A PROPOSAL to produce iron pellets and hot briquette iron for export in Western Australia’s Pilbara has been given the tick of approval by the state’s Environmental Protection Authority (EPA).
South Korean company, POSCO’s $4 billion Port Hedland Iron (PHI) project aims to produce 2 million tonnes a year of hot briquetted iron and 0.7 million tonnes of iron ore pellets.
The approval for the plants at Boodarie Strategic Industrial Area were acknowledged by the EPA to create significant emissions during its initial gas-powered phase, but the approval was justified by long-term decarbonisation potential and enabling future hydrogen transition.
It was also subject to conditions on emissions monitoring, water use, and habitat protection.
The project also needs consent from the Kariyarra people which is still pending and is being negotiated.
In January the Port Hedland Iron project received a $15 million allocation from the state government to progress its plans to harness hydrogen to process WA iron ore into pellets and briquettes, with funding to be used to assist with enabling project infrastructure.
In its report, EPA Chair Darren Walsh said the location of the proposal, as well as its use of advanced direct-reduction iron technology for processing iron ore, was consistent with good environmental practice.
“The EPA acknowledges that aggregating development proposals within SIAs offers improved environmental benefits by promoting resource efficiency and minimising impacts,” he said.
“And the use of the direct-reduction iron technology will result in a significantly reduced rate of associated GHG emissions at start-up in comparison to a conventional blast furnace method fuelled by coking coal, with further reductions expected as hydrogen becomes available.”
The EPA report also noted the broader potential of the proposal to act as an enabler of the renewable hydrogen industry in Western Australia.
The EPA’s report to the environment minister is now open for a three-week public appeal period, closing 8 September 2025 before the environment minister makes a final decision on the proposal.