Rio and China Baowu complete low carbon steelmaking trials

UNSW exploring green metals manufacturing methods The University of NSW SCoPE Lab for Green Metals is leading research to develop scalable low-cost and low-emission ironmaking technologies with a blast furnace innovations project. The manufacturing of iron and steel, materials essential to build almost all infrastructure in modern society, accounts for about one-tenth of global carbon dioxide emissions — more than any other industrial sector. As global populations grow and urbanisation accelerates, the demand for steel and iron shows no sign of slowing, making the need for greener production of these metals crucial. Project lead Professor Yansong Shen...

Australia’s largest aluminium smelter faces closure Tomago Aluminium has started consulting more than 1000 workers at its Tomago aluminium smelter in NSW as changing operating economics potentially affect the smelters viability. The Tomago Aluminium venture, controlled by Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO), has been working to identify an economically viable energy solution for when its existing electricity supply contract with AGL expires in December 2028. However, the venture has yet to identify a pathway that supports commercially sustainable operations. As the largest energy consumer in NSW, electricity currently accounts for more than 40% of Tomago Aluminium’s operating costs. Based on market proposals...

Rio Tinto’s (ASX: RIO) water use came under scrutiny at its annual general meeting this week, with Traditional Owners alleging years of unsustainable groundwater pumping by the miner contributed to a sacred waterhole running dry.

Westgold to increase production by 25% Westgold (ASX: WGX) has delivered a high confidence plan that lifts annual gold production at its WA projects from 326koz to 470koz by FY28. Underpinned by the company’s ore reserves of 56mt at 1.93g/t gold for 3.5moz of gold, the plan will see increased output from the company’s four existing processing hubs, currently operating at a 6mtpa capacity, fed from its operating mines and ore purchase agreement. Westgold managing director and chief executive Wayne Bramwell says the outlook provides a baseline for a larger, more...