Steel

Metallurgical coal (also known as coking coal) is an essential element in the production of steel.

More than 70% of the world’s steel depends on coal – around 721 million tonnes of coking coal was used to produce 1.4 billion tonnes of steel in 2011.

Steel is an essential material and is widely used in all industries including building, transport, health, agriculture and energy.

In Australia, an average of 4.7 million tonnes of metallurgical coal are used each year to support the Australian steel industry.

With more than 91,000 employed in the industry, over 140 businesses dealing exclusively in steel products and with an annual turnover of $29 billion, the Australian steel sector plays a major role in advancing Australia’s economic growth.

In the 2011-2012 financial year Australia is expected to produce 6.1 million tonnes of steel..

Coal is used in Australian steelmaking for a number of purposes:

• As a carbon source to produce heat
• As a reductant (to convert iron oxide into metallic iron)
• In the blast furnace to support the 'burden' (preventing the iron ore and fluxes from collapsing into the liquid iron, and providing a porous medium through which gases can pass)
• In the grid to produce electricity used by Bluescope, OneSteel, Bisalloy Steels and Orrcon Steel to make iron and steel products, and by the Tasmanian Electro Metallurgical Company (TEMCO) to make manganese, a key ingredient in manufacturing steel.

Photo Craigieburn Bypass Pedestrian Bridge, Victoria, Photo supplied by Australian Steel Institute