Pellet formation by a twostep method—nucle� ation by compressedair coalescence of the batch and pelletization of the nuclei—begins with forced coales� cence in the idling zone of the plate and the produc� tion of nuclei with reduced moisture content (1). To this end, the batch is divided into two fluxes F1 and F2; batch from flux F1 is used for nucleation. The nuclei supplied to the working zone of the plate move first in the ascending flux and then in the descending flux. The descending flux is characterized by selective wetting of the surface of the nuclei. Then wet batch from flux F2 is applied to this surface, so as to form the batch shell of the pellet (Fig. 1). The water consumption at the wet surface of the nuclei to obtain the optimal relative moisture content ( = / Wb, where is the surface mois� ture content of the nuclei, %, and Wb is the moisture content of the batch, %) depends on the size of the nuclei, their initial moisture content, and the rate of capillary supply. The optimal relative moisture content is 0.96-1.00. The variation in moisture content over the pellet cross section permits the calculation of the increment in pelletasing mass as a function of the water flow rate and the moisture content of the nuclei. This is required in order to determine the wetting con� ditions and the limiting moisture content at which intense formation of the pellet casing begins. In the present work, we investigate the wetting con� ditions and determine the parameters of the nuclei required for the formation of raw pellets by the two� step technology, so as to obtain the maximum yield of pellets with reduced moisture content. To obtain nuclei by coalescence, we use wet batch of two types: batch B1 (moisture content WB1 = 8.25%; mean particle size = 0.068 mm) and batch B2 (WB2 = 9.55%; = 0.025 mm). The batch is based on Teisk ironore concentrate containing 1% bentonite. The batch coalesces at the bottom coating of the plate pelletizer (diameter 0.62 m), inclined to the horizontal at 45° and rotating at 12 rpm. An air- batch jet is formed to ensure batch coalescence. The compressedair temperature tc varies in the range 20- 150°C. The outputnozzle diameter d 0 of the spraying θWn sur θ Wn sur W n sur Wn dp1 dp2 system is 20 mm. The density ρnu of the nuclei is adjusted in the range 2410-3040 kg/m 3 by regulating the pressure of the air-batch jet and the relative dis� tance θ L = H/d 0 to the coalescence surface. (Here H is the distance from the sprayer nozzle to the bottom coating, m.) Nuclei of regular forms, for which the three geomet� ric dimensions are similar, are selected as samples. They are grouped by size: 1) nuclei with sides of 4.5-5.5 mm (mean size = 5.0 mm); 2) nuclei with sides of 9.5- 10.5 mm ( = 10 mm). In pelletization, the corners of the nuclei disintegrate. Therefore, in the experimen� tal samples with a mean diameter of 10.0 mm, the cor� ners are rounded to a radius of 2-3 mm. From each group of nuclei, samples for determining the moisture anu a nu