Charcoal can replace coke in blast furnaces avoiding the use of reducing agents derived from fossil fuels. However, the main limitation of charcoal is its lower strength, which is essential for supporting the iron ore load inside the blast furnaces. In order to improve and control the charcoal quality, the objectives were then to study (i) the influence of radial position of the raw material and carbonization temperature on charcoal density and rigidity, and (ii) the link between properties of wood and charcoal taking into account the previous factors. It was found that: (a) The charcoal MOE increased with the final temperature of pyrolysis, but the temperature effect was less significant fot the density. (b) The charcoal properties were higher for samples cut near the bark, but an elevated carbonization temperature seemed to reduce this phenomenon. (c) The best predictors to estimate the charcoal quality were the wood density and the carbonization temperature.