Australia’s Fortescue has produced its first hot metal at the USD 50 mln Green Metal Project at Christmas Creek in Western Australia, marking the first successful operation of its electric smelting process and a step towards producing green iron using Pilbara ore.
The pilot project combines Metso’s Circored hydrogen-based fluidized-bed direct reduction technology with an electric smelting furnace. The process is designed to use Pilbara iron ore fines without pelletization, with green hydrogen and renewable electricity.
The facility is designed to produce more than 1,500 tons of high-purity green iron annually. The first hot metal was produced using a blended feedstock as the facility is progressively brought online.
Commissioning will continue in stages as Fortescue tests, refines and optimizes the process before progressing towards larger-scale production.
Fortescue CEO Dino Otranto said the project could help Australia move beyond exporting iron ore towards producing higher-value green metal domestically, leveraging the country’s renewable energy resources and established iron ore industry.
The company said commercial-scale green metal production using Pilbara ore has yet to be demonstrated, with the Christmas Creek project intended to help address this challenge.