Rejuvenating and resetting the business
24 January 2025
The GFG executive heading up the mining transition from hematite to magnetite in South Australia’s Middleback Ranges says the project will rejuvenate and reset the business for generations to come.
In Episode 6 of the Steel Town podcast Executive General Manager of Mining Growth and Transformation Gavin Hobart (pictured below) describes his excitement at being involved in the drive to green iron and steel.
“To be part of a team working to deliver on that vision, that’s massively rewarding,” he said.
“We’ve all had challenges, but the team stayed together because there’s a genuine belief that this is going to be an exciting transformation.”
Last week GFG announced it was placing Mining and Processing Operations at Iron Knob into care and maintenance in accordance with the currently approved regulatory plan with the hematite reserve nearing depletion following 120 years of mining.
“Back in the early 2000s it was identified we had a finite hematite reserve remaining in the Middleback Ranges and that we made a decision to transition the blast furnace actually from a hematite based raw material to magnetite in 2007,” Gavin said.
“We converted then and so we’ve always known magnetite is our future.”
Gavin says the Middleback Ranges has an abundance of magnetite which when processed is a much higher grade than hematite and can facilitate alternative technologies to create iron and steel in the future.
“For us, we’ve got a 70% product on a global scale, it’s kind of best in class so we’re at the the point where we have nominated a contractor to implement the new equipment,” he said.
“We need to augment our process and we’re in the market with the financing.”
In Episode 6, LIBERTY Primary Metals CEO Sandip Biswas also gives an update on the resumption of steelmaking and other matters, we hear more about GFG’s move into the solar market and the COO of the GFG Foundation talks about his mission.
We’ve all had challenges, but the team stayed together because there’s a genuine belief that this is going to be an exciting transformation
Executive General Manager of Mining Growth and Transformation Gavin Hobart
You can listen to Episode 6 on Spotify iOS and YouTube or click on the image below:
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