Lincoln Minerals has submitted an application to the South Australian Government’s Green Iron and Steel Strategy, which concerns SA’s ambition to facilitate a new hydrogen-based green iron plant by 2030.
Officially launched in June, the Green Iron and Steel Strategy outlines how the SA Government plans to establish a leading world-leading green iron industry and supply chain via three objectives and nine key actions.
With hopes of developing its Green Iron magnetite project to operational status, Lincoln Minerals has lodged an application to the strategy.
Categorising Green Iron as a “core component” of the Green Iron and Steel Strategy, Lincoln believes the project can help meet the growing domestic and global demand for green steel as it is underpinned by a 1.1 billion tonne magnetite resource that consists of a head grade of 25.7 per cent iron.
Green Iron’s orebodies are open along strike, indicating potential resource upside and low geotechnical risk.
“Lincoln’s Green Iron project is underpinned by our magnetite project, which we understand is the best potential magnetite supply source for the South Australian Government’s proposed domestic Green Iron and Steel supply chain,” Lincoln Minerals chief executive officer Jonathon Trewartha said.
“Based upon a review of current data, the project has an aspirational goal of producing 6Mtpa (six million tonnes per annum) of high-quality magnetite concentrate to supply both a domestic supply chain as well as potential for export tonnes to the global green steel industry.”
Since early 2024, Lincoln Minerals has been seeking a partner to help fund and develop Green Iron.
As part of its search, Lincoln assembled a senior internal multi-disciplinary working group which includes specialists in all areas of Green Iron’s development, ranging from resource geology, metallurgy, infrastructure and logistics, mining, environmental and regulatory analysis, and project financial modelling.
Following recent detailed planning and workshop sessions, the multi-disciplinary group has found Green Iron to be the best undeveloped magnetite project in the Eyre Peninsula region due to its high-quality magnetite resource with clean concentrate specifications possible, generational scale, and being located close to existing Tier 1 infrastructure and port options at an advanced planning stage.
Lincoln Minerals is set to commence the next phase of its Green Iron partnering process, where it will engage with both domestic and global steel industry participants.
If its application to the Green Iron and Steel Strategy is successful, Lincoln Minerals will receive a follow-up call early next year.
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