Fortescue's Iron Bridge commences magnetite production

Fortescue Metals Group has announced that it has successfully made its first magnetite product at a first-run grade of greater than 68% Fe.

Further to the successful production of wet concentrate at the Iron Bridge site, it has now been transported through the 135 km specialist slurry pipeline where dewatering and materials handling occurs at Port Hedland to produce a high-grade magnetite product, ready to be shipped and suitable for steelmaking.

The company said it marks the end of over 20 million work hours onsite and almost 20 years of planning. The time and capital (US$0.5 billion) in piloting the Iron Bridge process was validated by the ore processing facility achieving specification metal production in its first week of operations. Iron Bridge will produce 22 million tonnes per annum of high grade magnetite concentrate.

“Iron Bridge is a firm demonstration of our company’s values, particularly NEGU — Never Ever Give Up,” said Fortescue Executive Chairman Andrew Forrest. “Iron Bridge temporarily followed the traditional way of delivering projects before recovering and switching back to our values of empowerment-driven leadership. What a great job the team have now done.

“I would like to congratulate every one of the 20,000 people who worked on achieving the most remarkable safety record during the construction of this incredibly complex project. It has been achieved through every phase including exploration, design, construction, and now operations.”

According to the company, Iron Bridge signifies Fortescue’s entry into the highest grade segment of the iron ore market, providing an enhanced product range while also increasing annual production and shipping capacity.

“The construction of Iron Bridge, Fortescue’s first magnetite operation, was complex particularly while managing the added challenges resulting from COVID-19 and border closures,” said Fortescue Metals Chief Executive Officer Fiona Hick. “I’m particularly proud that the team was able to deliver this project while maintaining strong safety performance. Our focus is now on achieving safe and efficient ramp-up.”

“Iron Bridge is a significant differentiator for Fortescue. It demonstrates our commitment to long-term planning and the sustainability of our iron ore business, while also investing in growth. We are committed through the cycle to delivering robust returns to our shareholders and building an increasingly strong balance sheet.”

The company said more than 20,000 jobs have been created through the Iron Bridge project with the site workforce peaking at 4000 jobs during construction. Another 900 full-time jobs will be created when the project moves into operations.

Image caption: Iron Bridge magnetite plant.