plants the iron ore fines, fluxes and revert materials are blended to give the required chemical composition for the sinter feed.  Weighed amounts of the blended fines, recirculated sinter fines, crushed coke breeze or anthracite (to assist ignition and the propagation of the flame front during the sintering process) and burned lime (to improve micro-pelletisation) are passed to a mixing and balling drum to optimise the permeability of the sintering mix. Sintering is carried out on a continuous travelling grate ("the strand") which travel over a series of wind boxes incorporating butterfly valves to control the air flow through the strand. This allows the speed at which the flame front is pulled through the sinter mix to be controlled.  The surface of the bed is ignited under a gas-fired radiant-hood ignition furnace, producing a flame front, which is drawn downwards through the mix by the suction of the main fan(s) as the bed travels along the strand. Bed depth, strand speed and fan suction are normally controlled to finish sintering (i.e. achieve burnthrough) at the penultimate wind box.

Temperature in the ignition hood ranges from about 1,150 C where ignition begins to about 800 C at the exit of the hood.  The temperature of the bed reaches about 1,300 to 1,480 C.  Depending upon characteristics of the ore materials and sintering conditions, average production rates of 22 to 43 tonnes/m /day of grate area are expected, and rates in excess of 49 tonnes/m /day have been attained. The major source of energy used in the production of sinter is the carbon content of coke breeze or anthracite and flue dust which supplies about 1.6 MJ/kg of sinter produced.