AFR article today:Rio has traditionally been the biggest...

AFR article today:

Rio has traditionally been the biggest exporter of a premium type of iron ore called lump, which as the name suggests is sold in lumpier form than the “fines” products that dominate Australia’s iron ore export volumes.But BHP has been closing the gap since 2017 and last month’s arrival of the South Flank mine could enable BHP to overtake Rio as the miner with the biggest proportion of lump in its exports and perhaps even the biggest volumes of lump overall.At stake is more than just bragging rights between old rivals; lump fetches higher prices than the mainstream iron ore fines and is expected to be increasingly sought by steelmakers as they strive to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions.

Lump’s climate credentials are based on the fact it can be added directly to a steelmaker’s blast furnace without the energy-intensive sintering process (heating to high temperatures) that is required before iron ore “fines” can be added to a furnace.BHP’s sales and marketing vice-president Rod Dukino said lump enabled steel mills to avoid the carbon emissions generated by sintering as well as toxic sulfur dioxides and nitrogen dioxides.