Dino Otranto, CEO of Australian iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group, has stated during his speech at International Mining and Resources Conference (IMARC) in Sydney that Australia may lose its leader position in the global iron ore market if it does not make a prompt switch to green iron production, according to a report by Reuters.
Mr. Otranto stated that, even though Australia is the world's largest iron ore supplier, accounting for around half of global supply, the Pilbara grades are generally too low to be converted into steel without using coal. He pointed out that, as a result, having set decarbonization targets, steelmakers are in search of alternative iron ore sources, damaging Australia's top export market.
The Fortescue CEO highlighted that competition from other regions, such as the Middle East with its respective green steel projects and Guinea with its Simandou iron ore mine slated for start-up next year, is increasing. "That is a high-grade deposit going straight into the steel mills in China," he commented regarding the Simandou iron ore project.
Meanwhile, Mr. Otranto said that the Australian government and the mining industry need to join forces to cut energy costs specifically. "We have to bring in Chinese manufacturing of solar panels and wind turbines, because they are doing it better than anyone else. Automating robots for installation would cut labor costs to help make green iron production economic," he stated. The Fortescue official also added that they cannot lose the opportunity to place the 600-700 million mt of iron ore that Australia ships out.
Additionally, he expressed that, as of 2025, Fortescue will start producing 2,000 mt of green iron per year using green hydrogen from its solar farms at its Christmas Creek operations.
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