Binding Solutions, a British equipment supplier, has partnered with Mineral Resources in Australia to promote its novel technology, which the latter company believes has the potential to reduce emissions from iron ore by hundreds of millions of metric tonnes annually.
According to a company statement, Mineral Resources Ltd (MinRes), a significant iron ore producer and service supplier to miners, has committed to invest $17.5 million in the British business and licence the technology.
According to a Reuters report, compared to the conventional approach of applying heat of over 1,200°C, privately-held Binding Solutions’ technology reduces energy and CO2 emissions in the production of iron ore pellets by more than 90%.
“Iron ore dwarfs every other metal in the energy transition and is also the biggest polluter,” Julian Lee, chief executive of Binding Solutions, told Reuters.
According to Lee, who declined to name them owing to confidentiality agreements, Binding Solutions already has development agreements with 12 businesses, including some of the biggest iron ore and steel producers.
Iron ore producers in Australia, such as BHP Group and Rio Tinto, are served by MinRes’ mining services.
At its headquarters in Teesside, in northern England, Binding Solutions has installed a prototype facility. The additional investment will finance a full-scale demonstration plant by 2025 or 2026, with a capacity of 350kt to 40kt annually, Lee noted.
According to the company, the technology might also be applied to trash disposal sites and other minerals, such as lithium.
