Fortescue has achieved a major milestone in its green iron and low-emission steelmaking strategy, producing the first hot metal at its Green Metal Project at Christmas Creek in Western Australia’s Pilbara region. The achievement marks the first successful operation of the project’s electric smelting process.The company produced molten metal using a blended feedstock during commissioning. Fortescue will continue testing and refining the process before progressing toward larger-scale production.
The US$50 million project is designed to demonstrate a pathway for producing more than 1,500 tonnes of green iron annually. It combines Metso’s Circored hydrogen-based fluidised-bed direct reduction technology with an electric DRI smelting furnace. The process can use green hydrogen and Pilbara iron ore fines without pelletisation.
Fortescue says the project could help Australia capture greater value from its iron ore resources by combining domestic mining strength with renewable energy and emerging green-metal technologies. The pilot is expected to provide important technical insights for future commercial-scale green iron production.
