BlueScope, BHP and Rio Tinto select Kwinana for 40,000 tpa green iron pilot plant

Steelmaker BlueScope and iron ore miners, BHP and Rio Tinto have selected Kwinana Industrial Area, south of Perth, to host an electric smelting furnace pilot plant, which aims to test and optimise lower-carbon emissions molten iron from Pilbara iron ore using direct reduced iron (DRI)-ESF technology.  Rio said the trio assessed a number of locations…

Is BlueScope making a mistake betting on blast furnaces in a green steel era?

By Peter Roberts Just as the domestic electricity grid is making quick progress towards decarbonisation, so too are industrial processes such as steelmaking. Australia’s two primary steelmakers have taken different courses in moving towards lower carbon iron and steels. The GFG Alliance at Whyalla is moving from reliance on blast furnace technology towards a combination…