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    Rio Tinto’s Pilbara iron ore in hydrogen DRI: process insights for steel engineers

    June 15, 2026|

    Reviewed by Tom Sullivan

    Rio Tinto’s Pilbara iron ore in hydrogen DRI: process insights for steel engineers

    First reported on Australian Mining

    30 Second Briefing

    Rio Tinto and China Baowu have completed industrial-scale hydrogen-based direct reduction trials using Pilbara Blend iron ore in a shaft furnace, showing that the mid-grade (~62% Fe) Western Australian ore can achieve metallisation levels suitable for low-carbon DRI. Tests at Baowu’s Zhanjiang base used hydrogen-rich gas in place of coke-based reductants, validating pellet quality, sticking behaviour and gas utilisation under commercial conditions. The work signals that existing Pilbara ore supply chains could be adapted for hydrogen DRI routes, reducing dependence on high-grade (>67% Fe) ores.

    Technical Brief

    • Findings are primarily applicable to Pilbara Blend-type mid-grade ores; performance of other blends remains unverified.

    Our Take

    Rio Tinto’s Pilbara iron ore work sits within a broader push in our database where the company is pairing operational changes with ESG positioning, echoed by its recent 30% uplift in annual contributions to the Rio Tinto Canada Fund for community and environmental projects.

    The Pilbara focus aligns with Rio Tinto’s current automation drive in Western Australian iron ore, as seen in its integration trials of Sandvik i-series drill rigs with the Rio Tinto Autonomous Drilling System, signalling that any new ‘pathway’ is likely to be designed around highly automated production chains.

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    Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.

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