Fortescue has produced its first hot metal at the Green Metal Project at Christmas Creek in Western Australia, marking a significant milestone in its efforts to establish an Australian pathway for green metal production.
The achievement confirms the successful operation of the project’s electric smelting furnace, which is being used to test technology and develop a potential route towards commercial-scale green metal production using Pilbara iron ore.
Commissioning will continue in stages as the facility undergoes further testing and optimisation. The work is intended to refine the smelting process and assess its potential for larger-scale production.
Fortescue Metals chief executive officer Dino Otranto said producing the first hot metal was an important step towards establishing commercial-scale green metal production in Australia.
“This is a significant milestone for our Green Metal Project and another step towards producing commercial-scale green metal in Australia,” Otranto said.
He said the project could create opportunities for Australia to capture more value from its iron ore resources by processing the material domestically rather than exporting it solely as a raw commodity.
Otranto also highlighted Australia’s renewable energy resources and established iron ore industry as potential advantages in developing a competitive green metals sector.
The Green Metal Project is designed to test electric smelting technology and address the technical challenges associated with producing green metal from Pilbara ore at commercial scale.
According to Otranto, achieving commercial-scale production using Pilbara iron ore remains a key challenge the project aims to overcome.
The production of first hot metal confirms that the electric smelting furnace has successfully generated molten metal. During the initial commissioning phase, the facility has used a blended feedstock as the plant is progressively brought online.
Fortescue said its technical team would continue commissioning activities, focusing on safely testing, refining and optimising the process.
The results will help determine the project’s potential to support domestic green metal production and strengthen Australia’s position in the emerging lower-emissions metals industry.