China Baowu and Rio Tinto have completed trials of direct reduction using Pilbara Blend ore

The Australian mining company Rio Tinto has announced that, together with China Baowu, it has successfully completed industrial trials involving the pelletisation and direct reduction of Pilbara Blend iron ore.

The trials were conducted in China as part of the companies’ ongoing decarbonisation partnership. They demonstrate the potential for using Pilbara iron ore in hydrogen-based direct reduction processes.

As part of the trials at China Baowu’s Baoshan Iron & Steel Zhanjiang Steel Operations plant, a hydrogen-fuelled blast furnace was used to produce DRI from pellets comprising one-third Pilbara Blend ore. This direct reduced iron was then successfully converted into steel in an industrial blast furnace and also tested in a small electric arc furnace.

As noted by Rio Tinto, the trials demonstrate that typical medium-grade ores mined in the Pilbara region of Western Australia can be used as feedstock for hydrogen-based direct reduction. They may also be a future source for the production of low-carbon steel in combination with electric arc furnace technology.

It is worth noting that, by the end of 2025, Rio Tinto had shipped 326.2 million tonnes of iron ore from the Pilbara region, a 1% decrease year-on-year. Ore production at its Western Australian operations last year stood at 327.3 million tonnes, matching the 2024 level.