Method and system for producing metallic nuggets includes providing
reducible mixture (e.g., reducible micro-agglomerates; reducing material
and reducible iron bearing material; reducible mixture including
additives such as a fluxing agent; compacts, etc.) on at least a portion
of a hearth material layer. In one embodiment, a plurality of channel
openings extend at least partially through a layer of the reducible
mixture to define a plurality of nugget forming reducible material
regions. Such channel openings may be at least partially filled with
nugget separation fill material (e.g., carbonaceous material). Thermally
treating the layer of reducible mixture results in formation of one or
more metallic iron nuggets. In other embodiments, various compositions of
the reducible mixture and the formation of the reducible mixture provide
one or more beneficial characteristics.