Characteristics of the quality of sinter cakes and the sinter obtained from them are related to the type and parameters of the macrostructure formed during sintering. The structure of the cake may consist of fine or coarse pores or be monolithic, and it depends on the properties of the charge and the sintering regime [1]. Studies conducted by E. F. Vegman established that a coarse-pored sinter cake generally has a "block texture" [2]. Comparing the form of the macrostructure and the strength properties of sinters, S. V. Basilevich and W. J. Meuller came to the conclusion that a rme-pored structure is preferable for increasing sinter's mechanical strength [I, 3]. At the same time, experience in the operation of sintering plants has shown that industrial technology tends to produce sinter with an unpredictable coarse-pored (block) macrostructure that may change from f'me-pored to monolithic going from the top of the cake to the bottom. In light of the importance of the macrostructural parameters of sinter cakes to the formation of their processing characteristics and selection of the optimum sintering regime, we conducted studies of the quantitative relationship between the structural and processing characteristics of these cakes. The studies were performed on laboratory sinter cakes of hydrogoethite and magnetite concentrates. Macrostructural characteristics were determined on the basis of stoichiometric relations between the parameters of the three-dimensional structure and their plane geometric projection. The parameters of the two-dimensional structure were studied using polished sections prepared from fragments of sinter cakes with minimum dimensions of 70-100 nun. Images were analyzed with the use of an automated microscope equipped with an image recognition system (based on electronic scanning) that employs television. A television is used The data was analyzed by statistical analysis and use of the application package "Videolab-2." As the structural parameters, we used the fraction of pores coarser than 3 mm (Vp) and blocks of cake material (Vs0 on the total surface of each section and their mean dimensions (dp.av, dso.av), specific surfaces (Fss.p, Fss.so), perimeters, and form factors. Table 1 presents equations that satisfactorily describe the relationship between the properties of the sinters (with the sinter cakes of hydrogoethite as an example) and parameters of the macrostructure of fragments of cakes with a multiple regression coefficient no lower than 0.95.