Hydrogen could replace coking coal in two decades – South32
Coking coal may have only two more decades in the steelmaking process before green alternatives such as hydrogen replace it, according to Australian coal and metals miner South32.
“Beyond the next couple of decades, there will be innovations that occur in the steel space – particularly in green hydrogen – that we think will change medium to long-term the dynamic on” metallurgical coal, South32 CEO Graham Kerr said in a Bloomberg Television interview late last month.
The Perth-based company wouldn’t be investing in new metallurgical coal projects, and would wind down its business in the fuel that’s currently key to steelmaking once existing mines were depleted, Kerr said.
In the latest sign that some miners are turning away from funding projects to ramp up metallurgical coal output, South32 said last month it had abandoned plans to further develop the Dendrobium Next Domain project south of Sydney.
South32 said the $700-million investment required for Dendrobium’s expansion couldn’t be justified, and it would instead focus on “metals critical to a low-carbon future”.
Kerr elaborated in the Bloomberg Television interview that the company was looking to redirect the $700-million into North America for investments in base metals – in particular, copper, zinc and silver, as well as manganese oxide for batteries.
The company, which has a diversified metals portfolio including aluminium and nickel in Australia, Southern Africa and South America, last month announced a surge in underlying profit for the 12 months to June 30 to $2.6-billion. That was up from $489- million in the year before and in line with analyst estimates.
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