Mining Rivals Team Up for Australia's Biggest Green Iron Pilot

Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Australia's largest ironmaking electric smelting furnace (ESF) pilot plant will be built in the Kwinana Industrial Area, in Western Australia, following a decision by mining companies Rio Tinto (NYSE:RIO) (London, England), and BHP Group Limited (Melbourne, Australia) with steelmaker BlueScope's (Melbourne, Australia).

The "NeoSmelt" project will see low-quality iron ore mined in the Pilbara region turned into iron using direct reduced iron (DRI)-ESF technology, which will avoid the need for traditional blast furnaces and lower CO2 emissions by up to 80%. The pilot plant aims to prove that Pilbara iron ore can be used to produce molten iron with lower carbon emissions. To start, the pilot plant will have the capacity to produce 30,000 to 40,000 tonnes of molten iron a year, initially powered by natural gas but with the aim of switching to lower-carbon emissions hydrogen once the plant is operational. Kwinana Industrial Area was chosen after a year of study due to its transport logistics and existing infrastructure, as well as a generous US$47million contribution from the Western Australian Government. Feasibility studies will commence in Q2 2025 and the partners are targeting a final investment decision (FID) for the pilot plant in 2026, with operations expected to begin in 2028.

Woodside Energy Group (Perth, Australia) has also joined the NeoSmelt project as a full equity partner. It is working on a US$620 million blue hydrogen and ammonia project in the Kwinana area that could potentially supply the project with hydrogen for smelting in the future. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Project Database can click here for the report.

Western Australia Premier Roger Cook said: "Under my WA Labor Government, our State is becoming a global renewable energy powerhouse -- creating the jobs of the future and setting up our economy for the long term. Securing NeoSmelt for Kwinana positions WA at the cutting edge of the global push to slash emissions from steel production, and means our Pilbara iron ore will be processed right here in WA. Putting the global steel industry on the pathway to near-zero emissions means more jobs in processing in WA, and a strong future for WA's iron ore industry."

BlueScope Chief Executive Australia Tania Archibald added: "Today marks a significant milestone in what is truly a unique and transformative project to help decarbonise the steel industry. The progress made during the pre-feasibility stage is a testament to the collaboration of all parties involved. "Our role as Project Manager leverages our deep iron and steelmaking experience at the Port Kembla Steelworks and our unique capability as the operator of the world's only electric smelting furnace processing DRI in New Zealand."

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