EPA greenlights $4b Boodarie iron proposal

The WA Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has approved the construction of Port Hedland Iron’s proposed hot briquetted iron plant.

The Port Hedland Iron project — a collaboration between POSCO, Marubeni and China Steel Corporation — aims to decarbonise the steel manufacturing supply chain with production of low carbon hot briquetted iron.

The proposal involves the development of a downstream processing facility in the Boodarie strategic industrial area (SIA) to produce iron pellets and about 2mt of hot briquette iron for export.

EPA chair Darren Walsh says the location of the proposal, as well as its use of advanced direct-reduction iron technology for processing iron ore, is consistent with good environmental practice.

“The EPA acknowledges that aggregating development proposals within SIAs offers improved environmental benefits by promoting resource efficiency and minimising impacts,” he said.

“The use of the direct-reduction iron technology will result in a significantly reduced rate of associated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions at start-up in comparison to a conventional blast furnace method fuelled by coking coal, with further reductions expected as hydrogen becomes available.”

The EPA report also noted the broader potential of the proposal to act as an enabler of the renewable hydrogen industry in WA.

The project is targeting fully renewable energy run operations by 2050 and will be supported by infrastructure for hydrogen production and storage, a nitrogen plant, handling and storage facilities, power transmission and carbon capture.

As a new facility with annual emissions of more than 100,000t of carbon dioxide emissions, the proposal will be subject to the safeguard mechanism.

The EPA has recommended a condition requiring periodic reporting on the implementation of carbon abatement measures noting the reporting would also be required to include the rate of hydrogen integration in the context of the status of the domestic hydrogen market.

The EPA’s report is now open for a three-week public appeal period, closing September 8, 2025.