Excessive emissions of fossil CO2 are known to be a primary cause of global climate change. Emissions from the iron and steel-making industries account for 5-6% of global fossil CO2 emissions. Biocarbon (i.e., charcoal) could be used to replace the coal currently employed to smelt iron ore and thereby reduce fossil CO2 emissions. In Brazil, Eucalyptus wood charcoal is used to smelt iron ore, but there is interest in the use of charcoal produced from other biomass feedstocks. Banagrass, a variety of elephantgrass (Pennisetum purpureum, Schum.), which produces near-record amounts of biomass, is a promising biomass candidate for charcoal production in Brazil and elsewhere. In this paper we describe results of charcoal production from banagrass of different ages and states of demineralization. Mature banagrass provides the highest yields of biocarbon. In addition to its maturity, the structure of the feedstock strongly influences the fixed-carbon yield. Our results indicate that banagrass may be preferred to Eucalyptus wood as a promising feedstock for metallurgical biocarbon production.