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Steel

Steelmaker and mining competitors unite on plan to fast track green iron production

BlueScope, Rio Tinto and BHP say Australia needs a commercially viable alternative to blast furnace steelmaking, but securing enough gas and green hydrogen will be a challenge.
The Bluescope steelworks at Port Kembla near Wollongong

Multi-billion-dollar bid to turn Pilbara's red dirt to green steel

Australia's iron ore industry goes hand-in-hand with China. But it is a South Korean company looking to stump up billions of dollars for this green iron facility. 
Aerial image of bulk carriers at a port

Australia's largest steelmaker reveals transformation plan for 200 hectares of disused land

BlueScope Steel hopes the redevelopment of a large parcel of industrial land will bring tens of thousands of workers back to the Port Kembla steelworks.
render of steelworks

Authorities investigating after radioactive material goes missing at SA steelworks

Authorities are investigating the loss of an industrial gauge with a radioactive source somewhere on a 1,000 hectare steelworks site on South Australia's Eyre Peninsula. 
Steelworks at dusk

Fast-track for compressed-air power facility set to inject 'hundreds of millions' into outback city

A new agreement has fast-tracked the construction of a project that could inject hundreds of millions of dollars into Broken Hill's economy and create 780 full-time jobs.
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A computer-generated image of an industrial site in the outback.

Hundreds of jobs axed as company stops steelmaking operations in Newcastle

Molycop is restructuring its Waratah steelmaking plant, cutting 250 of its 540-strong workforce.
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Molycop steel works factory floor with stacks of steel train wheels and a worker.

Former ACCC boss applauds record BlueScope fine for attempted price fixing, calls for higher deterrents

Former ACCC chair Allan Fels says BlueScope deserved its record penalty for attempted cartel behaviour, but warns some companies may factor potential fines into business models — unless they are much higher.
Man in red glasses and blue shirt

BlueScope fined a record $57.5 million over attempted price fixing that could have affected millions of consumers

The Federal Court fines BlueScope for engaging in cartel conduct over the supply of a product that is an essential material for builders, manufacturers and the automotive industry.
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steelworks site with gas pipe flame flare

'No alternative' but to upgrade coal-blast furnace at Port Kembla, BlueScope Steel announces

The company, which reported a $1 billion after tax profit, says bringing a dormant coal-blast furnace back online won't lock the company into coal-based steelmaking.
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The first steel slab produced using hydrogen instead of coal and coke

Call for Bluescope to rapidly transition away from coal based-steelmaking at Port Kembla

A new global organisation monitoring carbon emissions from steelmakers is urging Australian company Bluescope to abandon plans to reline its main blast furnace at Port Kembla in Wollongong.
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Climate change

Australia's biggest steelmaker BlueScope bolsters coal import capability

As supply from Illawarra mines declines, a $182-million upgrade to BlueScope's Port Kembla coal berths will allow the steelmaker to import coal from Queensland.
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coal terminal

Renewables growth drives mining exploration to eight-year high in SA

As mineral exploration in SA reaches an eight-year high, resources companies are scouring remote parts of the state for commodities needed for lower-emission steelmaking, renewable energy generation and batteries.
A drill rig being used to extract magnetite from dark red coloured dirt in the outback

Electric furnace deal paves way for green steel production in Whyalla

The company behind the Whyalla steelworks signs a $485 million deal that could end the use of coal in making steel in Whyalla.
Beams of steel coming out of a furnace.

Senators to examine plan to build 3,300km rail line between WA, Queensland's iron and coal

A man's dream to connect the iron ore and coal fields of the Pilbara in the west and the Bowen Basin in the east is being scrutinised by a Senate committee this week.
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An expansive photo of an iron ore train.

Whyalla steelworks owner restarts graduate program to overcome ageing workforce

GFG Alliance says hiring graduates and apprentices is key to the future of the Whyalla steelworks. 
An engineer in high visibility clothing leaning on a railing.

An uninhabited boss's mansion and potential movie studio among significant sites on BlueScope's spare land for lease

Among more than 200 hectares of unused land owned by BlueScope in suburban Wollongong are several significant and historical structures that are abandoned relics of by-gone eras of the steelmaking business. 
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An open blue door with a brass knocker with a portrait out of focus in the background.

Green steel production one step closer in SA, company says

GFG Alliance, which owns the Whyalla steelworks, says it has made progress towards its goal carbon-neutral steel production.
A hand holding a palmful of dull-coloured pellets.

BlueScope records 135pc profit increase as it plans to invest in emission reduction projects

Australia's largest steelmaker BlueScope signals its intention to reinvest into capital works including extensive carbon abatement programs after posting its best-ever profit result.
Inside a factory where steel is being made.

Vietnamese steelmaker ready to import iron ore from its own Australian mine

Hoa Phat Group is keen to buy other mines to meet the needs of its steel mills in Vietnam.
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Worker in Vietnam steel mill.

Investigators visit British offices of Whyalla steelworks owner over fraud, money laundering accusations

Properties linked to British billionaire Sanjeev Gupta's GFG Alliance have been searched by officers from the UK's Serious Fraud Office.
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Sanjeev Gupta smiles.

BlueScope Steel secures funding to build first wind turbines in NSW

BlueScope says its Port Kembla facility will produce the first NSW-built wind turbines, after securing a $55.4 million federal grant to upgrade its steelmaking capability.
Wind turbines tower over cows in a green paddock, with blue sky behind

How long will black gold be king as 'green' steel makes a charge?

Australia is the world's largest exporter of metallurgical coal  used in steelmaking and the second-largest exporter of thermal coal used for electricity generation. How long will its run last?
The first steel slab produced using hydrogen instead of coal and coke

Green steel race heats up with startup promising hydrogen-free production by 2025

Competition to produce emissions-free steel in commercial quantities increases, with American startup Boston Metal claiming its unique steel-making technology will be viable by 2025.
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The first steel slab produced using hydrogen instead of coal and coke

BlueScope Steel and Rio Tinto announce 'green steel' partnership

Australia's largest steel producer unites with mining giant Rio Tinto to explore decarbonising the steel-making process, signalling a move away from coal. 
The Port Kembla steelworks is at the centre of green energy plans for NSW

Hydrogen touted as solution in BlueScope's long road to green steel

Australia's largest steel producer BlueScope wants to start the transition to zero-carbon green steel inside the next decade, but the catch is the technology is yet to be proven on a large scale.
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The first steel slab produced using hydrogen instead of coal and coke