One of the ongoing challenges for iron makers is to be able to utilise low cost, low grade ores yet at the same time maintain or improve the energy efficiency of the process. These targets are to be achieved against a background of decreased availability of high-quality iron ore lump and increased cost of these raw materials. Sinter blends consisting of low cost materials from a variety of sources are typically used to produce synthetic iron-containing feedstock for the iron blast furnace; these materials should possess the following properties; Good reducibility, High mechanical strength and High softening temperature. The key to obtaining these properties lies in the control of the phase assemblages and microstructures present in the sinter – to date ore compositions, blends and sinter process conditions have been largely selected on the basis of extensive and expensive pilot test programs using largely empirical correlations.This project is to develop state-of-the-art predictive tools to guide the selection of raw materials and identify the process conditions necessary to achieve optimum sinter properties.