Resources giant Rio Tinto has reported that its Kwinana-based pig iron plant using its HIsmelt technology has moved to continuous production, and is set to enter a three-year ramp-up phase to reach 800,000 tonnes a year.
Resources giant Rio Tinto has reported that its Kwinana-based pig iron plant using its HIsmelt technology has moved to continuous production, and is set to enter a three-year ramp-up phase to reach 800,000 tonnes a year.
The technology has taken 20 years and $600 million to get to this stage.
Rio operates the facility on behalf of a joint venture in which it has a 60 per cent share. Other partners comprise US steelmaker
Nucor Corporation with 25 per cent, Japanese trading house Mitsubishi Corporation at 10 per cent and
Chinese steelmaker Shougang Corporation with 5 per cent.
The $400 million production facility uses iron ore from Western Australia and low volatile coal from Queensland. It will employ 900 people when production peaks.
The full news release is below:
22 November 2005
HIsmelt plant begins ramp-up to full production
The new commercial-scale HIsmelt® plant has begun continuous production of molten iron
from its smelt reduction vessel at Kwinana in Western Australia, marking the start of a new
era of cleaner, more efficient iron production.
The HIsmelt® plant is owned by a joint venture comprising Rio Tinto (60%), US steelmaker
Nucor Corporation (25%), Japanese trading house Mitsubishi Corporation (10%) and
Chinese steelmaker Shougang Corporation (5%). Construction of the plant was completed in
April 2005, and has been progressively commissioned since then.
The plant will now move into a ramp-up phase, and is expected to reach its full production
rate of 800,000 tonnes per year over the next three years. The iron produced will be sold as
pig iron once sufficient stocks have built up.
Chief Executive Officer, Rio Tinto Iron Ore, Sam Walsh acknowledged the support of the
Commonwealth and Western Australian governments in the establishment of the HIsmelt
plant. This included a A$50 million grant by the Commonwealth Government for the
development of multi-user infrastructure with further incentives available as
commercialisation proceeds. The Western Australian Government provided assistance in
securing the land at Kwinana for the plant.
Mr Walsh said, "This is a significant milestone in the proving of this world-beating technology
at a commercial scale. The ongoing support of both governments has been appreciated.
"I also acknowledge the support of the Joint Venture participants through HIsmelt's
construction and commissioning phases, and in providing the technical expertise to help
ensure the success of this exciting new venture," he said.
Construction of the HIsmelt plant took two years, at a cost of more than A$400 million
dollars, and at its peak around 900 people were engaged on site. Rio Tinto has spent more
than A$600 million over the last 20 years in developing this new technology.
HIsmelt is a new technology developed by Rio Tinto to enable the direct smelting of fine iron
ore and coal into molten iron. It offers significant technical and environmental advantages
over existing iron making techniques.
Cont.../
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The HIsmelt® plant at Kwinana has an annual production capacity of 800,000 tonnes of iron
and uses iron ore from Western Australia and low volatile coal from Queensland. These
components are injected as fines into the molten bath of the smelt reduction vessel where
they are directly smelted to molten iron.
HIsmelt (Operations) Pty. Limited, a subsidiary of Rio Tinto, operates the plant on behalf of
the HIsmelt Kwinana Joint Venture, with 70 full time employees
