Electric DRI Smelting Produced Hot Metal in the Pilbara

First Hot Metal at Christmas Creek

Fortescue's Christmas Creek Green Metal Project, featuring Metso's DRI Smelting Furnace technology, has produced its first hot metal in the Pilbara, Western Australia. The project marks an important milestone for Fortescue and Metso in developing a pathway toward producing green metal from Pilbara iron ore using new low-emission smelting technologies.

Metso confirmed the production on 28 September 2026. Installation of Metso's equipment commenced in September 2025.

Why Pilbara Ore Needs a New Route

The pilot sits at Fortescue's Christmas Creek Green Metal Project in the Pilbara, the exact region whose ore conventional DRI cannot use. Metso's DRI Smelting Furnace technology is being tested for its potential to enable the use of Pilbara iron ore fines in lower-emission ironmaking routes.

The technology has been developed to unlock the utilisation of extensive iron-ore reserves for green ironmaking that have previously been considered unsuitable for the DRI steelmaking route owing to their higher gangue content.

How the Process Works

The project was approved in November 2023, with an investment of approximately $50 million, and is designed for over 1,500 tonnes of green iron per year. The process comprises two parts: a Circored hydrogen-based fluidized bed direct reduction unit and a DRI electric smelting furnace.

The former can use 100% green hydrogen and can directly process Pilbara fines without pelletizing; the latter uses DRI as raw material, replacing the blast furnace for smelting. The on-site green hydrogen facility was commissioned in 2024, with two 700 kW electrolyzers producing approximately 530 kg of hydrogen per day.

What the Companies Said

"This is a significant milestone for our Green Metal Project and another step towards producing commercial-scale green metal in Australia. For decades Australia has exported iron ore to the world. The next opportunity is to create more value from that ore by producing green metal here at home," says Fortescue Metals Chief Executive Officer, Dino Otranto.

"We congratulate Fortescue on this significant step forward. The production of first hot metal at the Christmas Creek Green Metal Project demonstrates the role of Metso's DRI Smelting Furnace technology in advancing lower-emission ironmaking," says Piia Karhu, President, Minerals at Metso.

What Still Needs Verification

The production of first hot metal separates a working laboratory concept from an industrially validated process, but stable operation on target Pilbara ore still requires further verification. Fortescue CEO Dino Otranto noted that no enterprise has yet solved the problem of producing green metal from Pilbara ore at a commercial scale.

Analysts note the company has not yet provided data on whether the full process from Circored reduction to electric smelting can run continuously with Pilbara fines, and the raw material issue of high-impurity fines remains in the verification stage.

Working Source Links:

Fortescue's Green Metal Project with Metso's DRI technology successfully produces first hot metal in Australia - https://www.globalminingreview.com/mining/28092026/fortescues-green-metal-project-with-metsos-dri-technology-successfully-produces-first-hot-metal-in-australia/

Fortescue produces first hot metal at Christmas Creek project - https://www.mining-technology.com/news/fortescue-produces-first-hot-metal-at-christmas-creek-project/

Metso DRI Smelting Furnace Unlocks Low-Grade Iron Ore - Christmas Creek, Pilbara - https://www.discoveryalert.com/news/metso-dri-smelting-furnace-pilbara-green-iron-2026/

Fortescue produces hot metal in Pilbara - Metal Tech News - https://www.metaltechnews.com/story/2026/10/10/mining/fortescue-produces-hot-metal-in-pilbara/2260.html

FMG's electric smelting furnace produced its first 530 kg of hot metal - SMM Analysis - https://news.metal.com/newscontent/103247602