SIMEC Mining, a subsidiary of GFG Alliance, has produced its first high-quality green steel pellets, which the company said will underpin the future of South Australia’s decarbonised steel production.
Produced at the company’s Duchess South drill core in the Southern Middleback Range, green steel pellets require less heat to smelt and can be processed in furnaces powered by hydrogen, unlike fossil-fuel dependent low-grade alternatives.
The successful project compliments SIMEC Mining’s goal of producing green steel at GFG Alliance’s Whyalla facility.
To achieve this, GFG Alliance recently commissioned a 400tph demonstration plant, in a pilot trialling new green steel technology.
SIMEC Mining’s General Manager for Magnetite Expansion and Growth, Gavin Hobart, said the company’s high-quality product is essential to future net-zero steel production.
“Our existing iron ore operation in Whyalla is home to some of the highest purity and most desirable deposits of magnetite in the world,” Mr Hobart said.
“The high quality of our ore makes it a critical resource to enable green steel manufacturing and this successful pellet production is a significant milestone toward realising our plans.
“Stage two of our magnetite expansion project represents a generational opportunity for economic growth in Whyalla.
“Once operational, the project is expected to employ more than 1,200 workers and support around 3,500 people in the broader community.”
Earlier this year, SIMEC Mining announced it would expand its magnetite project in Whyalla and construct a debottlenecking process to increase product quality.
The Dry Low Intensity Magnetic Separation (DLIMS) plant will be designed to reject non-magnetics from a coarse crushed fraction of the feed material, thereby upgrading the quality of feed to the magnetite concentrator.
SIMEC Mining claims the plant has exceeded expectations; rejecting over 20 per cent of feed mass while still recovering over 98 per cent of magnetics to product.
Whyalla SteelWorks General Manager, Theuns Victor, said achieving high-grade magnetite product was critical to the future of green steel production in South Australia.
“This grade of magnetite is a key enabler to Whyalla’s green steel future, and strengthens its position as a consistent global supplier of premium quality magnetite to support low carbon intensive steelmaking,” Mr Victor said.
“When combined with renewables, particularly solar from our Cultana Solar Farm, our port, a skilled workforce, and supportive community and government, we have all the ingredients to create a world-leading green steel hub at Whyalla and fulfil our CN30 mission.”
Feature Image: High-grade steel pellets are essential to carbon-neutral steel production. Photo: GFG Alliance.
