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About HIsmelt - History

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1982 - 1984
The origin of the HIsmelt Process can be traced back to the bottom blown
oxygen steelmaking process (OBM) and the evolution of the combined
blowing steelmaking process developed by the German steelmaker, Klöckner
Werke, at their Maxhütte steelworks.

In 1981 CRA (now Rio Tinto) recognised the potential of the Klöckner
steelmaking converter technologies to be adapted to smelt iron ore
instead of gasifying coal and melting scrap. CRA formed a joint venture
with Klöckner Werke to pursue the steelmaking and smelting reduction
technologies. Trials were conducted in a 60 tonne OBM converter to
demonstrate the fundamentals of the smelt reduction process.
1984 - 1990
The successful testing of the smelt reduction concept (using the 60
tonne steelmaking converter) led to the construction of a Small-Scale
Pilot Plant (SSPP) located at the Maxhütte steelworks, Bavaria. With a
capacity of 10-12,000 tpa, the design was based on a horizontal,
rotating Smelt Reduction Vessel (SRV) that used bottom tuyeres for
injection of coal, oxygen, fluxes and iron ore.

The SSPP operated from 1984 to 1990 and this phase of the project proved
the viability of the technology. However, scaling up the process still
remained a question.

During this period, several restructuring events occurred. Klöckner

withdrew from the project in 1987, and two years later CRA formed a
50:50 Joint Venture with Midrex Corporation to continue the development
of the technology.
 The pilot plant operation was deemed a success and it was decided that
further testing at a larger scale was required.

The next phase of the Process development was the HIsmelt Research and
Development Facility (HRDF), constructed at Kwinana, Western Australia.
1991
Construction of the HIsmelt Research and Development Facility, with a
design capacity of 100,000 tpa, commenced in 1991.

The principle objective of the HRDF was to demonstrate the process and
engineering scale-up of the core plant and to provide operating data for
commercial evaluation.

The original smelting vessel configuration for Kwinana was a direct

scale-up of the SSPP smelt reduction vessel, i.e., based on a
horizontally shaped vessel capable of rotation through 90°.
1993 - 1996
The horizontal vessel was operated from October 1993 to August 1996.

Whilst scale-up of the process was successfully demonstrated, the

complexity of engineering a horizontal vessel limited its commercial
viability. To overcome the deficiencies of the horizontal vessel a
design was developed for a water-cooled vertical vessel.

Design and engineering for the vertical SRV was completed in 1996. The
main improvements incorporated into the design included a stationary
vertical vessel, top injection of solids, a simplified hot air blast
lance, a forehearth for continuous tapping of metal and water-cooled
panels to overcome refractory wear problems.

Midrex Corporation withdrew from the Joint Venture in 1994 and CRA (Rio
Tinto) continued development of the process.
1997 - 1999
The HRDF vertical vessel was commissioned in the first half of 1997 and
operated through to May 1999. The vertical vessel demonstrated major
improvements over the horizontal vessel in terms of refractory wear,
reliability, availability, productivity and simplicity in design.

The HRDF vertical vessel addressed all the key requirements for a
successful direct smelting iron making technology – combining a high
level of technical achievement with simple engineering concepts and
plant technology.

The vertical vessel operation confirmed the process was ready to be

scaled up to a commercial plant.
2002
During 2002, an unincorporated joint venture was formed between the Rio
Tinto (60%), Nucor Corporation (25%), Mitsubishi Corporation (10%), and
Shougang Corporation (5%) groups - for the purpose of constructing and
 operating an 800,000 tpa HIsmelt Plant. Located in Kwinana, Western
Australia, the merchant pig iron facility was designed and engineered
with a 6-metre hearth diameter Smelt Reduction Vessel.
2003
Construction of the plant commenced in January 2003.
2004
Cold commissioning of the 6-metre plant commenced in the second half of
2004.
2005 - 2007
Hot commissioning at the HIsmelt Kwinana Joint Venture plant commenced
in Q2 2005.
Starting from November 2005, the HIsmelt Kwinana plant is scheduled to
take 3 years to ramp up to its name-plate hot metal production rate of
105 tonnes per hour, or 800,000 tonnes per year, with a coal consumption
rate of 700kg per tonne of hot metal.
Achievements so far include:
2006 - A production rate of 65 tonnes of hot metal per hour with a
coal rate of 900kg per tonne of hot metal.
2007 - A production rate of 80 tonnes of hot metal per hour with a
coal rate of 810kg per tonne of hot metal.
HIsmelt Corporation continues to develop the technology to deliver
cleaner, more flexible and lower cost iron-making to the world steel
industry.

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