A hearth for a traveling hearth furnace for the production of pig iron grade nuggets, the hearth having a synthetic graphite material in direct contact with the process charge in producing a plurality of metallic iron nodules and slag. The process charge including iron containing oxide, a predetermined amount of a reductant and flux, which are carried into and through a reducing, melting and coalescing stages on the hearth, wherein resulting metallic iron nodules and slag are in direct contact with the synthetic graphite material and do not adhere to the synthetic graphite material of the hearth. The absence adherence and ease of removal minimizes any impurities in the pig iron grade nuggets and allows the hearth to be used more than one cycle without the need for any replenishment of the contact surface.

A hearth for a traveling hearth furnace for the production of pig iron grade nuggets, the hearth having a synthetic graphite material in direct contact with the process charge in producing a plurality of metallic iron nodules and slag. The process charge including iron containing oxide, a predetermined amount of a reductant and flux, which are carried into and through a reducing, melting and coalescing stages on the hearth, wherein resulting metallic iron nodules and slag are in direct contact with the synthetic graphite material and do not adhere to the synthetic graphite material of the hearth. The absence adherence and ease of removal minimizes any impurities in the pig iron grade nuggets and allows the hearth to be used more than one cycle without the need for any replenishment of the contact surface.