Mar 7 2007
Ausmelt has been commissioned to undertake a feasibility study on producing pig iron using Ausmelt’s patented AusIron iron-making technology. The study, worth $500,000, has been commissioned by Central Asia Mineral Exploration (Camex), a Mongolian mining and exploration company.
The study will investigate the capital and operating costs associated with processing beneficiated Mongolian iron ores to produce pig iron. The capability to use locally available Mongolian brown coals in iron production was a major factor in Camex’s decision to move forward using the AusIron technology. The feasibility study will be undertaken in partnership with ENFI, a Chinese Engineering Institute. Ausmelt has combined with ENFI on a number of successful smelting projects in China.
Ausmelt Managing Director Mr Paul Abbott said today the feasibility study represented a significant breakthrough for Ausmelt’s AusIron technology.
“We are satisfied that the AusIron technology is viable, but our challenge has been to win our first installation. “There has been a steady stream of inquiries from steelworks, particularly in China and India, but this is a very conservative industry and nobody has wanted to be the first user,” Mr Abbott said.
“If the Mongolian study proves positive and the project proceeds, this will give Ausmelt its first AusIron reference site anywhere in the world. This will greatly assist our marketing efforts and we would hope that the project would give other steelmakers the confidence to proceed with us.”
Mr Abbott said the AusIron technology offered significant advantages to steelmakers. “The capital costs are substantially lower than for older technologies and the operating costs are lower.
“Most significantly, AusIron technology offers considerable environmental benefits and we believe this is a most important selling point for the process.” Mr Abbott said the study would proceed within weeks and some of the revenue would be taken up in the current year’s earnings.