The necessity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and fossil fuel consumption dictates the replacement of blast-furnace stage by metallization processes. Searching for solutions to improve quality of direct reduction pellets is an urgent issue. This article studies the influence of bauxite addition on the strength of iron ore pellets for subsequent metallization from concentrated products of Kursk Magnetic Anomaly obtained by reverse cationic floatation. The interrelation between basicity of iron ore pellets and degree of their desulfurization has been studied. The obtained results demonstrate possibility to control the strength of pellets from reprepared concentrated products using bauxite and limestone.