Tag Archives: Iron ore

Sanjiv Ridge heads for full operations after Atlas Iron crushes first milestone

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Atlas Iron has announced first ore has been crushed at its new mine, Sanjiv Ridge, in Western Australia, ahead of schedule.

Sanjiv Ridge is set to provide a significant boost to Atlas’s annual output, with an expected 4-5 Mt/y of lump and fines to be hauled by road to the Utah Point stockyard at Port Hedland. It is expected the mine will add 5-6 years to the Atlas value chain, with 64 Mt at 57.2% Fe of mineral resources and 29 Mt at 57% Fe reserves.

On the crushing milestone, Atlas Iron CEO, Sanjiv Manchanda, said: “Congratulations to all our team members, including both Atlas Iron staff and our valued contractors, for their hard work and dedication to hit this target ahead of schedule. Now, with first ore crushed, we are focusing on building the product stockpile and commencement of road haulage.”

Sanjiv Ridge was recently renamed from Corunna Downs after Atlas’ CEO in recognition of his long service across the Hancock Prospecting Group of companies.

The new mine site is due to be in full operation in the third quarter of Atlas’ 2021 financial year, and is situated northeast of Atlas Iron’s existing mining operation, Mount Webber.

Fortescue expands automation focus to light vehicles at Chichester Hub

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Fortescue Metals Group says the future of mining mobility is being advanced at its mines, with the successful operational deployment of autonomous light vehicles (ALVs) at the company’s iron ore mining operations in the Chichester Hub of Western Australia.

Developed by Fortescue’s Technology and Autonomy team as a solution to improve the efficiency of the Christmas Creek mobile maintenance team, ALVs remove the need for fitters to make around 12,000 28-km round trips annually to collect equipment and parts, the company estimates.

With the assistance of Ford Australia, four Ford Rangers have been retrofitted with an on-board vehicle automation system to support the driverless equipment transfer service, which will improve efficiency and safety by enabling team members to spend more time on maintaining assets.

The system features an integrated LiDAR/Radar perception system that facilitates obstacle detection and dynamic obstacle avoidance, a comprehensive independent safety management, and fail safe braking system and extensive built-in system monitoring and fault response capability.

The successful deployment of ALVs at Christmas Creek will provide the opportunity to implement a similar system at other operational sites to improve safety, productivity and efficiency, Fortescue says.

Fortescue Chief Executive Officer, Elizabeth Gaines, said: “Since the outset, Fortescue has been at the forefront of innovation in the mining industry, underpinned by our value of generating ideas. It is this focus on technology and innovation that has driven our industry-leading operational performance and cost position.

“The autonomous light vehicle project is a significant advancement of our in-house automation capability, building on our leading autonomous haulage system program which has already delivered significant productivity and efficiency improvements for the business.

“With the flexibility to introduce similar systems into other mobile assets, this project is fundamental to our future mobile equipment automation projects.”

Ford Australia President and Chief Executive Officer, Andrew Birkic, said: “We’re very proud that our award-winning Ford Rangers have been used as part of the Fortescue Metals Group autonomous light vehicle project.

“Ford, globally, is at the forefront of research into autonomous vehicles, and working with companies like Fortescue is critical to gaining an insight into specific user applications.”

BHP, JFE Steel to scrutinise Australian steel raw materials emissions in latest study

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BHP has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with leading Japanese steel producer, JFE Steel, to jointly study technologies and pathways capable of making material reductions to greenhouse gas emissions from the integrated steelmaking process.

BHP is prepared to invest up to $15 million over the five-year partnership, which, it says, builds on the strong history of technical research and collaboration between the two companies.

The company’s investment will be funded under its $400 million Climate Investment Program, set up in 2019 to coordinate and prioritise projects, partnerships, R&D and venture investments to reduce Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions, invest in offsets and support development of technologies with the highest potential to impact change.

The JFE-BHP partnership will focus on the role of Australian raw materials to help to increase efficiency and reduce emissions from the blast furnace and direct reduced iron (DRI) steelmaking routes, it said. The partnership intends to study the properties of raw materials, with focus on specific areas such as iron ore pre-treatment, use of enhanced iron ore lump, high quality coke and DRI, required to decrease iron and steelmaking emissions and support a transition to a low carbon future. Throughout the collaboration, the two companies will also share knowledge on reducing carbon emissions across the steel value chain.

This JFE-BHP partnership follows other BHP investments to support the reduction of value chain emissions, including up to $35 million for the collaboration with China’s largest steelmaker, China Baowu, and awarding BHP’s first LNG-fuelled Newcastlemax bulk carriers contract, with the aim to reduce CO2-e emissions by 30% per voyage.

BHP’s Chief Commercial Officer, Vandita Pant, said: “This partnership with JFE demonstrates a joint commitment to make our activities more sustainable through collaboration and technological improvement. This work will support and help progress Japan’s carbon neutral ambitions by 2050.”

As outlined in BHP’s decarbonisation framework, the steel industry is expected to move through stages of optimisation and transition for the existing integrated steelmaking route before reaching an end state of low or no carbon intensity.

“Our investments are focused on actions that can create real change, and we continue to take positive steps on our climate agenda and in collaborating with others to help reduce emissions in line with the Paris Agreement goals,” Pant said.

JFE’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Yoshihisa Kitano, said: “We understand that raw material processing technology is extremely important in the research and development towards carbon neutrality. We have a long history working closely together with BHP collaborating to study raw material utilisation technology and mine development. It is very significant for us to be able to work together with BHP towards reduction of CO2 emissions, which is an extremely important agenda for the steel making sector.”

Aqura Technologies to boost FMG’s network at Kangi accommodation camp

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Veris Ltd’s wholly-owned subsidiary Aqura Technologies has been awarded A$1.1 million ($849,165) in works to undertake an upgrade of the in-situ accommodation network at Fortescue Metals Group’s Kangi 1,850 room village in the Pilbara Region of Western Australia.

The scope of the Kangi village engagement is to design and deliver physical upgrades to the GPON network to ensure a high level of reliability of services to village guests, it says.

The enhancement of the existing infrastructure using Aqura’s specialist technical expertise will establish an extremely robust platform for the delivery of entertainment services and wellbeing programs to the large workforce accommodated at the site, the company explained.

Aqura has commenced the design phase and will look to complete the scope of works by July.

“The new contract adds to Aqura’s strong track record in delivering high-performance Content Access Network (CAN) solutions for clients such as BHP, Newmont, OZ Minerals and Abra Mining,” Veris said. “Aqura’s expertise in the delivery of CAN solutions has delivered enhanced user experiences in over 16,000 accommodation rooms completed to date.”

The Kangi camp was constructed – and expanded – by Pindan (photo courtesy of Pindan) as part of FMG’s Solomon iron ore mine development.

Aqura Technologies CEO, Travis Young, said: “We’re pleased to kick off a new engagement with Fortescue who are looking to our in-house team to provide a high-quality foundation for their Kangi Village network.

“The contract award is testament to the strong quality and safety record of Aqura in the design and delivery of high-quality network infrastructure.

“We are very mindful of the benefits of this type of investment which fundamentally supports and enhances the positive wellbeing for fly-in fly-out staff who are away from home for extended periods and need reliable infrastructure to support connections to family and friends.”

NRW Holdings bags mining contract at NRR’s Roper Bar iron ore project

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NRW Holdings has been awarded the mining contract for Nathan River Resources’ Roper Bar iron ore project in the Northern Territory of Australia.

Roper Bar has a fully integrated ‘pit-to-port’ logistics chain including a privately-owned 171-km paved access road to an existing barge load-out facility and product stockyard, according to NRW.

The project was commissioned in October 2020 with first direct shipping ore (DSO) exports in November. Production ramp-up is nearing completion, with four vessels now completed (around 220,000 t). An offtake agreement exists between Glencore and NRR for the marketing and distribution of iron ore from the project.

This contract award covers the Stage 1 operations at Roper Bar, with production of 4.6 Mt of DSO and 1 Mt of dense media separation production at 1.5-1.8 Mt/y over three years. The contract scope includes drill and blast, load and haul, clearing and grubbing, top-soil and subsoil removal and rehandling of ore stockpiles.

The contract value is circa-A$123 million ($95 million) and has a duration of 33 months. At its peak, there will be around 55 site-based personnel on the project.

NRW’s CEO and Managing Director, Jules Pemberton, said: “NRW is pleased to be involved in the recommencement of the Nathan River mine site and looks forward to its successful execution.”

Cleveland-Cliffs commits to new greenhouse gas emission goals

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Iron ore miner and steelmaker Cleveland-Cliffs Inc has set a target to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 25% by 2030, with the use of carbon capture technologies and natural gas/hydrogen in the production of hot briquetted iron (HBI) just some of paths it is pursuing.

This goal represents combined Scope 1 (direct) and Scope 2 (indirect) greenhouse gas emission reductions on a mass basis (t/y) compared with 2017 baseline levels.

Prior to setting this goal with its newly acquired steel assets from AK Steel and ArcelorMittal USA, the company said it exceeded its previous 26% greenhouse gas reduction target at its mining and pelletising facilities six years ahead of its 2025 goal. In 2019, it reduced its combined Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions by 42% on a mass basis from 2005 baseline levels, it said.

Lourenco Goncalves, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, said: “We at Cleveland-Cliffs acknowledge that one of the most important issues impacting our planet is climate change. The American steel industry is one of the cleanest and most energy efficient in the world, and therefore the utilisation of steel Made in the USA is a decisively positive move to protect the planet against massive pollution embedded in the steel produced in other countries.”

He added: “In the past year, Cleveland-Cliffs has transformed itself into the largest flat-rolled steel producer in North America. As a company currently employing more than 25,000 people, the vast majority of them in good paying middle-class union jobs, our commitment to operating our business in an environmentally and socially responsible manner remains our priority.

“As we continue to grow the company going forward, we will vigorously pursue the opportunities we have outlined in our Greenhouse Gas Reduction Commitment, and will be transparent with our stakeholders by regularly reporting on our progress.”

Cleveland-Cliffs’ plan is based on its execution of the following five strategic priorities:

  • Developing domestically sourced, high quality iron ore feedstock and utilising natural gas in the production of HBI;
  • Implementing energy efficiency and green energy projects;
  • Investing in the development of carbon capture technology;
  • Enhancing its greenhouse gas emissions transparency and sustainability focus; and
  • Supporting public policies that facilitate carbon reduction in the domestic steel industry.

Only last year, Cleveland-Cliffs completed the construction of its first Direct Reduction Plant (pictured) to make it the first HBI producer in the Great Lakes Region of North America.

The company said: “To further reduce our GHG footprint at the new Direct Reduction Plant, we will evaluate partnering with hydrogen producers to replace natural gas use with hydrogen when it becomes commercially available in significant quantities.”

Without any modifications to the plant’s configuration, the company says it can replace up to 30% of the plant’s natural gas consumption with hydrogen to reduce GHG emissions by approximately 450,000 t/y.

“With limited equipment modifications and investments, we could increase hydrogen usage up to 70% and reduce over 1 Mt of GHG emissions per year,” it added.

The company said it is also currently working to implement numerous energy efficiency projects, which include, but are not limited to: improving furnace fuel efficiency; upgrading mobile mining fleet and locomotive engines to high efficiency/low emission models; investing in electrical energy efficiency projects; replacing traditional lighting with LED lamps; and cogenerating electricity from by-product gases.

Metso Outotec’s iron ore pelletising tech heading to BSIET’s ops in China

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Metso Outotec has signed a contract with Beijing Shougang International Engineering Technology Co Ltd (BSIET) on the delivery of “environmentally-sound” technology for an iron ore pelletising plant to be built in southwest China.

Metso Outotec’s scope of delivery covers the engineering and design of the indurating system, engineering of the process gas fan system, supply of proprietary and key process equipment, instrumentation and control systems, as well as supervisory services and technical training. The core of the plant is Metso Outotec’s traveling grate pellet indurating furnace with a grate area of 432 sq.m.

Tobias Stefan, Vice President, Ferrous & Heat Transfer business line at Metso Outotec, said: “We are very pleased about this new order, and we are looking forward to working with the customer operating the steel plant and our long-term partner BSIET. This is the second pelletising plant contract we’ve received in China within six months, underlining the strong presence of our traveling grate technology on the Chinese market.”

Pellet production at the plant is estimated to start by mid 2022.

Metso Outotec says its traveling grate technology produces uniform pellets and ensures high performance and quality with low investment and operating costs, as well as low energy consumption and emissions.

Fortescue’s Forrest opens up about iron ore miner’s ‘green steel’ ambitions

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Fortescue Metals Group Chairman and founder, Dr Andrew Forrest (pictured), has revealed the iron ore miner has plans to build Australia’s first “green steel” pilot plant this year.

A commercial plant, powered entirely by wind and solar, could be constructed in the next few years he said in the first Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) Boyer Lecture for 2021, entitled: ‘Oil vs Water: Confessions of a Carbon Emitter’.

In a wide-ranging talk, he acknowledge that Fortescue was trialling both known methods of making “zero-carbon-steel” without the use of coal in Australia: replacing coal in the furnace with ‘green hydrogen’ and adding carbon separately to strengthen the steel, and “zap[ping] the ore with renewable electricity”.

On the development of such an industry, Forrest said: “We could look at losing our coal industry as a national disaster – yet, I’ve always believed, out of every setback, is the seed of equal or greater opportunity.

“We produce over 40% of the world’s iron ore. And our potential green energy and hydrogen resources are immeasurable.

“If Australia were to capture just 10% of the world’s steel market, we could generate well over 40,000 jobs – more than what’s required to replace every job in the coal industry.”

Fortescue, through its Fortescue Future Industries company, has been signing agreements to leverage hydro-electric power and geothermal energy to become one of the “world’s largest green energy and product businesses”, Forrest said.

“We’re now undertaking feasibility studies that could lead to some 300 GW of power – more than four times what Australia can produce,” he explained.

Forrest also mentioned some of the decarbonisation work Fortescue is currently working on.

Back in December, Fortescue Chief Operating Officer, Greg Lilleyman, announced the company was working on developing an in-house, non-diesel 240 t haul truck prototype that will test both battery-electric and fuel-cell electric drivetrain technology in the Pilbara of Western Australia.

Seemingly referencing this project, Forrest said: “By the end of the decade, our trucks will run on renewable energy. Imagine that: a fleet of vehicles that produces nothing more than steam as exhaust.”

He also said the company was aiming to develop “green iron ore trains” powered by either renewable electricity or “green ammonia”.

Looking at the company’s shipping operations, he said 2021 would see the company “begin to settle designs” that allow its ships to run on “zero-pollution, green ammonia”.

He added: “And we’re willing to share that knowledge, to help our competitors go green too – including Vale, one of the largest mining companies in the world.”

Fortescue adds to Billion Opportunities program with Iron Bridge contracts

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Fortescue Metals Group has continued its longstanding commitment to Aboriginal procurement and delivery of benefits for its Native Title partners, with over A$13 million ($10.1 million) of new contracts awarded as part of the company’s Iron Bridge Magnetite project.

Two contracts have been awarded to 100%-owned Aboriginal-owned business Jukawalyi Resources Pty Ltd, and the Yulu Joint Venture (a joint venture company between Njamal Resource Enterprises Pty Ltd and Icon SI (Aust) Pty Ltd).

Both companies are owned by members of the Njamal Native Title group, who are the traditional custodians of the land where Iron Bridge is located.

Under the contract, Jukawalyi will provide light vehicles for the Iron Bridge operations. The future sustainability and ongoing success of Jukawalyi will be further supported with Fortescue acting as a guarantor for the purchase of the vehicles, through Fortescue’s guaranteed leasing facility with ANZ, it said.

Yulu JV was awarded a contract to complete a portion of the non-mining process infrastructure work, including designing and constructing the main ore processing facility administration building, laboratory building and associated facilities.

The Iron Bridge, operated under an unincorporated joint venture between Fortescue subsidiary, FMG Magnetite Pty Ltd, and Formosa Steel IB, covers the development of a new magnetite mine, including processing and transport facilities. The $2.6 billion development is expected to produce 22 Mt/y (wet) of high grade, magnetite concentrate, with first ore in 2022.

Fortescue Chief Executive Officer, Elizabeth Gaines, said: “Fortescue is proud of our strong relationships with Native Title groups across the Pilbara, which is delivering significant benefits including jobs, training and business development opportunities for Aboriginal people, their families and their communities.

“Empowering businesses like Jukawalyi and Yulu JV to make long-term, beneficial business decisions is at the heart of our Billion Opportunities initiative. These contracts will provide the opportunity to build local capability and asset ownership for these local Aboriginal businesses.”

Jukawalyi Managing Director, Joanne Taylor, said: “As a small family-owned business based in Port Hedland, the ability to access finance in addition to the contract with Fortescue is transformative, providing us with the ability to take our business to the next level.”

Yulu JV owner, Troy Eaton, said: “We are proud to secure this work for such an important project. With the Pilbara positioned for ongoing development, the securing of this project leaves us well-positioned to capture future opportunities for both Yulu JV and the Njamal People.”

Since its inception in 2011, Fortescue’s Billion Opportunities program has awarded over A$2.7 billion in contracts and sub-contracts to Aboriginal businesses and joint venture partners.

BHP factors wind fence into Pilbara Air Quality Program

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BHP has unveiled its plans to construct a wind fence at Finucane Island, in Port Hedland, Western Australia, as part of the company’s Pilbara Air Quality Program at its iron ore operations.

The fence would be the first of its kind in Australia, and designed for the Pilbara’s unique weather conditions, it said.

BHP Port General Manager, Nilson Davila, said: “We recognise we have a shared responsibility to address dust issues at Port Hedland. The wind fence will be constructed using global best practice dust management and air quality control technology.

“This planned investment forms part of our Pilbara Air Quality Program and demonstrates our commitment to improve air quality in the area and contribute to the revitalisation of the West End.

“Subject to government approvals, the 30-m high fence supports our intention to improve and build on our existing dust control measures as we continue to increase production towards 290 Mtpa in the medium term.”

It is intended to be located on the western side of BHP’s Finucane Island port operations, and will include mesh panels designed to reduce wind speeds, shielding the stockyard and reducing the potential for dust lift-off, BHP said.

The system has been designed to deal with the extreme wind conditions often experienced in Port Hedland. As the wind speed reaches a certain limit, the mesh curtain opens to let the air flow through the fence.

“We continue to work closely with government, industry and the local community to further improve air quality controls at our operations and for the communities in which we operate,” Davila said. “We want to help improve local amenity while also continuing to provide jobs and economic opportunity for the region.”

The project is still subject to all necessary internal and state government approvals.