Tag Archives: green iron

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Fortescue Board approves ‘green pit to product’ hydrogen-based iron ore project

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Fortescue Metals Group has approved an investment of up $50 million to construct a Green Iron Trial Commercial Plant at Christmas Creek, with annual production of more than 1,500 t.

The plant, in Western Australia, will use the existing green hydrogen infrastructure at Christmas Creek to lower the overall capital requirement and demonstrate a green pit to product supply chain, the company said. Construction will commence following a work program and is subject to receiving the relevant approvals. First production of green iron is targeted in 2025.

The pilot’s technology options will support both magnetite and hematite ores, with Fortescue recognising the importance of taking steps to support the reduction of its Scope 3 emissions.

Fortescue said: “The project represents a significant milestone in Fortescue’s green iron journey, where the company has been examining various hydrogen-based pathways to produce green iron, while also developing a low-temperature, electrochemical process at its Perth R&D facility.”

The term “green iron”, in this instance, refers to the end product resulting from processing iron ore into iron, without the use of fossil fuels, and instead using renewable energy.

Alongside this investment, the company also confirmed two other green energy projects – namely an 80 MW electrolyser and liquefaction facility in Arizona able to produce up to 11,000 t/y of liquid green hydrogen (the Phoenix Hydrogen Hub) and a 50MW green hydrogen project using Fortescue’s own electrolyser technology (the Gladstone PEM50 project).

Zero emission haul truck developments on the IMARC 2023 agenda

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IMARC 2023 is off to a bang, with two of the first keynote interviews – featuring speakers from Fortescue and BHP – kicking off what is expected to be a constant flurry of mining technology news.

During a Mining Keynote Interview, titled, ‘The Reshaping of the Fortescue Business: A Showcase of the Past, Present and Future of the Mining and Resources’ Industry,’ Dino Otranto (pictured on the right), CEO of Fortescue, talked up the mining company’s ‘Real Zero’ terrestrial emissions (Scope 1 and 2) 2030 aim.

Speaking to Jennifer Hewett (pictured on the left), National Affairs Columnist, The Australian Financial Review, Otranto highlighted the recent arrival of the first 240-t-class Liebherr Mining T 264 trucks at its Eliwana iron ore mining site in the Pilbara of Western Australia, which is expected to be converted to Fortescue’s in-house battery solution developed by WAE in the near term.

Looking further out, Otranto said the company’s first zero emission fleet at Eliwana was expected to be “on parity” with the diesel haulage equivalent from a cost and productivity perspective. “In the future, they could be even more productive,” he added.

Fortescue is currently working on a number of “zero emission” solutions across its mining operations – battery-electric and green hydrogen, among them – and Otranto said the company was confident that the electric powertrain is “the future”, with the system that generates the power to supply this being “agnostic”.

“In the future, we will not be beholden by the OEM and a single product,” he said, explaining that the captive energy source tied to where the resources and reserves were located would play a crucial role in the chosen system.

Soon after Otranto left the stage, Hewett was joined by James Agar, Group Procurement Officer at BHP, for another keynote interview, titled ‘The Importance of Supplier and Community Partnerships to Create Value’.

Agar was quick to pick up from where Otranto left off, referencing the company’s own zero-emission haulage plans, which included the expected rollout of a zero emissions truck at its operations next year. The company has previously signalled that a Cat Early Learner battery truck could come arrive for trials at its operations in 2024.

Alongside this, Agar referenced ongoing work with Bridgestone and Michelin related to battery-electric haul truck developments.

“We have realised that if we reduce the rolling resistance of tyres by 1-2%, it can have a big impact on battery life,” he said. “Equally, these trucks are going to be able to travel at faster speeds, so tyre life will be affected. This is another area we are studying.”

Australian government backs mining and metal sector decarbonising initiative

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A new Cooperative Research Centre focused on integrating green energy sources such as hydrogen, ammonia and solar into high-heat and high-emission manufacturing processes for products like steel, aluminium and cement has won Australia government backing.

The Heavy Industry Low-carbon Transition Cooperative Research Centre (HILT CRC), to be led by the University of Adelaide, has been provided with A$39 million ($29 million) of funding through the CRC Grants program. It is also backed by an additional A$175.7 million in funding and in-kind support from research and industry partners such as Alcoa, Rio Tinto Aluminium, South32, Roy Hill, Fortescue Metals Group, the Australian National University and the CSIRO.

South Australia Minister for Industry, Science and Technology, Christian Porter, said the CRC would help to secure the future of heavy industries right across the country by helping them to lower costs and establish a reputation as exporters of high-quality, low-carbon, value-added products.

“In order to remain internationally competitive, it is crucial that our heavy industries begin the transition to lower cost and cleaner energy technology to secure the long-term future of their operations,” Minister Porter said. “By connecting those industries with our best and brightest minds from within our major research institutions – coupled with the significant funding that’s now available to fast-track this work – we expect real-world solutions can be delivered within the 10-year life of the CRC.”

Dr David Cochrane, who is Technology Lead at core CRC partner South32 and also an industry leader of the HILT CRC, said: “The HILT CRC will play an important role in transitioning to a low-carbon future by creating a framework for industry to collaborate, sharing knowledge and experience while lowering the risk of trialling technology.

“For South32, we have recently set medium-term targets to halve our operational emissions by 2035 as we transition to net zero by 2050 and initiatives like the HILT CRC are part of our plan to achieve these targets.”

Susan Jeanes, who is Chair-elect of the HILT CRC, said: “Decarbonising Australia’s heavy industry will position it to be competitive in the rapidly developing, global low carbon markets for green iron and aluminium products that have higher value than our current exports. These new markets are being driven by our trading partners in countries like China, Japan and Europe, which are introducing a range of financial measures to meet their carbon targets, such as EU’s Carbon Border Tax.

“Our mineral resources geographically co-exist around the continent with our first-class renewable energy resources making decarbonising more competitive here than in other parts of the world.”