That is unless they have a solid offer on the table to fully...

That is unless they have a solid offer on the table to fully fund the hi smelt. In that case I can understand this course of action.

Yes, wouldn't that be something. Why ship all that wonderful material off for relatively tiny margins when by producing all those high-value green iron products - pellets, HBI and pig iron - on-site most of the major costs are minimised and you're already elevated into a much higher and more stable pricing regimen.

It's a matter of getting there of course. But there are plenty of tail-winds to help - even the Chinese are pushing to de-carbonise:

According to the International Energy Agency, the iron and steel sector is responsible for 2.8 gigatons of carbon dioxide emissions annually, accounting for 8% of all global energy demand and 7% of energy-related carbon emissions.

If production were a country, it would slot in as the fourth-biggest carbon polluter on Earth, sandwiched between the European Union and India.

To meet the Paris Agreement target of 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) will require drawing down emissions more than 7% each year this decade. The world is already falling behind that pace.


Electric Arc Furnaces are the way to go. And the only feedstock for them is the sort of stuff we'll be producing.