NeoSmelt Overview
NeoSmelt brings together the expertise of BHP, BlueScope, Mitsui Iron Ore Development, Rio Tinto and Woodside Energy to investigate the proposed development of the country’s largest ironmaking Electric Smelting Furnace (ESF) pilot plant.
The project aims to validate ESF technology at a pre-commercial scale and has selected the Western Trade Coast in Western Australia as the proposed pilot plant location. NeoSmelt welcomes the Western Australian Government’s announcement to invest $75m to support the NeoSmelt project.
The Feasibility Study will also be supported by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) as announced in June 2025.
If successful, NeoSmelt has the potential to unlock longer term lower emissions alternatives to the traditional blast furnace steelmaking route and potentially help ensure the longevity of Australia’s iron ore and steel industries.
The project has now entered the Feasibility Study phase. The Feasibility Study will help inform a final investment decision, expected in 2026.
JV Participants
BHP
BHP is a global resources company with a 140-year history. With more than 90,000 employees and contractors, BHP works in more than 90 locations worldwide and its products are sold globally. BHP is focused on the resources the world needs to grow and decarbonise.
Population growth, urbanisation and improving living standards are global trends that underpin strong demand for the commodities it produces: iron ore and metallurgical coal for the steel needed for global infrastructure and the energy transition; copper for renewable energy; and it is moving into potash to support more sustainable farming.
BlueScope (Manager)
BlueScope has over 100 years of experience and expertise in manufacturing and transforming one of the world’s most useful materials – steel. As Australia’s leading supplier and manufacturer of painted and coated steel, BlueScope delivers high-quality steel products for the building and construction industries across Australia and the world.
BlueScope operates across 15 countries including Australia, US, China, Southeast Asia and India, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands with over 16,500 employees at 160+ locations. Steel is essential to a low carbon future and BlueScope is invested in driving responsible future-ready products and practices to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and decarbonise operations to support climate transition, resilience and circularity.
BlueScope will act as Manager of the project, drawing on its extensive ironmaking and steelmaking experience including its ESF operations at its New Zealand Steel business.
Mitsui Iron Ore Development
Mitsui Iron Ore Development (MIOD), a wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsui & Co., has operated in Western Australia’s iron ore industry for more than 50 years.
Based in Perth, MIOD exports iron ore with its joint venture partners to Australia’s key trading partners and actively participates in decarbonisation initiatives supporting the industry.
Rio Tinto
Rio Tinto operates in 35 countries employing 60,000 employees with over 150 years of mining and processing experience and boasts a portfolio of iron ore, copper, aluminium and a range of other minerals and materials needed for people, communities and nations to grow and prosper, and for the world to cut carbon emissions to net zero.
Rio Tinto continuously invests in new projects that can support the energy transition, currently exploring for 8 commodities in 17 countries.
Woodside Energy
Woodside is a global energy company, providing reliable and affordable energy to help people lead better lives. Our focus in operations remains on safety, reliability, efficiency and environmental performance, leveraging more than 40 years of operating experience.
Driven by a spirit of innovation and determination, we established the liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry in Australia in the 1980s and remain one of the nation’s largest suppliers of LNG to major regional trading partners.
Engineering Vendors
Hatch
Hatch is a global multi-disciplinary management, engineering and development consultancy firm with a network of 10,000 professionals spanning across 150+ countries working in metals, energy and infrastructure sectors.
Hatch has been engaged as a major engineering subcontractor that is responsible for project management and controls for the pilot feasibility study and Front-End Engineering Design of the ESF pilot plant and balance of plant infrastructure.
Tenova
Tenova is a leading developer and provider of technology solutions for the decarbonization of the metals industry across the world, solutions which include DRI to EAF and reheating furnaces.
Tenova has been engaged as a major engineering subcontractor that is responsible for Front-End Engineering Design of the DRI pilot plant, a core component of the NeoSmelt Project.
Acknowledgement of Country
The facility would be located within the South West Native Title Settlement area on the traditional lands of the Noongar people. Located within the Gnaala Karla Booja (GKB) Indigenous Land Use Agreement area, the Traditional Custodians of the land are represented by the Gnaala Karla Booja Aboriginal Corporation (GKB AC).
