Australia won’t have ‘green steel’ to itself. Africa is poised to become a global hub

By Charlie Huang, RMIT University Australia is at the forefront of efforts to turn steelmaking green. Earlier this year Australian iron ore producers Rio Tinto teamed up with Australian steelmaker BlueScope to develop “near-zero emission-intensity” pathways for making steel from Pilbara iron ore. Renewable electricity and hydrogen would replace coking coal. Iron ore miner Fortescue…

EVZ wins $23m tank manufacturing contract

Energy and resources company EVZ Limited has been awarded a major contract in the mining and industrial sector through its wholly owned subsidiary, Brockman Engineering. Brockman has been awarded a bulk process water tanks package by Rio Tinto as part of the seawater desalination project at Parker Point, Dampier. The package includes design and procurement…

ElectraLith produces lithium hydroxide through novel membrane tech

Melbourne-based ElectraLith Pty Ltd has announced that its next-generation DLE-RTM technology has successfully produced battery grade lithium hydroxide from very concentrated brines known as Salar brines, geothermal oilfield brines and spodumene (lithium ore) leach. The technology, Backed by Rio Tinto, IP Group and Monash University, included production of 99.9 percent pure lithium hydroxide from a…

Manufacturing news briefs – stories you might have missed

Rio Tinto boosts stake in Australia’s second-largest smelter Rio Tinto has acquired Japanese conglomerate Mitsubishi Corporation’s interest in the Boyne Island aluminium smelter. It bought the 11.65 per cent interest in Boyne Smelters, which owns and operates the Gladstone, QLD based smelter, for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition follows Rio Tinto’s agreement to purchase shares in…

Rio Tinto to invest $215 million in BioIron facility

Miner and maufacturer Rio Tinto will invest $215 million (US$143 million) to develop a research and development facility in Western Australia to assess the effectiveness of its low-carbon ironmaking process, BioIron, to support decarbonising the global steel value chain. The development of the BioIron Research and Development Facility in the Rockingham Strategic Industrial Area south…

Manufacturing news briefs — stories you might have missed

Cyclopharm raises $20 million, seeks another $2 million Radiopharmaceutical imaging company Cyclopharm has successfully completed its institutional placement, raising $20 million before costs. The Placement attracted strong demand from both existing shareholders and from new institutional and sophisticated investors in Australia, Hong Kong, and the UK. A share purchase plan to raise up to $2.0…