BHP's two million tonne per annum nominal capacity Hot Briquetted Iron (HBI) plant at Port Hedland in the Pilbara region of Western Australia is based on FINMET~(~R) direct reduction technology. The FINMET~(~R) process produces direct reduced iron (DRI) by reacting fine iron ore with reformed natural gas in a series of fluid bed reactors and then hot briquetting this DRI into dense, high quality iron briquettes. The Port Hedland HBI project represents a major investment in the chemical processing of Australian minerals to higher value products prior to export to Asian markets. This paper describes the FINMET~(~R) process and technical aspects of the high-quality HBI product, and provides an update of the current status of the project.
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