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Australia’s two biggest iron-ore producers
and its biggest steelmaker have announced a partnership to accelerate the
decarbonisation of steelmaking by agreeing to jointly investigate the
development of the country’s first ironmaking electric smelting furnace (ESF)
pilot plant.
Rio Tinto, BHP and BlueScope on Friday
announced a new framework agreement for the pilot facility, which would seek to
demonstrate that production of molten iron from Pilbara ores was feasible using
renewable power, combined with direct reduced iron (DRI) process technology.
Should the pilot be successful, it could
open a pathway to near-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emission-intensity operations
for steelmakers that rely on Australian iron-ore to meet global steel demand.
“Technology pathways compatible with
renewable energy and scalable to the order of hundreds of millions of tonnes of
steel production would be a major step forward in setting up Pilbara ores, and
the world, for a low GHG-emission future,” said incoming BHP Western Australia
Iron Ore asset president Tim Day.
Rio Tinto Iron Ore CE Simon Trott added
that the best way to tackle a challenge of scale was through collaboration.
“This new agreement will leverage the more
than two years of work we have already completed with BlueScope on this
technology. This partnership will benefit from Rio Tinto’s and BHP’s unrivalled
experience of Pilbara ores as well as the technical steelmaking capability and
unique operating knowledge of BlueScope,” he noted.
The parties will assess several locations
in Australia for the proposed pilot facility, and will consider factors such as
supporting infrastructure, available workforce, access to target industry and
supply chain partners, and suitability for operational trials.
The prefeasibility study work programme is
expected to conclude at year-end. If approved, the pilot facility could be
commissioned as early as 2027.
BlueScope, for its part, stated that it had
a clear vision to be a vibrant, modern and sustainable steel manufacturer.
“We believe DRI is the most prospective
technology to decarbonise our Australian business, and the development of ESF
technology is key to unlocking Australia’s unique advantages in this
decarbonisation journey – and, more importantly, has the potential for wider
adaptation across the global steel industry. We believe that this collaboration
where we can contribute BlueScope’s unique experience in operating an ESF will
be key to cracking the code for Pilbara ores in low emission-intensity
ironmaking,” said BlueScope CEO Tania Archibald.