Green Iron SA, a consortium featuring Magnetite Mines, Aurizon, Flinders Port, and GHD, was launched on Tuesday with the goal of unlocking the Braemar iron region’s vast potential.

The consortium’s initiative kicks off with the accelerated development of the Razorback iron-ore project, aimed at establishing a reliable supply of high-purity magnetite, a crucial feedstock for green iron production.

The project will evolve to produce direct reduction-grade pellets, ultimately leading to the manufacturing and export of hot briquetted iron from Port Pirie by the early 2030s

“The time has arrived for South Australia to take advantage of its massive magnetite endowment. With six-billion tonnes of magnetite resources ready to mine, Magnetite Mines is excited to take this important step toward building a world-class green iron industry in South Australia,” said Magnetite Mines MD Tim Dobson.

By leveraging natural gas and green hydrogen when available, Green Iron SA aims to significantly reduce carbon emissions in global steel production, delivering substantial economic benefits to the Upper Spencer Gulf area, including long-term job creation and community revitalisation.

The consortium has already initiated discussions with both the South Australian and federal governments to secure essential partnerships and infrastructure necessary for establishing a robust Australian green iron industry.

Aurizon is supporting the development by providing the rail and freight infrastructure.

Magnetite's Razorback project is based on a base-case five-million-tonne-a-year production rate and an expanded ten-million-tonne-a-year production rate.

The base-case scenario estimated a mine life of 91 years at a mining rate of 57-million tonnes a year over the first ten years, with the project requiring a capital spend of between $1-billion and $1.3-billion, with life-of-mine concentrates estimated at 331-million tonnes.

For the expansion option, the mining rate in the first ten years will increase to 91-million tonnes a year, with the project’s mine life decreasing to 39 years, while the pre-production capital cost increases to between $2.3-billion and $2.8-billion. The project will still produce 331-million tonnes of concentrate over the entire mine life.